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Adrian Kingsley-Hughes
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It makes no sense for the iPad 2 to have a Light Peak port

By | February 21, 2011, 7:36am PST

Summary: I usually don’t comment on wild Apple rumors, but this one is so crazy that it deserves hitting with a spiky bat.

I usually don’t comment on wild Apple rumors, but this one is so crazy that it deserves hitting with a spiky bat.

Which rumor am I talking about? It’s the “iPad 2 will have Light Peak” nonsense.

Why is it nonsense? Well, ask yourself this - what are iPad 2 owners going to connect to this said Light Peak port? All that exists of Light Peak so far are prototypes that use hybrid USB 3.0 connectors. No current hardware ships with Light Peak support, so why would Apple stick a separate port (on the top of the iPad 2!!!) for something that just won’t see any usage? Not only would this port be redundant on a device that will ship this April, but one that’s also in a totally illogical, awkward, and ugly spot.

It makes so little sense for the iPad 2 to have a Light Peak port that I’m surprised at MacRumors even running the story. Perhaps it was a slow news day?

Equally, a Mini DisplayPort doesn’t make much sense either. Why would Apple stick a port for this when AirPlay does the job?

[UPDATE: I agree with Cult of Mac - it's most likely a SIM card slot. A regular old boring SIM card slot.]

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Apple iPad, Apple Inc., Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes is an internationally published technology author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology.

Disclosure

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

All opinions expressed on Hardware 2.0 are those of Adrian Kingsley-Hughes. Every effort is made to ensure that the information posted is accurate. If you have any comments, queries or corrections, please contact Adrian via the email link here. Any possible conflicts of interest will be posted below. [Updated: February 23, 2010] - Adrian Kingsley-Hughes has no business relationships, affiliations, investments, or other actual/potential conflicts of interest relating to the content posted so far on this blog.

Biography

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes is an internationally published technology author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology -- whether that be by learning to program, building a PC from a pile of parts, or helping them get the most from their new MP3 player or digital camera.

Adrian has authored/co-authored technical books on a variety of topics, ranging from programming to building and maintaining PCs. His most recent books include "Build the Ultimate Custom PC", "Beginning Programming" and "The PC Doctor's Fix It Yourself Guide". He has also written training manuals that have been used by a number of Fortune 500 companies.

Adrian also runs a popular blog under the name The PC Doctor, where he covers a range of computer-related topics -- from security to repairing and upgrading.

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RE: It makes no sense for the iPad 2 to have a Light Peak port
gladlock 23rd Feb 2011
@denisrs Even if Apple goes to the cloud you're still going to have the ability to sync you iOS device to your computer via a wired method. Who wants to initially sync your new iOS device with 30GB of music via 3G? Leakpeak or "Thunderbolt" will make syncing your iOS device a breeze. Apple will eventually get rid of the Dock Connector to USB Cable and replace it with Leakpeak.
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RE: It makes no sense for the iPad 2 to have a Light Peak port
gladlock 21st Feb 2011
I think it makes perfect sense to have the iPad 2 to have light peak but it?s all dependent on the new MBPs. If in fact the new Mac Book Pros that are rumored to be released Thursday do include light peak then it only makes sense for Apple to start releasing peripherals (aka iPad 2 in the coming weeks) as soon as possible that can utilize the new technology.
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Shocker: it makes no sense to see sence in nearly **all** Apple rumours
DeRSSS 21st Feb 2011
@gladlock: Apple goes to the cloud with iOS devices, so do not expect LP there.
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RE: It makes no sense for the iPad 2 to have a Light Peak port
gladlock 23rd Feb 2011
@denisrs Even if Apple goes to the cloud you're still going to have the ability to sync you iOS device to your computer via a wired method. Who wants to initially sync your new iOS device with 30GB of music via 3G? Leakpeak or "Thunderbolt" will make syncing your iOS device a breeze. Apple will eventually get rid of the Dock Connector to USB Cable and replace it with Leakpeak.
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Potentially makes sense
oncall 21st Feb 2011
If Apple is indeed going to put Light Peak ports on it's new laptops and desktops then they really need to go "all in" and put it on the iPad and any other device they can shoe-horn one into. If you're going to use them at all you have to supply a reason to use them and what better reason than slashing iPad sync times. Why would any accessory device maker embrace this new tech if Apple isn't willing to?
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It's a 2nd speaker
deBrice 21st Feb 2011
Why ? Because if you set it in landscape to watch a movie you get stereo sound happy
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MacBook Pro rumored to have Light Peak
nucrash 21st Feb 2011
Just FYI for those who are curious.

Also MacBook Pro stated to be shipped and officially launched of Febuary 24th. That would be technology which would work with a light peak connector on the IP that would be due out in April.

Let's just cross our fingers on this one.
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Great..
Tigertank 21st Feb 2011
Another port on an Apple mobile device with a water sensor to catch that errant bead of spit that will void the warranty.
Considering how easy it is to set it off I would keep it with as few openings as possible. wink
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RE: It makes no sense for the iPad 2 to have a Light Peak port
deBrice 21st Feb 2011
@Tigertank
ah ah ah !
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RE: It makes no sense for the iPad 2 to have a Light Peak port
james347 21st Feb 2011
Yes it does.
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Time for Adrian to learn about lightpeak...
i8thecat Updated - 21st Feb 2011
Go read up on lightpeak adrian... No device, other than a hub, needs to be built for it... Lightpeak will go backwards compatible for almost anydevice that can plug into the hub. Video, network, usb, ps2, etc. So the mouse, keyboard, and monitor you are currently using should be able to plug into the hub and play. That's what lightpeak is all about. One port to rule them all (at once). And from my understanding, the port should look just like a normal USB port and function as both a lightpeak and USB port (if you were only plugging in a single usb device and didn't have a lightpeak hub).

Still think a lightpeak port is useless on an iPad2??? It would allow for any printer to be connected, any keyboard, camera, usb drive, etc... A lightpeak port makes perfect sense.

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