It's official: R.I.P. the good ol' Lightning port

December 08, 2022

The end of the Lightning port is nigh -- officially!

The European Parliament has mandated that as of 2025, any new iPhone sold in Europe must come with a USB-C charging port.

First introduced in 2012 on the iPhone 5, the Lightning port was a welcome upgrade to Apple's bulky old 30-pin connector.

Lightning was smaller, faster and could be inserted face-up or down.

But it's been superseded by USB-C -- the one port to rule them all -- which is slightly bigger, faster and also can be inserted face-up or down. But most importantly, USB-C has become nearly universal.

So pour one out for Lightning. It's had a great run.

-- Leander Kahney, EIC.

The European Parliament picked December 28, 2024, as the date after which iPhone and all other handsets sold in the EU must have a USB-C port. That means the iPhone 17 in 2025 will definitely not include a Lightning port. But unconfirmed reports say Apple will make the change earlier than that.

Apple completely abandoned its previously announced plan to scan iCloud Photos libraries for child sexual abuse material. The company will not go through users’ pictures on its cloud-storage servers looking for CSAM images. Instead, Apple is going the opposite direction by enabling users to encrypt pictures stored in iCloud Photos.

Shopping for an iPad can be overwhelming. Apple sells five models, in a wide range of sizes and capabilities. Here’s some straightforward advice on picking the right iPad for you.

‘Tis the season for outstanding and affordable accessories for your Apple products, and Momax is playing Santa Claus. The company offers 10 great products for travelers, work-from-home toilers and Apple power users alike. In addition to discounts available on Amazon, you can take another 15% off with the special coupon code CULTXMAS2022. Happy holidays!

Apple and its employees have raised more than $880 million in charitable giving for nearly 44,000 groups all over the world since the Employee Giving program started 11 years ago.

Apple could be working on a MacBook far larger than the current 16-inch model – a 20.25-inch one is supposedly in development. But don’t picture a standard laptop, as this will supposedly use a folding display. Such a large screen would make the macOS notebook a productivity powerhouse.

Your iMac, MacBook and iPad can easily share the Zagg Pro Mouse. With the press of a button, the rugged Bluetooth mouse switches between multiple computers. As a bonus, the accessory supports wireless charging. I tested it in my multicomputer office for a couple of weeks. Here’s what it’s like to use every day.

Satechi’s latest power bank wirelessly juices up an iPhone while also serving as an adjustable mobile stand. The Duo Wireless Charger Power Stand can power the handset while its showing a film or just displaying incoming messages. Plus, the 10,000 mAh battery wirelessly charges AirPods, too.

Are your Apple accessories and cables becoming a messy hassle, especially when you travel? Mujjo, known for its vegan leather products, unveiled a new collection of eco-friendly nylon tech organizers Thursday.

On December 8, 1975, Paul Terrell opened the Byte Shop, one of the world's first computer stores -- and the first to sell an Apple computer. Terrell has sometimes been described as the “fourth Apple founder." Herre's the inside story.

Tweetz o' the day

One more thing ...

"Dr. Edwin Land was a troublemaker. He dropped out of Harvard and founded Polaroid. Not only was he one of the great inventors of our time but, more important, he saw the intersection of art and science and business and built an organization to reflect that. Polaroid did that for some years, but eventually Dr. Land, one of those brilliant troublemakers, was asked to leave his own company, which is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard of... The man is a national treasure. I don't understand why people like that can't be held up as models. This is the most incredible thing to be: not an astronaut, not a football player, but this." -- Steve Jobs, Playboy interview, 1985.

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