September 12, 2012: The Lightning connector replaces Apple’s aging 30-pin interface, a proprietary data and power connector that debuted on the iPod Classic in 2003. The slender and capable new Lightning port debuts in the iPhone 5, bringing big improvements — and no small amount of controversy.
Apple soon will build the Lightning connector into many other products, including iPad, iPod and accessories. Lightning cables can charge the mobile devices as well as transfer data to a Mac or PC.
Apple sometimes mixes up connector types among devices, and that might confuse people even more over the differences between USB-C and Thunderbolt. The connectors look alike, work similarly and accept the same cables. Yet they’re not the same.
Let’s look at the key differences, how the ascendant Thunderbolt 5 improves on Thunderbolt 4, and which kind of port and cable best suits your tasks like charging and data transfer.
Keeping your Apple Watch charged on the go usually means dealing with messy cables that tangle easily or bulky chargers that take up valuable space in your bag. Statik’s new MagStack Slim for Apple Watch is a more compact, durable and tidy way of keeping your wearable powered wherever you are.
Designed specifically for Apple Watch users, this charger offers a unique, sleek design with a magnetic upgrade that makes it much easier to use and transport. It’s also on sale for $23.99 (regularly $29.99). That’s cheaper than Apple’s charger — and the best price you’ll find anywhere online.
★★★★☆
In today’s fast-paced digital world, keeping your devices charged is crucial — but it isn’t always easy. Enter the Cuktech 30 Power Bank, a high-capacity portable charger that promises to keep your devices powered up no matter where you are. After my testing and research for this Cuktech 30 Power Bank review, I’ll let you know why you should buy it (or not).
Apple Pencil Pro is the best iPad stylus on the market, and a deal knocks a whopping $30 off the regular cost. For a limited time, you can get an Apple Pencil Pro from Amazon for just $99. That’s over 20% off.
Or consider a Apple Pencil (2nd generation) or Apple Pencil (USB-C), both with deals making them cost even less than the premium model than they usually do.
Ugreen hopes to make waves at CES 2025 with a lineup of cutting-edge products incorporating artificial intelligence and advanced connectivity — especially AI-powered NAS storage devices, the company said Sunday. But it also unveiled a shockingly powerful, 500-watt fast GaN charger and a Thunderbolt 5 dock.
Moving from a product lineup dominated by small chargers to a broader selection of tech wares, Ugreen unveils its latest products under the theme “Activate the Possibility of AI.”
As your Mac computer setup grows with newly added peripherals and capabilities, keeping it all connected and powered becomes a greater challenge. Enter multiport Thunderbolt 4 hubs. They offer high-speed data transfer, great options for high-resolution external displays and power for connected devices. Today’s featured MacBook Pro setup with dual displays and more takes great advantage of a cheap Thunderbolt 4 dock — the 13-port WavLink Thunderbolt 4 Docking Station. On sale currently, it goes for just $170.
A recently launched Kickstarter project aims to breathe fresh life into Apple’s discontinued Touch Bar concept, offering a more versatile and customizable solution for both Mac and Windows users. Flexbar, developed by Hong Kong startup Eniac Technology, reimagines the controversial MacBook Pro feature as a standalone accessory that promises to deliver on the Touch Bar’s original potential.
“The discontinuation of the original Touch Bar didn’t mean the concept was flawed — it simply wasn’t taken far enough to reach its full [potential],” the Eniac team said. “There’s something undeniable [about the idea]: the potential for a customizable, adaptive interface that could streamline workflows was immense. We decided to step in.”
Update: Eniac sent out a reminder Tuesday that Flexbar’s Kickstarter campaign ends Thursday (January 2, 2025), so time to participate is waning. You can still pledge to get one Flexbar for $179 $149, two for $358 $219 or three for $537 $299. And it appears the device will most likely go into regular production, as funding reached $284,612 by Tuesday, well over the campaign’s goal of $2,576.
It’s no longer possible to buy an iPhone 14 or iPhone SE 3 from Apple in the EU. And many of Apple’s older accessories also disappeared from the company’s shelves in the European Union, too.
It’s all a result of a EU law that, as of Saturday, banned the sale of handsets with proprietary charging ports. Apple was a primary focus of the legislation.
Designer Basic Apple Guy, known for nifty wallpapers for Mac, iPhone and iPad screens, dropped his annual Apple Product Tier List Monday. The Apple product rankings give letter grades to everything the iPhone giant released in 2024. He considers M4/M4 Pro Mac mini the best of the best, by the way.
“For the third year in a row, I am once again painting a target on my head and releasing my tier rankings of the products Apple released in the 2024 calendar year,” he wrote. Undoubtedly, not everyone will love his choices, particularly those he grades in the low D and F tiers, but he takes care to explain them.
