Apple Lightning connector
Charging connector in Phones & tablets
People praise Lightning for its secure click, small reversible design, and durability compared with USB-C, though many note it was proprietary and wore out over time.
People praise Lightning for its secure click, small reversible design, and durability compared with USB-C, though many note it was proprietary and wore out over time.
35 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 19
- criticize it
- 16
- approval share
- 54%
Recommended in 9 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 19 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 1.1 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 9 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Secure, satisfying click when plugged in
“I’ve found Lightning to be a nice fit when plugged in (it’s got a nice “click”) and USB-C a bit flimsy and loose in comparison.”
Comment from 23 Dec 2025 in “iOS 26.3 brings AirPods-like pairing to third-party devices in EU under DMA” “Lightning is such a better connector and one of the main reasons I still haven't replaced my phone.”
Comment from 14 Jul 2026 in “I'm a USB-C Maximalist” “I love the Lightning connector, and think it feels better than USB-C.”
Comment from 3 May 2026 in “The USB Situation” - Comment from 10 Aug 2026 in “Run Android ARM64 VR APKs on Apple Vision Pro”
- Comment from 20 Apr 2026 in “All phones sold in the EU to have replaceable batteries from 2027”
Physically superior to USB-C
“The Lightning connector and its port are physically superior in every way.”
Comment from 21 Apr 2026 in “All phones sold in the EU to have replaceable batteries from 2027” “The Lighnting connector and its port are superior in every way”
Comment from 21 Apr 2026 in “All phones sold in the EU to have replaceable batteries from 2027” “Lightning is a superior physical design to USB-C”
Comment from 22 Apr 2026 in “Another Day Has Come” - Comment from 26 Nov 2025 in “The EU made Apple adopt new Wi-Fi standards, and now Android can support AirDrop”
- Comment from 27 Mar 2026 in “Apple Discontinues Mac Pro”
- Comment from 14 Mar 2026 in “Wired headphone sales are exploding. What's with the Bluetooth backlash?”
Small, reversible, less fragile than 30-pin
“everyone quickly loved having a reversible and small cable that was less fragile than 30pin”
Comment from 27 Nov 2025 in “The EU made Apple adopt new Wi-Fi standards, and now Android can support AirDrop” “The iPhone rocking a massively better connector half a decade earlier than the vast majority of the competition”
Comment from 27 Nov 2025 in “The EU made Apple adopt new Wi-Fi standards, and now Android can support AirDrop” Durable; connectors rarely break off
“I have 10+ year lightning connnectors working great”
Comment from 17 Jul 2026 in “An Engineer's Guide to USB Typе-С” “I've almost never had one break off.”
Comment from 14 Jul 2026 in “I'm a USB-C Maximalist”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Spring contacts wear out
“Putting spring on the connector part rather than socket part means the easily replaceable part has wear item.”
Comment from 30 Mar 2026 in “My MacBook Keyboard Is Broken and It's Insanely Expensive to Fix” “the Lightning connector itself has the spring-loaded contacts that wear out”
Comment from 20 Apr 2026 in “All phones sold in the EU to have replaceable batteries from 2027” Proprietary; Apple kept it closed
“Apple really fucked up by keeping the connector proprietary”
Comment from 20 Apr 2026 in “All phones sold in the EU to have replaceable batteries from 2027” “the Lightning connector has DRM in the fucking cable”
Comment from 22 Oct 2026 in “The No Kings Takedown Is Why You Shouldn't Rent Your Megaphone from Zuck”
What people said
36 of the 38 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“the Lightning connector has DRM in the fucking cable”
“it at least would've charged my phone reliably”
“Micro-USB sucked, so they made Lightning.”
“The tactile click is just miles better, to name just one example.”
“I have 10+ year lightning connnectors working great”
“I'm glad to not have Lightning anymore.”
“I've almost never had one break off.”
“Lightning is such a better connector and one of the main reasons I still haven't replaced my phone.”
“the lightning-connector alone has created me much more headache than Sony ever did”
“the vast majority of broken charging ports over the years have been Lightning”
“the lighting connector is better than USB in every way”
“the bad thing went away and it was great”
“lightning is more fragile as it has a single point of contact which can bend”
“I love the Lightning connector, and think it feels better than USB-C.”
“I've only ever had one single issue with it that required replacing a cable.”
“Lightning is a superior physical design to USB-C”
“the cables still failed at effectively five or six times the rate of the alternative”
“The Lighnting connector and its port are superior in every way”
“The Lightning connector and its port are physically superior in every way.”
“the Lightning connector itself has the spring-loaded contacts that wear out”
“Apple really fucked up by keeping the connector proprietary”
“mechanically Lightning was awesome. Great plug/port.”
“If lightning connector had less issues and the USB-C how could it the users fault for not being careful.”
“Putting spring on the connector part rather than socket part means the easily replaceable part has wear item.”
“Lightning connectors are great examples of that.”
“It was a terrible design and USB-C does not have it.”
“All things being equal, the lightening connector was technically superior to USB-C and arrived much earlier”
“the empirically better connector”
“they performed better than USB-C”
“I’ve found Lightning to be a nice fit when plugged in (it’s got a nice “click”) and USB-C a bit flimsy and loose in comparison.”
“everyone quickly loved having a reversible and small cable that was less fragile than 30pin”
“it could only do USB 2 speeds”
“Give me back my lightning charger.”
“The iPhone rocking a massively better connector half a decade earlier than the vast majority of the competition”
“even though lightning was way way better”
“Lightning was a superior technology to USB-C”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.