A lot has been written about the iPhone 5; more than that can be justified from the features introduced. Very few people, though, have provided any insightful comments on the new Lightning adapter. So I’m going to speculate.
Why did apple feel the need to introduce the new adapter?
The stated explanation is that it enables the new lighter and slimmer hardware. This is arguable, but I find it hard to believe that Apple would make such a drastic change solely to produce the slimmer version. The cynical explanation is that the $29 adapter is pure, unadulterated revenue for APPLE Inc. , given the minimal cost of the hardware and even amortizing the R&D costs.
Both of the above explanations do not sit well with me and can only be considered as secondary benefits.
Speculation
An alternate explanation that occurs to me is that there is a new product in R&D phase that requires the much smaller, reversible connector. If the primary purpose was to make a smaller connector, then the reversibility aspect would not play and it would be more efficient to design a single sided connector. This means that reversibility is an integral part of the design.
What kind of a device would require a reversible connector ? A head-less device is one option.
Anyways – as I mentioned, more than is deserving has already been written about the new iPhone. ‘nuff said. literally.
EDIT: http://techcrunch.com/2012/09/16/nice-phone-apple-but-whats-the-deal-with-the-29-lightning-to-30-pin-adapter/
With micro USB compatibility, the scynical explanation is looking more likely.
Why did apple feel the need to introduce the new adapter?
The stated explanation is that it enables the new lighter and slimmer hardware. This is arguable, but I find it hard to believe that Apple would make such a drastic change solely to produce the slimmer version. The cynical explanation is that the $29 adapter is pure, unadulterated revenue for APPLE Inc. , given the minimal cost of the hardware and even amortizing the R&D costs.
Both of the above explanations do not sit well with me and can only be considered as secondary benefits.
Speculation
An alternate explanation that occurs to me is that there is a new product in R&D phase that requires the much smaller, reversible connector. If the primary purpose was to make a smaller connector, then the reversibility aspect would not play and it would be more efficient to design a single sided connector. This means that reversibility is an integral part of the design.
What kind of a device would require a reversible connector ? A head-less device is one option.
Anyways – as I mentioned, more than is deserving has already been written about the new iPhone. ‘nuff said. literally.
EDIT: http://techcrunch.com/2012/09/16/nice-phone-apple-but-whats-the-deal-with-the-29-lightning-to-30-pin-adapter/
With micro USB compatibility, the scynical explanation is looking more likely.
0 comments:
Post a Comment