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Apple says iPhones will switch to USB-C chargers to comply with new EU law

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Re: Apple says iPhones will switch to USB-C chargers to comply with new EU law

#81

Post by hooverd »

xxpor wrote: post #70
hooverd wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't see anybody complaining about the RJ45 format, or NEMA. If you let companies run wild they would probably come up with a way to shove DRM into connectors.

Oh, people complain about NEMA all the time. It's objectively the worst commonly used socket+plug system from a safety perspective. It's somewhat mitigated by the common voltage being half of what the Europlug etc sees. RJ45 (akchually 8p8c) also has its issues: people complain about how easy it is to break off the stupid plastic tab all the time. There's proto-DRM in SFP connectors though, you're right. There's an E…

No argument there. The Europlug is another innovation stifling regulation though. We should allow developers/homebuilders to select the socket of their choice, even develop their own proprietary ones.

Re: Apple says iPhones will switch to USB-C chargers to comply with new EU law

#82

Post by CharlesW »

nelsonic wrote: post #18
Synaesthesia wrote: post #10

I, surprised they hadn’t changed over yet, only major manufacturer not to yet, and they went all in on USB-C on iPads and MacBooks.

"$43.5B on Lightning cable sales alone" ~ https://medium.com/swlh/the-real-reason-apple-doesnt-want-to...

This is an incredibly naive estimate, and the author couldn't even get the simple math right. (22 billion + 330 million) * $18 = $45.5B.

Most Lightning cables are sold by 3rd parties, Lightning didn't even appear on iPhones/iPads until the iPhone 5 and 4th-gen iPad, etc.

Re: Apple says iPhones will switch to USB-C chargers to comply with new EU law

#83

Post by Hamuko »

hooverd wrote: post #62
frosted-flakes wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not much different than governments regulating electrical power oulets/plugs. And no one thinks that that should be a free-for-all. Of course, there's still fragmentation among different continents/countries, but that was inevitable given the time periods these things were standardised. It's unfortunate that the world didn't decide on one standard, but at least almost all countries are internally consistent. The…

We should allow electrical and networking companies to innovate again. If Cisco wants to use something else instead of RJ45, they should be allowed to be.

I'm calling the cops on the Cisco MS450-12 right now.

Re: Apple says iPhones will switch to USB-C chargers to comply with new EU law

#84

Post by scarface74 »

falcolas wrote: post #78
scarface74 wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You realize that “magic” isn’t being enforced by the as usual short sighted EU? There is no requirement to ship USB cords that actually transfer data at USB3 speeds or actually any mandate to have cables that support data at all. What do you think the chances are that cheap Android phones will ship with more expensive cables that can transfer at USB 3 speeds? Not to mention that I doubt that the cheap USB cords will…

All I expect out of a USB-C cord shipped by apple with my phone is the ability to charge (which is what I get with an iPad, which uses USB-C). I'd love to expect more, but a Thunderbolt cable is stupidly expensive and not worth including by default. Standardization around the markings and marketing for USB-C cables would be f'ing awesome. But I'll take this win regardless.

It’s not Apple that you have to worry about not supporting the full spec - they already do with USB C iPads.

It’s the Android manufacturers and your local convenience store. Meaning it is still “contributing to ewaste” when you can’t use your old USB C cords to get all of the functionality that is part of the USB C spec.

This is yet another example of EU regulators not thinking through their proposals — see also the GDPR whose only consequence is a bunch of cookie pop ups.

Re: Apple says iPhones will switch to USB-C chargers to comply with new EU law

#85

Post by encoderer »

dagmx wrote: post #12
generalizations wrote: post #3

And I guess that means we won't get any more cable interface innovation for a while. Are we really that certain that micro USB -- I mean, USB-C -- is the format to standardize on for the foreseeable future?

The EU regulations have regular reevaluations of the format built in. So if something better comes along, it can replace USB-C at that point.

If you think this won’t slow innovation in the connector space you’ve lost your mind.

It might be worth the lost innovation, but to pretend that this won’t impact new development is just fantasyland.

Re: Apple says iPhones will switch to USB-C chargers to comply with new EU law

#86

Post by yardie »

danpalmer wrote: post #19

It's sad that it took legislation to make this happen, but I can see why. I worked in a pseudo-Apple-store during the height of the 30-pin dock connector and I sold so many cases, speaker docks, charging cables, and all sorts of weird accessories that were built for the 30-pin connector. Then Apple switched to Lightning. It was better in every. single. way. And yet people got burnt. There was so much hardware that wa…

I stayed in a hotel recently with one of those clock radios with the 30-pin connector on top. It would have been nice to have it use the larger speakers for background music and the alarm. But with over 200 rooms they probably weren't in a rush to replace all those units with Lightning and now USB-C.

Re: Apple says iPhones will switch to USB-C chargers to comply with new EU law

#87

Post by scarface74 »

marrone12 wrote: post #75
scarface74 wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I doubt that Apple is getting a “cut” of the $5 cables you can buy from Amazon or your local bodega.

They do from MFi certified cables. You have to pay apple a licensing fee. and the non licensed cables will sometimes give you an error.

I’ve bought dozens of cords over the past decade that weren’t MFI certified and not have any issues. Do you think the top selling Lightning cables on Amazon or at your local bodega or convenience store paid Apple a fee?

Re: Apple says iPhones will switch to USB-C chargers to comply with new EU law

#88

Post by muhehe »

hooverd wrote: post #62
frosted-flakes wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not much different than governments regulating electrical power oulets/plugs. And no one thinks that that should be a free-for-all. Of course, there's still fragmentation among different continents/countries, but that was inevitable given the time periods these things were standardised. It's unfortunate that the world didn't decide on one standard, but at least almost all countries are internally consistent. The…

We should allow electrical and networking companies to innovate again. If Cisco wants to use something else instead of RJ45, they should be allowed to be.

Who is prohibiting them from replacing RJ45?

Re: Apple says iPhones will switch to USB-C chargers to comply with new EU law

#89

Post by hooverd »

Hamuko wrote: post #83
hooverd wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We should allow electrical and networking companies to innovate again. If Cisco wants to use something else instead of RJ45, they should be allowed to be.

I'm calling the cops on the Cisco MS450-12 right now.

Now I want a laptop with an SFP jack. Because why not.

Re: Apple says iPhones will switch to USB-C chargers to comply with new EU law

#90

Post by danpalmer »

dagmx wrote: post #48
danpalmer wrote: post #19

It's sad that it took legislation to make this happen, but I can see why. I worked in a pseudo-Apple-store during the height of the 30-pin dock connector and I sold so many cases, speaker docks, charging cables, and all sorts of weird accessories that were built for the 30-pin connector. Then Apple switched to Lightning. It was better in every. single. way. And yet people got burnt. There was so much hardware that wa…

Something I found interesting when discussing this with my wife.. All my friends are tech heads and champing at the bit to have usb-c in their iPhones. But when she asked me why people were mad about the switch to usb-c it took me by surprise. Then she showed me a lot of online responses from non technical people who see the change of port as annoying and wasteful because now all their stuff won’t work without adapte…

Absolutely.

USB-C appeals to techies, people with an engineering mindset, because it's an elegant solution. It's one connector, with graceful handling of different use-cases from charging, through peripherals, to high-speed high throughput data transfer.

But practically speaking, I've bought several HDMI adapters, had a hard time choosing a mouse that had USB-C a few years ago, have bought a new charger, lost MagSafe on my laptop. This is how most people view it, and it's hard to convince them otherwise, and rightly so!

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