Apple’s new Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad finally ditched the Lightning connector to become USB input devices Monday when they rolled out alongside color-matched versions for the new iMac, the first in this week’s M4 Mac announcements. The input devices, expected to ship October 31, are among the last of the iPhone giant’s accessories to make the change to USB-C.
Anker’s new Prime charger lineup includes high-end docking stations, power banks, wall chargers and more to support all charging scenarios.
“With the future of work evolving, we wanted the Anker Prime lineup to evolve with it,” said Shaun Xiong, general manager of Anker Charging, in a press release Wednesday. “When we first introduced the Anker Prime line of charging devices, we wanted to provide high-quality, multi-port charging devices. These new desktop charging stations this year take that experience to the next level with highly flexible designs that are more durable, provide additional functionality, and use durable materials for wfh people and at-home use.”
Edifier’s new QR65 Active Monitor Speakers pack 70 watts of power with hi-res audio certification, put on a light show and act as a fast gallium nitride (GaN) charger for your other gadgets, too.
And the value-oriented Chinese audio brand brings all that and more across for $369 per pair.
Connecting your Mac, iPad or iPhone to an HDMI monitor is easy as plugging the HyperDrive Next USB-C to HDMI 4K60Hz Cable into both devices.
The affordable adapter with a built-in 8-foot cable reached store shelves Tuesday.
Highly respected British audio brand KEF released an “LT” version of its stellar, versatile AirPlay-ready LSX II speaker line this week, keeping most key features but dropping the price by about $300 to $400.
That doesn’t make them budget speakers by any means, at $999, but nobody shops KEF for that.
You can replace the Lightning charging case for your AirPods Pro 2 with a USB-C one without also having to buy new wireless earbuds.
But the $99 price for the case is high enough to raise questions about the practicality of making the change.
The new Nexode 100W 20,000mAh Power Bank lets users fast-charge three devices at once on the go, the company said Tuesday.
And the portable charger’s 65W “rapid recharge” feature lets it fully power itself back up from an empty battery in just 2 hours.
Twelve South’s new 2-in-1 Butterfly MagSafe Charger folds into a tiny footprint, fast-charges MagSafe iPhones and Apple Watches, and can serve as a kickstand for your handset, as well.
The cool gadget, which you can get directly from Twelve South or Apple, looks like a winner and is priced as such, at a steep $129.95.
The ex-Apple and Beats folks behind the DSLR-like Opal C1 Webcam are back with a tiny new webcam claiming even better picture quality in an ultra-portable package for use with laptops and tablets — the Opal Tadpole.
And unlike the C1, which launched at $300 and dropped to $250, the Tadpole comes out of the gate at $175.
Apple put its new budget Apple Pencil with USB-C connectivity on sale Wednesday for all your sketching and note-taking needs. Just $79, it’s now available in 33 countries, including the United States.
That price saves you $50 compared to Apple Pencil 2, but it also buys you fewer features.
With the latest iPhones dropping the Lightning port in favor of USB-C, there was speculation (and hope) that Apple would release new versions of the Magic Mouse, Trackpad and Keyboard that also reject the Lightning port. Nope.
So charging these wireless devices still requires a Lightning cable.
Thunderbolt cables cost far more than standard USB-C ones, and a series of X-ray scans of various options reveals why. The virtual teardown shows that the Apple Thunderbolt 4 (USB‑C) Pro cable has far more features than one might expect for such a simple accessory. Cheaper ones are as bare-bones as could be expected.
The scans are both beautiful and informative.
Apple didn’t tinker with the USB-C port in the iPhone 15 series to disadvantage standard cables. Instead, the port handles charging and data transfers like any other USB-C port.
This throws cold water on suspicions that the new iPhones would require special MFi cables to get the maximum data or charging rates.
The new Ugreen Nexode 100W GaN Charging Station, rolled out Thursday, combines MagSafe charging for iPhone with GaN USB-C charging for other devices in a compact form factor, the company said.
I’ll have an in-depth review of the new charger, which Ugreen said is ideal for home and on-the-go use with the new iPhone 15 and other MagSafe iPhones, on Friday.
No, Apple didn’t change the Lightning connector on the iPhone 15 to make more money selling you new cables and dongles. It’s a common conspiracy theory that Apple switches the connector all the time for lining their pockets, but it doesn’t hold up to scrutiny.
First of all, Apple changes the connector very rarely; this is only the second occurrence in 16 years. Secondly, Apple is actually giving up money to make the switch happen. Not that there’s much money to be made selling Lightning cables, anyway. And all that aside, it’s out of Apple’s hands — USB-C is European Union law.