Monday, July 2, 2012

B.ll Sh.t Apple Predictions: iPhone 5 With USB 3


with the excitement of the upcoming 6th generation iPhone (5), there's been a lot of talk about what's going to look like, what CPU it's going to run with, form factor, 16:9 display, and whether or not it's going to feature Thunderbolt connectivity. i have no doubt that Apple will release an impressive next gen iPhone, but aside from my obsessiveness over storage, the one thing i'm hoping from the next iPhone is USB3 connectivity and not Thunderbolt - which i think will happen for the following reasons.


for starters new Macs going forward will include USB3. this is my first and only clue that the next iPhone will have USB3. there's gotta be a reason why Apple is now featuring this. aside from the fact that USB3 is a much faster and ideal protocol for media/content creators, user can continue using the legacy USB2 peripherals such as external HD, flash drives, or even older iPhone/iPod models making the connection truly universal. and if the next gen iPhone features USB3, it can be made to be backwards compatible with USB2 sources like older MacBooks, PCs, and audio systems that feature iPhone/iPod control.

a connectivity scheme that's rated at 5Gbps (640MB) provides plenty of bandwidth for transferring high resolution photos and 1080p videos. there's nothing like spending the day taking photos & videos of family, friends, scenery - whatever - coming home, plugging you iPhone to you computer of choice and having to wait for all that content to move off your phone and onto iPhoto or Picasa. it's tolerable with my 3GS, but then all i'm dealing with is 3MP pics, and 640p videos. i couldn't imagine what it would be like to have to sit there and wait for 8MP pics & 1080p videos over USB2 (or 30MB/s). it must be painfully slow by today’s expectations. so with USB3 we're talking about a substantial increase in data transfer that might give the impression of complete satisfaction that something is moving fast. i don't think or believe that the iPhone 5 equipped with USB3 will actually hit rates of 5Gbps - i'd be impressed if the iPhone can manage 1Gbps - but it will be fast enough that users will be impressed.

i don't buy into the idea that Apple would use Thunderbolt as the connectivity of choice because it's too new a tech to use. plus it'll mean users with older Macs (pre-2011) or PC's will be left out. consider my situation: i don't own a Thunderbolt equipped Mac Mini. my HP Pavilion G6 laptop is equipped with USB2 ports. if Apple wants me to update to their next iPhone, should i have to wait until i buy a new Mac first? here's another: i am on the verge of buying a new after-market car radio by Kenwood which features iPhone/iPod controls over USB connection. if i upgrade to the new iPhone with Thunderbolt, it may not play nice with my Kenwood deck. the only way this could work is if Apple included into Thunderbolt some USB compatibility via an adapter. that doesn't make sense to me, because it will require users to invest in one which could be pricey. just the cost of a Thunderbolt to Ethernet adapter is $29 increasing the overall MacBook Pro cost of ownership.  oh! and one other situation.  i don't want to buy another car charger.  i've got too many of these already.

an I/O chip within the iPhone that can handle both Thunderbolt and USB3 sound too expensive and complicated for Apple's taste. besides, what's the point? practically speaking, if you can't hit, or even come close to the theoretical data rates of 5Gbps in USB3 with the next iPhone, it seems like wasted technology with Thunderbolt's 10Gbps. so what would/could the advantage of bringing Thunderbolt to the iPhone? unless Apples has some special, "magical" purpose for including Thunderbolt (other than transferring data to and from the iPhone) we won't know until October.

USB3 is a protocol Intel invented, and desires to continue promoting it despite co-developing Thunderbolt with Apple. i can only imagine that Intel paid a great deal amount of time, energy, effort, emotion and money into the R&D for USB3. this is something they don't want to brush away anytime soon. especially now that so many venders are just now embracing their technology into their desktop and laptop offerings along with peripheral makers such external hard drive venders. and though iPhone is none of Intel's business i'm sure they have some persuasions over it just as i'm sure they did with the latest MacBook models.

wireless syncing may be just fine when it comes to syncing contacts, music playlists, browser bookmarks. but when it comes to backups, or syncing a substantial collection of photo files and HD videos, i seriously doubt that a user is going to sit there and wait to transfer their content from their iPhone to their desktop/laptop over wi-fi. ;i suspect this is why Apple continued to provide USB connectivity on the latest iPhone (4S). hard-wiring the next iPhone via USB to a desktop/laptop provides the fastest and most secure way to back up, sync, transfer content to and from the iPhone.

so there it is; my reasons for believing why the next iPhone will have USB3. of course what the h.ll do i know. Apple is just full of surprises.


peace,
@riel

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