Apple unveiled the iPhone 5 10 years ago, which, unlike the previous generations, did not have a 30-pin connector and went to the market with a Lightning port. Thanks to the use of this port, users could insert it into the phone port regardless of the correct direction of the cable. While before Lightning, there was only one correct direction for other ports.
But this port, which was considered an attractive innovation once upon a time, has now raised the voice of many users and these people want the iPhone to migrate to USB-C. But in general, Apple is one of the companies that is in no hurry to use new technologies. In the following, we discuss 6 technologies that Apple has started using later than its competitors.
USB-C; 8 years
This feature has not been implemented yet, but due to the new EU rules, Apple has no choice but to use the USB-C port for the 2023 iPhones. Of course, this law will come into effect in mid-2024, but analysts believe that Apple will not take risks in this field and will use the USB-C port for the iPhone 15 series from 2023.
Along with the European Union, the United States and Brazil are also looking to pass new laws to mandate the use of USB-C ports for all phones. The first Android phone equipped with this port went to the market in 2015, and this means that next year Apple will join this stream 8 years later than its competitors.
It should be noted that 5 years ago, the iPad Pro was released with a USB-C port, and despite the continuation of this trend for other iPad models, the company strongly resists abandoning the Lightning port. In the meantime, we should also mention the 12-inch MacBook, which was released in 2015 with a USB-C port.
sensor pixel combination technology; 4 years
After years of using a 12-megapixel main camera for different models, this year Apple has released iPhone 14 Pro models with a camera sensor based on pixel combining technology.
For many years, the Nokia 808 was the record holder for the highest resolution mobile camera with a 41 megapixel camera. In 2018, Huawei unveiled the P20 and Mate 20 phones with 40 megapixel cameras and came close to this record. Finally, in late 2018, Huawei and Honor introduced the first phones with 48MP cameras.
One of the most important features of the Huawei P20 Pro camera was its use of pixel combining technology, which, in addition to improving photo quality in low-light environments, provided benefits such as the ability to record HDR photos without the need to combine several different photos. It should be noted that the sensor of the Nokia 808 camera was very large in addition to its high resolution. The sensor of this phone was so big that now the sensors of iPhone 14 Pro models are considered to be almost the same size.
5G Internet; 1.5 years
iPhone 11 series phones were released with 4G model in 2019 and finally Apple switched to 5G modem for iPhone 12 series. The main reason for this delay has nothing to do with Apple’s stubbornness to use new technologies. Rather, this issue goes back to the conflicts between Apple and Qualcomm and Intel’s failure in this field. Finally, after Intel admitted failure in the field of making 5G modems, Apple and Qualcomm put aside legal conflicts and signed a cooperation agreement again.
At that time, there were rumors about the iPhone using Samsung, Mediatek and even Huawei modems, but these rumors did not turn into reality. After the failure of Intel, Apple decided to enter this field personally, and therefore in 2019, it acquired the mobile modem division of this company by paying 1 billion dollars. Some analysts believed that Apple will start using dedicated modems in 2023, but apparently the company has faced many challenges over modem patents.
Galaxy S10 5G is considered the first phone based on this technology that was released in 2019. Therefore, in general, Apple started using this feature 18 months later than its long-time rival.
always-on display; 6 years (minimum)
In 2019, Apple introduced an always-on display for the Apple Watch 5 using LTPO panels. But after years of waiting, this feature has finally made its way to iPhone 14 Pro models.
Years ago, when most Android phones used LCD screens, these phones could somehow simulate the always-on display feature. But apart from these phones, in 2016, phones like the Galaxy S7 and LG G5 were launched on the market as the first phones based on always-on display technology. At the time, enabling this feature put a lot of strain on the battery, but in recent years, the power consumption of this feature has improved significantly.
wireless charging; 8 years
Like the always-on display, the wireless charging feature also made its way to the Apple Watch. In fact, the first generation Apple Watch in 2014 also uses this feature. Palm Pre is the first phone equipped with this feature, which was released in 2009. For a few years, apart from this phone and the next generations, no other phone will use this feature.
But finally, in 2012, phones like Nokia 920 and Nexus 4 reached the hands of users using wireless charging. At first, phones used two different standards for wireless charging, but finally different companies agreed on using the Qi standard.
In 2017, Apple unveiled iPhone X and iPhone 8, and these phones benefited from wireless charging