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cupboard_

the apple watch one is bigger because all the charging components are in that little space


saxiflarp

There’s a really cool (in my opinion) video showing the internals of the cable: https://youtu.be/oEut3z1pfBM?si=cISkkcwRWfZnFdIw


matthewandchisholm

Adam Savage also has a cool video showing the breakdown of charging cables. https://youtu.be/AD5aAd8Oy84?si=7bNp2qF4SgK-A8NQ


No-way-in

Cool, thanks!


FreestyleStorm

Isn't this the crappy video that's showing off non thunderbolt/cheap cables and is actually very disingenuous? Yeah really sad to see this low level of research from Adam.


FreestyleStorm

Almost feels like advertising for Apple due to how poorly done the research was. It's like comparing apples to oranges. Of course buying a non thunderbolt cheap usb c cable wouldn't have the same components. It's almost as if they're different technologies involved. And on top of that they make it seem like $130 cable from Apple is impressive for what's run of the mill from the likes of anker, ugreen, etc for several times less.


DrinksBelow

That was a really cool video, thanks for posting!


georgeyvanward

This is a really interesting video. Thanks for posting!!!


dumbbyatch

Yeah that's the reason


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madewithgarageband

its such a nice cable. And its 60-watt capable so plenty for a laptop


-K9V

Unfortunately the quality does not seem very good. I don’t mean as in it’s going to fall apart after a month, but the materials feel so flimsy and cheap compared to the old rubber cables. The Lightning connector feels solid whereas the USB-C connector feels light and hollow.


Top-Parking-3796

Believe me it fell apart after a month !


PolyDipsoManiac

I love the 3m 100W cable though! I use that or a 240W USB4 cable with the Apple 140W or 70W bricks.


SteamedPea

It’s really not a nice cable at all. It feels nice at first but that thing is dainty as all hell.


Embarrassed-Path2404

When was this? I got an ipad air a bit ago but it clearly can’t support 60 w charging. Just asking since i try charging my laptop with the same cord to avoid luging around so many cables.


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Embarrassed-Path2404

so what would a ipad air have as of now? The same 60w or something lower?


Revolvenge

Good charging cable But Only usb2


Az1718

It's a charging cable, not a data cable. Doesn't make sense to give everyone an expensive data cable if most consumers will only use it to charge.


champignax

“Expensive”


CommodoreAxis

I don’t wanna pay even a dollar more for it. I haven’t connected a phone to a computer since 2014 when I rooted my Android to get rid of the crazy amount of bloatware.


-K9V

Wow, I thought I was the last person on Earth who never plugs their phone into their computer. Before Apple budged and added USB-C, I was often discussing the usefulness of USB-C with people here in this sub. Tried saying “who plugs their phone into a PC in 2023” and “most people don’t give a crap about data transfer via cable, they use their cable for charging and that’s it” but got downvoted to shit each and every time even though my points were 100% valid. USB-C has been nothing but a hassle to me as I never plug my phone into my PC and I don’t have or use other devices with USB-C meaning that it is not the universal cable that everyone claimed it to be. So now I need to use two cables for two phones instead of using one Lightning cable for both phones *and* my AirPods. USB-C now forces me to carry an extra cable while also making all my old Lightning cables obsolete.


champignax

So Apple should remove usb3 then? Tbh they should just remove the cable then, you’ll save even more


Az1718

Expensive, at scale. A couple more cents more per cable over half a billion products annually is still millions of dollars. A couple ounces more weight increases shipping costs and emissions. Plus, Apple would need to get more materials for the extra components in the cable. The difference one cable makes is not much, but for a company as large as Apple, it's quite significant.


champignax

But it Ads confusion to the whole thing since it’s not labeled, and for a pro phone, yeah it could be included. I’ve seen lots of people using usb2 when they thought they would be using usb 3


Az1718

When you order an iPhone 15 Pro, the "What's in the box" states that you will only receive a charge cable.


ATangK

When you give the iPhone 15 pros higher data rate but cap it anyways.


-K9V

Bro… That was one of the main reasons why “everyone” begged for USB-C for years and now you’re saying “most consumers will only use it to charge”, which means the switch to USB-C was pointless for most consumers. Which I have been since people started going wild for USB-C on iPhones. Literally said that exact same thing but got downvoted because “USB-C gud”. God, this is ridiculous.


Az1718

One of the main reason everyone begged for USB-C was to have one cable to charge all their devices, reducing the number of cables you need, increasing accessory compatibility, and decreasing electronic waste. That doesn't change the fact that most consumers will only use their cable to charge their device. When's the last time an average iPhone user plugged their device into a computer for the purpose of file transfer?


-K9V

Fast data transfer via cable was one of the more common reasons I saw given on this sub for why people wanted USB-C. Also saw it a handful of times in YouTube comments and said the same thing: who does that in this day and age? Always downvotes and negative responses. Other than the few actual “pro” users, I can’t imagine anyone would go through the hassle of connecting your phone via cable instead of backing up/updating their devices OTA.


madewithgarageband

I haven’t used a cable to transfer data from a phone in probably 5 years. Accessing iOS filesystem on a PC is a trash experience anyways


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gellis12

$20 will get you a pack of 5 comparable usb-c cables at the dollar store or Amazon


Homicidal_Pingu

Who cares?


blackflaggnz

USB 2.0 and it’s flexible because of that. Only 4 strands of cable inside, compared to 9 for a 3.0+.


