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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

#521

Post by orwin »

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…

All taht is already standardized btw. The countries do have some leeway in their implementation though, that's whay the EU driving license was quite quickly adopted in some countries, and very slowly in others (mine...).

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

#522

Post by woliveirajr »

_trackno5 wrote: post #49

Why do people think it is a good thing to have this enforced by law is beyond me. I don't see any win besides a minor convenience. A lightning cable weighs almost nothing and it's not a big deal to have one around. As to lightning port limitations, I question whether usb-c will give average iPhone users any other advantage other than charging their phone. What are people gonna do with it other than charge their phone…

Imagine a World where your appliances just work in some sockets and not in others. Where the tires of your car can just be bought from one supplier because it was limited by the car manufacturer. Your toaster just accepts some kind of bread. Your pencil can't be sharpned except with one specific equipament. Your mechanical pencil can use just one kind of pencil lead because it has some specific size.

And now imagine a step further, where all cars, mechanical pencils, toasters, wall sockets... everything is disposable because some small detail or component has just one supplier.

Imagine how much you'll spend to have things, and how much you'll have to throw away when any small thing of it gets broken.

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

#523

Post by oplaadpunt »

BurningFrog wrote: post #453
ben_w wrote: post #398

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What exactly is genuinely innovative about the iPhone connector at this point? It's 10 years old, and the only selling point I can see it having over USB (even when it was new) was the rotational symmetry (which is now also possible with USB C, which is what's being mandated).

The point is that the next connector innovation will have to be ratified by the European Parliament.

No, it doesn't. The technical details are passed as a so called 'delegated act', which defers the power to set the details of acts to the European Commission.[1] They can update this when necessary, and will do so if the USB forum updates to a newer version. I detest all the people who are confidently wrong about these things, it detracts from the interesting steps the EU has taken here.

[1]: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=LEGISSUM...

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

#524

Post by matwood »

manuelabeledo wrote: post #493
burlesona wrote: post #358

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is not the reason. The reason is, the last time they changed ports (from 30pin to lightning) it created huge blowback from consumers who had lots of 30pin accessories that were no longer compatible, and even though lightning is FAR better people don’t like switching. USB-C is not much different than lightning for charging / connecting a phone, so the blowback from consumers will be huge when all their accessorie…

> USB-C is not much different than lightning for charging / connecting a phone... As far as I understand, there are no Lightning cables that support anything over 18W. Data transfer tops at 480Mbps, or roughly USB 2.0 speeds. These are specs many other companies have surpassed several years ago. > ... so the blowback from consumers will be huge when all their accessories are no longer compatible with the next phone.…

There are orders of magnitude more iPhone/Lightning cable users in the world than Mac or iPad users.

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

#525

Post by MichaelZuo »

Fradow wrote: post #473
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.

Saying there was no mandate is only technically true. The EU gave an ultimatum to phone companies to make a compatible charger "or else", which led to a "Memorandum of Understanding" [1] deciding on Micro-USB. Apple didn't follow that Memorandum, the EU got pissed, so now we reached the "or else" part (it took quite some time considering the Memorandum was more than 10 years ago). [1] https://ec.europa.eu/commission/…

'Memorandums of Understanding' are not binding within the EU, not even between different departments in Brussels. They are, at best, strongly worded suggestions.

So this is a significant difference.

As a EU mandate implies that organizations can be prosecuted for ignoring it.

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

#526

Post by plandis »

Why is it so hard for Europeans to not buy an iPhone if they don’t like the charger type?

This will slow any innovation in charging cables until enough powerful companies need something new. Small innovators are SOL since they won’t have the influence to get the EU to allow it.

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

#527

Post by schmuelio »

misnome wrote: post #334
manuelabeledo wrote: post #316

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple is part of the USB-IF. They also have pushed USB standards to consumers since the iMac. Hell, Apple participates of every single industrial forum they can benefit from. Apple has moved on to USB-C for almost every other product they have. They know Lightning is old and insufficient, even for their iPad Air. The only reason why Apple keeps Lightning around is for phones and some portable accessories, and the rev…

> The only reason why Apple keeps Lightning around is for phones and some portable accessories, and the revenue from those, and their certifications, is not something they are willing to dismiss. Technically speaking, if you want something as simple as a cable, you have to go through Apple and their MFI program. The other way of viewing this is that by not switching (yet) they haven't created instant e-waste out of e…

> The other way of viewing this is that by not switching (yet) they haven't created instant e-waste out of every cable and accessory manufactured in the past decade.

Well no time like the present since time is linear and unless they're going to stick with lightning _forever_ then they'll eventually have to create a bunch of e-waste.

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

#528

Post by danaris »

treeman79 wrote: post #483
jollybean wrote: post #450

Earlier quoted context omitted.

? 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.

Just because Apple is huge doesn't mean any issue that involves Apple in any way is huge.

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

#529

Post by saiya-jin »

ralph84 wrote: post #478
axlee wrote: post #411

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know, did government mandating electricity plugs standards stifle innovation?

There are multiple different plug types used within the EU.

They are slightly different but inter-compatible when using only 2-plug (without ground IIRC). Which means basically all non-energy-intense appliances including ie TVs. Heck, even Switzerland is compatible with them all.

Notable exception of course are British, but they are not part of EU as we all know too well.

It makes life so much easier. I can't understand why anybody would ever oppose this, either vested interest or butthurt ego?

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