Lightning does seem like the smarter mechanical design. Less to break on the phone side. Smaller overall. It's a shame it didn't become the general usb standard but I guess that's apple keeping it proprietary?
Also less likely to break on the plug side because it's a solid block rather than an extruded shape. Apple is infamous for its flimsy cables, but they always broke at the start of the cable (right after the end of the solid plastic thing), they never broke at the connector level. USB-C breaks on the connector, the plug, and the start of the cable.
I'm not entirely sure why it happened… Maybe Apple thought that they could keep their own proprietary plug forever and that the EU was bluffing about forcing everyone to use USB-C? Or maybe they are happy like everyone to switch to a fragile connector type that will shorten the lifespan of iPhones.
I doubt they're happy about it. With its smaller receptacle dimensions they could make a thinner phone or use the saved volume for a bigger battery than competitors.
I wonder what the EU will do when they eventually drop connectors entirely in favor of wireless charging.
