this post was submitted on 01 Feb 2024
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Apple’s Vision Pro battery pack is hiding the final boss of Lightning cables::The Vision Pro’s battery connector is removable once you press the eject button, and it uses a 12-pin connector that looks like a wider version of a Lightning cable.

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[–] etchinghillside@reddthat.com 91 points 9 months ago (4 children)

Im sure there’s a very legitimate reason why usbc wasn’t viable.

[–] Tangent5280@lemmy.world 67 points 9 months ago (1 children)
[–] HelloHotel@lemm.ee 5 points 9 months ago (1 children)

That, the law not applying to this specific thing, and durability. The suits chose due to the former amd the engineers the latter.

[–] abhibeckert@lemmy.world 12 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

The law does apply to "this specific thing".

The law is essentially that (most) battery charge cables must use USB-C, and Apple's headset does use a USB-C cable to charge the battery.

[–] erwan@lemmy.ml 15 points 9 months ago

I believe that's why they make it impossible to remove without a sim card tool, so they can argue that it's an internal connection that the user is not supposed to remove.

[–] AdamEatsAss@lemmy.world 23 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Probably whenever the project got started they weren't moving towards usb-c yet. Through the design iterations and redesigns it somehow stuck because it worked and no one at apple had a complaint.

[–] Kbobabob@lemmy.world 6 points 9 months ago

no one at apple had a complaint

Of cour$e they didn't. Don't want anyone el$e to be able to $ell acce$$tries.

[–] schmidtster@lemmy.world 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Could have been hard wired, but atleast this is replaceable.

[–] sir_reginald@lemmy.world 9 points 9 months ago (1 children)

yay, I'm glad I can buy a spare proprietary connector from Apple Inc™

[–] schmidtster@lemmy.world 0 points 9 months ago (2 children)

If it was hardwired you would need to buy a whole new kit…

And does anyone even know the tech specs to know if an existing cable is capable of providing the power the device needs?

[–] roofuskit@lemmy.world 1 points 9 months ago

USB C cables can provide more than enough if made properly. No way this device exceeds those specs.

[–] sir_reginald@lemmy.world 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

If it was hardwired you would need to buy a whole new kit…

Nah, Apple will gladly take your money for a replacement.

And I have no idea of the specs, but I've seen some truly power hungry laptops that charge with USB-C.

[–] schmidtster@lemmy.world 0 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

No… but you agree as well… what? A battery with an attached cable kit would cost vastly more than just a replaceable cable mate. Atleast Apple didn’t go that route, of course they want your money, they could have taken more by not having a replaceable cable at all…..

The pack charges with USB-c this cable goes from headset to battery pack and could provide more power or even data than what usb-c does. So atleast it’s replaceable instead of being hardwired and needing to buy a whole new kit to replace a damaged connecto/cable.

[–] Skelectus@suppo.fi 42 points 9 months ago

Honestly I appreciate Apple engineers' sense of humor here

[–] Petter1@lemm.ee 35 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Lol, if apple discontinues vision pro and your battery swells, you only have eWaste left

[–] Squizzy@lemmy.world 25 points 9 months ago

You likely have waste regardless

[–] XenGi@lemmy.chaos.berlin 19 points 9 months ago

Typical Apple move.

[–] kawa 21 points 9 months ago

Now, that's petty as fuck Mind you, they're part of the consortium that made USB-C a thing...

[–] Tristaniopsis@aussie.zone 19 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

It’s probably called a LIGHTNING cable.

[–] autotldr@lemmings.world 11 points 9 months ago (1 children)

This is the best summary I could come up with:


Ray Wong of Inverse discovered a hidden joy today: The Apple Vision Pro power cable connects to the battery with what may well be Lightning’s final form.

Using a SIM removal tool, he pushed into a small hole in the silver external battery pack of the Vision Pro next to the cable, and...

Out it popped, revealing what looks like a bigger, 12-pin version of the connector Apple’s iPhone moved away from last year.

Nilay Patel, Verge editor-in-chief and Vision Pro reviewer, gave it a shot, and what do you know?

Like a Palpatinian twist, somehow, Lightning returned, with all the hallmarks of Apple’s outgoing connector, just wider and with more pins.

Whether this was Apple intentionally propping up the crumbling walls of its garden or it’s just trolling everyone after the EU essentially forced it to switch the iPhone to USB-C, it’s a funny discovery:


The original article contains 228 words, the summary contains 146 words. Saved 36%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

[–] driving_crooner@lemmy.eco.br 38 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Like a Palpatinian twist, somehow, Lightning returned,

Lmao

[–] dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

And that's the joke we went with? Not the quip that was tailor made for exactly this situation?

Everyone's right, journalism is trash these days.

[–] Good_morning@lemmynsfw.com 4 points 9 months ago

Eh true, but they're attempting to write for a wider audience than just the jrpg enthusiasts.

[–] AbouBenAdhem@lemmy.world 9 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Is it just for power, or does it double as some kind of data cable?

[–] abhibeckert@lemmy.world 7 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

It has 24 pins. Power would be two or three pins.

24 is exactly the number you'd need to have a thunderbolt connection... which could be interesting, though I don't think Apple has said anything about it being used for that.

[–] DrinkMonkey@lemmy.ca 6 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Sorry friends. Here’s the Exalted form: