Apple is not afraid to go against the grain. Its status as the world's most valuable and, arguably, the most influential company affords them to do that.
That being said, it has made its fair share of sometimes surprising hardware moves that have shaken up the industry. And, as time went on, the iPhone maker was somewhat proven right, as it set a new direction for other companies and the industry as a whole.
With all signs pointing to what is expected to be the iPhone 15 series having USB-C as its new port, we look at other moves Apple has made that have, to this day, built a lasting impression.
Floppy disk drive and serial ports, 1998
Remember the original iMac, or iMac G3, the candy-coloured PCs that were Apple's first major release after Steve Jobs' return to the company? The all-in-one machine looked so stylish and cool, and you thought they were the complete package – until you started using them.
That's when you'd find out that Apple decided not to include serial ports and, more importantly, floppy disk drives on this iMac, swapping them out for USB ports and CD-ROMs, respectively.
To be fair, floppy disks by this time were becoming obsolete, being usurped in popularity by Zip drives (which didn't exactly pan out), CDs and the emerging USB drives, which were speedier, more convenient and had capacities way beyond the 1.44MB floppy disks had to offer.
PC manufacturers still offered floppy disk drives well into the early 2000s as a standard component and as a back-up in case you needed to boot up your PC using the old-fashioned method.
Serial ports, meanwhile, were becoming more inconvenient – most of the time you had to screw and unscrew them – compared to the emerging USBs at the time, which you could use to just plug-and-play your peripherals.
CD/DVD drive, 2008
From one original to another, and one removal to another. A decade after touting CDs as the next big thing in peripherals, Apple decided to remove it from the original MacBook Air in 2008.
This was an obvious choice to make, considering that Apple was positioning the MacBook Air as the thinnest laptop in the market; a CD-ROM drive made portable PCs thicker.
3.5mm audio port, 2016
The previous moves caused some varying degrees of reactions from users, but none would compare to what followed next.
Probably the most controversial of them all, Apple decided to kill off the 3.5mm headphone jack port in 2016’s iPhone 7. That rendered headsets and headphones using the beloved and long-standing audio port obsolete, at least to Apple.
Noteworthy, however, was the fact that Apple made this move at the same time it launched the original AirPods, as the company began to push its wireless audio technology.
But as with Apple's status as the one that takes the lead, the competition soon followed suit, most notably Samsung, which initially mocked the move before also removing the headphone jack – quietly – from the Galaxy Note 10 in 2019.
Fun fact: Apple wasn’t the first modern smartphone brand to kill the headphone jack; that honour belongs to the Oppo Finder, released a full four years ahead in 2012.
Lightning port, 2023
At the time of this writing, it isn't official yet, but all signs point to Apple swapping out its own Lightning port for the more versatile and commonly-used USB-C.
Apple began using USB-C ports on its MacBooks in 2015 and has gradually integrated the technology, not only within its MacBook line-up but also to the rest of its portfolio.
Rumblings of another major hardware change at Apple began in 2018 when the company decided to, for the first time, use a USB-C port in that year's iteration of the iPad Pro.
Since then, talk of iPhones switching to USB-C gained steam – and only gathered further momentum when the EU started pushing for a common charger for technology devices in September 2021, which was eventually approved by the EU Parliament in October 2022.
Apple is known to be overly protective of its proprietary technology, but it would not want to risk legal complications, particularly with the EU, as well as disruption in its supply chains and customer base.
What can we expect next – a port-less iPhone? That's not a far-fetched possibility.
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
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Despacito's dominance in numbers
Released: 2017
Peak chart position: No.1 in more than 47 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Lebanon
Views: 5.3 billion on YouTube
Sales: With 10 million downloads in the US, Despacito became the first Latin single to receive Diamond sales certification
Streams: 1.3 billion combined audio and video by the end of 2017, making it the biggest digital hit of the year.
Awards: 17, including Record of the Year at last year’s prestigious Latin Grammy Awards, as well as five Billboard Music Awards
TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
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What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
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Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
THE DEALS
Hamilton $60m x 2 = $120m
Vettel $45m x 2 = $90m
Ricciardo $35m x 2 = $70m
Verstappen $55m x 3 = $165m
Leclerc $20m x 2 = $40m
TOTAL $485m
Best Foreign Language Film nominees
Capernaum (Lebanon)
Cold War (Poland)
Never Look Away (Germany)
Roma (Mexico)
Shoplifters (Japan)
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
