Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

EU Passes Law to Switch iPhone to USB-C by End of 2024

macrumors.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 1001 posts

Re: EU Passes Law to Switch iPhone to USB-C by End of 2024

#11

Post by moring »

mensetmanusman wrote: post #6

I hope they ban the 90% of sold usb-c looking cables that aren’t actually usb-c compliant. Someone needs to build a simple device you connect a cable to that stress tests it and shows a green or red light.

Did the current cable used by the iPhone have this problem too? If not, isn't this changing it to the worse?

edit to clarify: ... because while Apple might still include a working cable, but if you grab one of the 10 cables out of your cable box, you don't know if it will actually work.

Re: EU Passes Law to Switch iPhone to USB-C by End of 2024

#12

Post by captainmuon »

Good decision, but bizarrely only after USB-C was established on almost every phone, except iPhones.

I hope this has an expiration date, or they have a provision for easily updating the law when somebody develops a better standard. Otherwise this could mean we would be stuck with USB-C forever.

(As a developer, writing "USB-C" in a law this seems to me like hardcoding a magic string in source code. Often, it is better to have your data separate from code. Maybe it would make more sense if the law would defer to some standards body, that could update the technical decision more easily.)

Re: EU Passes Law to Switch iPhone to USB-C by End of 2024

#13

Post by messe »

NextHendrix wrote: post #7

This gives me some cognitive dissonance. On the one hand, having a common connector will reduce waste and be much more convenient (eg "Hey have you got an iPhone charger?") and make losing a charger a cheaper mistake. On the other hand I'm not sure I like the idea of government mandating electrical connectors on devices, which could stifle innovation, or be very shortsighted in the typical government-rules-on-tech wa…

I wouldn’t be too concerned. They did it before to standardise on micro USB, in such a way that didn’t stop manufacturers from moving to USB-C. This is really just an update of that same rule.

Re: EU Passes Law to Switch iPhone to USB-C by End of 2024

#14

Post by lwheelock »

fbn79 wrote: post #5

I'm European, I understand the good intentions at the root of such enforcement. But I believe such mandatory enforcements are liberticide, and against consumers in the long run.

I don’t understand it. Apple has only changed their connector once since 2007. Where I have untold number of USB devices that are either A, Mini, Micro, or now C.

Re: EU Passes Law to Switch iPhone to USB-C by End of 2024

#15

Post by allendoerfer »

izacus wrote: post #2

Bizarrely enough, this is actually a big boost to consider an iPhone for me. Having everything on USB-C is such a convenience that it was my no. 1 reason to stay in the other ecosystem.

It's the number one reason, why I am not upgrading and tell everyone who asks me, to not do it either. This law is so good, even its anticipation has environmental benefits.

Re: EU Passes Law to Switch iPhone to USB-C by End of 2024

#17

Post by DoingIsLearning »

NextHendrix wrote: post #7

This gives me some cognitive dissonance. On the one hand, having a common connector will reduce waste and be much more convenient (eg "Hey have you got an iPhone charger?") and make losing a charger a cheaper mistake. On the other hand I'm not sure I like the idea of government mandating electrical connectors on devices, which could stifle innovation, or be very shortsighted in the typical government-rules-on-tech wa…

The general principle is wait for the dust to settle and then enforce whatever is the industry majority with an agreed mature tech.

Btw the same thing happened with the EV charging (SAE J1772).

Re: EU Passes Law to Switch iPhone to USB-C by End of 2024

#18

Post by neilalexander »

josteink wrote: post #8
fbn79 wrote: post #5

I'm European, I understand the good intentions at the root of such enforcement. But I believe such mandatory enforcements are liberticide, and against consumers in the long run.

Tell me. How many different kind of chargers and connectors did you have before the EU mandated everyone should use micro-usb (or something equally standardized)? And how many do you have now? Personally I had 1 charger per device I had, each with their own weird connector, and each cable sold at $20+ a pop, and definitely more if you wanted a "data-cable". These days I only have 2: USB for almost everything, and Lig…

I have no real preference whatsoever in the Lightning vs USB-C battle but it seems strange to me that the EU's approach to supposedly reducing e-waste is by condemning 10 years of Lightning accessories to becoming e-waste. An iPhone 4 charger from 2012 will still charge an iPhone 14 today. That doesn't seem incredibly wasteful to me.

Re: EU Passes Law to Switch iPhone to USB-C by End of 2024

#19

Post by tgv »

NextHendrix wrote: post #7

This gives me some cognitive dissonance. On the one hand, having a common connector will reduce waste and be much more convenient (eg "Hey have you got an iPhone charger?") and make losing a charger a cheaper mistake. On the other hand I'm not sure I like the idea of government mandating electrical connectors on devices, which could stifle innovation, or be very shortsighted in the typical government-rules-on-tech wa…

Thank God nobody ever standardized electrical plugs. I'd hate being able to plug my vacuum cleaner and laptop in the same outlet.
Post reply on HN