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

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

#481

Post by yokoprime »

slavoingilizov wrote: post #374
cyborgx7 wrote: post #318

Self-regulation only works if government regulation is a serious threat in case self-regulation fails. In this case, self-regulation failed, so government regulation stepped in to force industry to do what is right. All the handwringing about stifling innovation is on its face ridiculous as mandates to use micro-usb didn't stop android phones from adopting the new and better standard as soon as it was viable.

Well... I agree with the spirit of the effort, but not the letter of it. >>> From spring 2026, the obligation will extend to laptops So this would force Apple to replace MagSafe with USB-C? How is that not killing innovation? Standardisation should be a goal, but I just feel this particular effort is too specific and brings very little value to consumers. Why don't we standardise payment protocols instead? Or biometr…

My MacBook can charge with USB-C and MagSafe. If iphones had both a USB-C and a lightning connectors, this law would probably not have been pushed through.

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

#482

Post by MichaelZuo »

tempest-tost wrote: post #462
MichaelZuo wrote: post #439

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There were no mandates to adopt micro-usb in the EU. As a sidetone it's astonishing how quickly a lie easily disprovable by publicly accessible information, in this case the EU's own website, can be spread around by people that otherwise seem like credible HN members.

Am I missing something here? https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.engadget.com/amp/2010-12-29...

There were non-binding agreements. i.e. the EU hoped that the major players would standardize on one connecter, but this did not have the force of law behind it.

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

#483

Post by treeman79 »

jollybean wrote: post #450
cyborgx7 wrote: post #318

Self-regulation only works if government regulation is a serious threat in case self-regulation fails. In this case, self-regulation failed, so government regulation stepped in to force industry to do what is right. All the handwringing about stifling innovation is on its face ridiculous as mandates to use micro-usb didn't stop android phones from adopting the new and better standard as soon as it was viable.

? how did self regulation fail ? There's nothing wrong with the way iPhone charges. This is an unnecessary intervention. There are plenty of bigger, more relevant fish to fry.

Relevant, probably. Bigger. Probably not. Apple is huge.

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

#484

Post by jcelerier »

MichaelZuo wrote: post #439
cyborgx7 wrote: post #318

Self-regulation only works if government regulation is a serious threat in case self-regulation fails. In this case, self-regulation failed, so government regulation stepped in to force industry to do what is right. All the handwringing about stifling innovation is on its face ridiculous as mandates to use micro-usb didn't stop android phones from adopting the new and better standard as soon as it was viable.

There were no mandates to adopt micro-usb in the EU. As a sidetone it's astonishing how quickly a lie easily disprovable by publicly accessible information, in this case the EU's own website, can be spread around by people that otherwise seem like credible HN members.

> There were no mandates to adopt micro-usb in the EU.

... huh ? https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_11_...

> Following a mandate from the European Commission, the European Standardisation Bodies CEN-CENELEC and ETSI issued the harmonised standards to be adhered to by data-enabled mobile phones compatible with the new common charger as of 2011. The common charger solution is based in the Micro-USB connector technology

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

#485

Post by hjkl0 »

reaperducer wrote: post #340
cyborgx7 wrote: post #318

Self-regulation only works if government regulation is a serious threat in case self-regulation fails. In this case, self-regulation failed, so government regulation stepped in to force industry to do what is right. All the handwringing about stifling innovation is on its face ridiculous as mandates to use micro-usb didn't stop android phones from adopting the new and better standard as soon as it was viable.

All the handwringing about stifling innovation is on its face ridiculous as mandates to use micro-usb didn't stop android phones from adopting the new and better standard as soon as it was viable. I'm not sure I understand your logic here. Android phones were able to quickly move to micro USB because they weren't restricted from doing so by a government regulation. If there was a government mandate requiring phones t…

> So my new question is: How does a company change to a new/better connector, if it's required by law to use an old connector?

It would be like a nation state deciding to change its standard electric socket, like a country with US sockets switching to EU sockets. Doesn’t sound easy.

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

#486

Post by amelius »

Fiahil wrote: post #129

Fast-Forward to Autumn 2023 or Spring 2024 : Tim Cook: (40:20) Now let’s talk about iPhone. iPhone has forever changed the world. Every single day people rely on iPhone, from their most demanding tasks to capturing the moments of their lives, streaming their favorite TV shows, playing their favorite games, staying up to date with the news of the world and connecting with friends and loved ones. Tim Cook: (40:42) This…

No post body was provided.

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

#487

Post by hbn »

moring wrote: post #11
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.

No, Lightning was great because if you saw a lightning cable, you could plug it in and know exactly what it's going to do. USB-C has been an absolute fucking mess, half my cables don't charge half my devices with USB-C ports, and you have no idea from looking what a cable is supposed to do. Everything plugs into everything, but it's a completely different story if they'll actually interop how you want.

I can't believe people are celebrating the government getting involved with the design process of the only tech company that actually holds themselves to a standard on design. And by forcing them to use a port where the spec is such a mess.

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

#488

Post by inkyoto »

fy20 wrote: post #347
kypro wrote: post #34

I like USB-C and would even be in favour of the iPhone using USB-C, but I really dislike the idea that EU regulators would know what's better for consumers than consumer electronics companies and the consumers themselves. I do kind of get it though. It's probably better for a whole host of reasons if electronics all used the same cords, but I guess you could make that argument for a lot of things. There would be bene…

Are you old enough to remember the early 2000s when every phone and portable media player had it's own charger, which often wasn't even transferable between devices by the same manufacturer? It led to lots of old chargers when devices were replaced, which were useless for anything else (I remember having bags of cables and chargers). And if you wanted a second charger for whatever reason (this was before you needed t…

> Are you old enough to remember the early 2000s when every […]

One does not have to be that old enough.

Look no further than personal care and small home appliances (electric shavers – yes, Braun, I am looking at you; electric toothbrushes – and you, too, Philips! As well as household and kitchen appliances) the vast majority of which still come with incompatible proprietary chargers that are so hard, expensive or inconvenient (usually all of the above) to procure to replace that the entire gadget oftentimes gets disposed of because of the failed charger.

Governments ought to crack down on those ones as well, and crack down real, real hard.

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

#489

Post by kalleboo »

scarab92 wrote: post #474
cyborgx7 wrote: post #318

Self-regulation only works if government regulation is a serious threat in case self-regulation fails. In this case, self-regulation failed, so government regulation stepped in to force industry to do what is right. All the handwringing about stifling innovation is on its face ridiculous as mandates to use micro-usb didn't stop android phones from adopting the new and better standard as soon as it was viable.

EU could have mandated adoption of a certain connector for a certain period of time, rather than for all time. That way regulation provides the stick to force standardisation, but allows whatever new innovations develop later to have a chance at gaining a foothold. If we find ourselves in this situation again (with a single holdout) we can force the standardisation for a period of time again.

The EU regulation has a stipulation to re-visit the chosen standard at set intervals (IIRC 3 years?), it's not "for all time"
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