iPhone 5 lightning cable problems

There have been reports that the new cable for the iPhone 5, called Lightning, has been causing problems for some people. As this report describes, the USB end of the cable fits too tightly in some USB ports and it just locks in place, becoming very hard or impossible to remove.

It's not clear how widespread this problem is, but I've not had any problems with the iPhone 5 cable  and the USB socket on my new MacBook. However, I have noticed that the socket is very loose with some gadgets I use. Sometimes when plugging things in they aren't recognised and I have to remove them and plug them back in. I wonder whether Apple is using slightly bigger USB plugs and sockets? It shouldn't be because USB is a universal standard.

On a different, but related topic, is it always better when something is smaller, lighter and smoother? In some cases it is, but not always. A problem I have with my MacBook is that I find it very difficult to unplug from the mains socket. Different countries have different power sockets, so this may be a UK problem.

We use three-pin plugs that take quite a bit of force to insert and remove from sockets. The three-pin plug on the MacBook's power cable is smaller, lighter and smoother than most of the other plugs for electrical gadgets I use like TVs, toasters and so on. The small size and smooth shape makes it difficult to get a good enough grip on the plug to pull it out from the socket. I wouldn't mind so much if my house power sockets had on/off switches, but they don't. Unless you want something powered up 24/7 you have to pull the plug from the socket. It's really hard with the MacBook's power plug.

The iPhone 5 is even worse. I plugged it in to charge it up and when it was done I couldn't get the plug out of the power socket. I tried and gave up and left it. I came back later and tried again and after a couple of minutes of effort I managed to get it out. I nearly resorted to prising it out with a screwdriver. (Screwdrivers and power sockets don't play well together, so don't try this at home folks.)

It's a serious problem and there's no way I can use the iPhone 5 power plug as it is. Perhaps I could superglue something to the back of it to help pull it out, but I'm not sure it could withstand the force required. For the moment I can use the MacBook to charge the phone or my old iPad 2 power supply which is large, but easy to use. The iPhone 5's (UK) power plug looks great, but it certainly isn't practical.