USB-C on the iPad Pro: What it could mean for users

The rumors of the new iPad Pros keep swirling. Most recently we got a report from 9to5Mac saying that the new iPads would be broken, we would like to have a new Apple Pencil, , and replacing Lightning with USB-C.

Would this be the beginning of a transition away from Lightning? Or is it another way for Apple to reinforce that the iPad Pro is more like a computer and less like an iPhone? Moving the iPad Pro to USB-C is potentially a huge move-though it's also a whole lot of nothing. Let's take a look at the possibilities.

Worst case: New dongles for everyone

The worst transition I can imagine is one that's entirely symbolic. What if the iPad Pro has a USB-C connector, but support for external devices is largely unchanged from current models? The 9to5Mac report is the one that will be supported, namely 4K resolution video screens. (Current iPad models can not drive that wide displays.)

Apple

This is a nice feature if you want to use your iPad to display a 4K projector or show a 4K HDR video on a TV, but since it does not allow you to control your mobile application (it's only available for mirroring or as a key in the app like Keynote), it seems like a previous choice iOS accessories.

Now, for people with existing Mac laptops, the iPad Pro will gain compatibility. You've been presumably able to use the same charger for the MacBook Pro and MacBook Pro on the iPad Pro. If you've gone in for USB-C devices, these should also work on any USB-C iPad.

If you have not bought these adapters, though, buying a new iPad. (Gold, alternately, a new set of cables with USB-C on a USB connector on the other.)

Also, if a different rumor is true and these new iPads are also omitting a wired headphone jack, users will need to deal with a working headset.

Best case: New features for everyone

Looking for the bright side, perhaps adding USB-C to the iPad Pro will be accompanied by expanded USB devices in future versions of iOS. Right now iOS support for external devices is extremely limited when you compare it with the external devices that "real computers" like the Mac support.

Beyond support for 4K output, iOS could be upgraded to more sophisticated support for external displays. These could be touchscreens-so you could plug an iPad into a big screen and use it as an iPad-or regular screens with the addition of support for non-touch controls like trackpads and mice. That would be a huge leap for iOS today, but It looks like Apple's Mac and iOS to share apps.

Adam Patrick Murray / IDG

Then there's USB storage. Right now iOS's support for external storage is extremely limited. If you attach a memory card to an iPad or an iPhone using an adapter, you can see some very specific contents of that card-image files and videos. That's it, even though the Files app is an Apple-built file browser on every iOS device. You can run PowerPoint on an iPad, but if a co-worker hands you a flash drive with an updated presentation, you can not access it. That's unacceptable in a product with "pro" in the name, but the frustration will be magnified if it's a "pro" device with a standard USB port.

You may be surprised to know that there are other USB device types already supported in iOS via adapter. You can connect a USB microphone or audio mixer to an iPad via an adapter, but for some power-hungry devices, you'll need to plug the adapter into a power source. (Presumably an iPad Pro with USB-C would be more capable of supplying power to plugged-in devices, too.)

Onward, professional iPad

Apple has done a great job for the iPad, creating the low-cost iPad for general use while giving the iPad Pro the freedom to grow (literally) and adapting to a basic user's hungry to do more.

Adding USB-C to the iPad Pro may seem a little strange, but in the context of defining it as a work tool that's to do a lot of the same work that a laptop can do, it makes sense. (It makes a lot less sense on the iPhone, in my opinion.)

But Apple can not change the port and call it a day. If it's going to do this, it needs to make the effort on the software side, adding new features to iOS to allow iPads to work with USB devices just like they work with Macs and PCs.