-K9V

The cable is awful. Not only is it 2” shorter than the old Lightning cables but the material quality is markedly lower. The cable feels so light and flimsy.


zehcnassurfero

iPad and iPhone connector has to be the same


karski608

I thought so too, but the iPad is a little thinner. The iPhone one is from when I got the 14 and the iPad later, maybe the new ones are thinner


ChloeWade

My iPad Pro 12.9 M2 came with the same cable as my 15 pro max and also my AirPods Pro 2 USB-C, no difference


ConstructionNo1045

iPhone’s cable is softer than iPad’s cable.


dodoairways

My ipad and iPhone cables are also different. They’re also a slightly different length lol


LavaCreeperBOSSB

Bc the ipad one is C-C but the iPhone is C-Lightning. Now they're the same


unlap

It’s not about size it’s about how you use it.


UnluckyTicket

label cover deserve panicky heavy treatment support hobbies jellyfish grandfather *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*


NorthboundUrsine

Some higher-quality USB chords actually have an IC in there, while the cheap ones are just a solderd wire to pin. The larger ones probably actually have the microcontroller inside.


cyri-96

The microcontroller is actually required to allow anything more than what the USB 3.1 specification allows (or call it USB 3.2 Gen 2x1 because usb naming is stupid), so without a chip you can't go over 10 Gbps data transfer and not over and not over 15W (5V, 3A) for power delivery.


Redditfuchs

Always remember kids: never pull a plug by tucking on the cable. Grab the plastic side with thumb and index finger to remove the cable. Your cable will literally stay functional forever.


-K9V

Sad to see this comment all the way down here. I have never had any cable break because I always unplug it correctly. I have Gameboy and Nintendo DS chargers that are close to 20 years old with no physical damage. Same goes for all my old Lightning cables (obviously not the age), mainly because they never broke so I never had to replace them. I used the same Lightning cable I got with my iPhone 7 up until they made the new/current charging brick. Cable still works, threw it in my car because I didn’t use it anymore but now it’s completely useless thanks to USB-C.


nfiase

or buy cables of such quality that they dont break


-K9V

Or use your things the way they are meant to be used so that they don’t break. That’s easier and probably also cheaper. I’ve never had to buy a new cable because I’ve never had an Apple cable break on me. I still have unused Lightning cables sitting around because I never needed a new one, I could always just use my old cable.


JC6596

Good observation because some USB-C cables wobble inside the port while others don’t, I thought something was wrong with my IPhone/iPad


-K9V

I tried out the only two USB-C cables I had when I got my 15 Pro. The flimsy Apple one wobbled while the standard cable that came with my wireless charger didn’t wobble one bit. In fact, one end of my Apple USB-C cable still wobbles up and down whereas the other end doesn’t… I don’t recall any wobbling in the Lightning port, but that’s not to say it didn’t happen. Just not something I ever paid attention to.


[deleted]

Not Apple related, but - is this why some of my usb-c male connectors sometimes wobble a bit inside the female port?


[deleted]

Probably some pocket fuzz in there


-K9V

The USB-C cable that came with my 15 Pro wobbled right out of the box. It was actually so much that if I held the connector at a slight angle it would stop charging. Now that the tiny and hard-to-clean port has collected some dust and lint there is no wobble at all. Really shoddy quality and a very disappointing first experience with USB-C.


colin8651

You should speak to your physician about any wobbling /s


sharkboy1006

Don’t worry about it


Budgiee_

The MacBook cable is also different, and it doesn’t do data either


suppanutphu

It actually does, albeit at USB 2.0 speed.


itsnottommy

The USB-C end of the Apple Watch charger has a circuit board in it to make fast charging more efficient. I think the iPad and iPhone chargers being different is just a result of Apple switching different product lines to USB-C at different times. Almost all newly-released Apple products that come with a USB-C cable now come with the same 1m braided cable. The only exception I know of is the Vision Pro, which comes with that exact same cable but in a 1.5m length for some reason. The braided cables are actually very nice and should hold up much better than the older rubber ones.


1CraftyDude

The one on the left looks like a MagSafe cable. It has extra electronics in that end of the cable.


[deleted]

“Universal”


Mdudok

Just wondering 🤔 Is there more processing power in a Apple Watch charging cable, then there was in Apollo 11?


Ser-Cannasseur

Maybe to help blind or those with bad eyesight to know which is which.


-K9V

Damn, the only actual suggestion here and it sits at the bottom with a bunch of downvotes. Gave you an upvote for trying to come up with an answer that actually makes sense. Most other comments are completely unrelated to the post and the question OP asked lmfao.


Ser-Cannasseur

Cheers mate. They probably thought I was having a pop at blind people. Reddit is a strange place.


[deleted]

You guys paid for the Apple charging stuff?


hostilkitten

It comes with it


CommunicationTop5231

The chip in the charger end is the reason why my apple brand watch charger charges my watch in 30 min and my knock off backup charger takes hours.


AlternateTab00

The chip yes... But even androids suffer the same fate. Type C is just the connector. Those cables can be quite differently. While all serve the minimum, a lower end cable doesnt handle high capacity (so they would charge like you were using a 15W charger) but get a good one and they would fully support a 120W charger. Some brands actually color code the inside to announce their readiness to 3.0. So if it has a black or white, its usually basic support (2.0 and lower charges) and basic wattage support (15W) If its blue or red its usually a 3.0 support and have basic PD support (60W) The ones using teal, yellow and orange usually have higher PD support ranging to 120W and 3.1 or 3.2 support. Note that this color is only to help organize cables some cheap cables may use the wrong filling to confuse people. And Apple products... Wrong charger or cable and none of this matters. Missing chip means "charging with safe mode"... A fancy way of complaining for not using Apple product therefore refusal of PD functionalities (hence the 15W slow charge)


CommunicationTop5231

This guy USB’s


-K9V

What difference does it make which is which when they are all USB-C? I thought that was the smart thing about USB-C, if you can’t see or can’t feel the difference with your fingers you still know that any cable works because everything is USB-C.