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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

#301

Post by cmeacham98 »

CharlesW wrote: post #106
kalleboo wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And all because Apple refused to play ball and just adopt USB-C like the rest of the industry. They're too used to US regulators that just roll over and don't follow through with their threats. For over a decade the EU has tried to get the industry to adopt a common standard without mandating it in law (we got microUSB on all phones instead of the previous proprietary ports thanks to the 2009 voluntary EU memorandum…

> And all because Apple refused to play ball and just adopt USB-C like the rest of the industry. History lesson: Apple worked with the USB-IF to create USB-C, to make sure it met their needs for both USB and Thunderbolt. They were the first to put USB-C on a laptop, the 12" MacBook in the spring of 2015 — an amazing feat considering that the spec was just finalized in the fall of 2014. They were also the first compan…

While you're giving this history lesson, when was Lightning introduced, and was it more than 10 years ago?

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

#302

Post by seanmcdirmid »

hot_gril wrote: post #275
seanmcdirmid wrote: post #252

Earlier quoted context omitted.

USB-C might very well be the last wired connection standard, but I expect a port free iPhone within 10 years that charges via induction and has some way to do some data transfer by that as well.

Right, and they might switch the law to allow that at some point.

The EU already allows for a port free iPhone. Just that if they provide a port, it has to be USB-C. But the tech and acceptance isn't really there yet for such a product, but I'm pretty sure it will come eventually.

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

#303

Post by hot_gril »

danpalmer wrote: post #90
dagmx wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

There are some technical pitfalls of USB-C too. Solvable but still present.

Probably the biggest thing people don't think about is how rare USB-C hubs are. I don't mean the ones that adapt to other ports (if you thought of that first, it illustrates my point), I mean one that takes one USB-C and gives you more. For years after 2016, the chip to make this simply didn't exist. Even now, it's expensive. For this reason, it actually makes sense to use USB-A accessories even if your PCs take -C, cause you can always get more -A ports for cheap. So companies still make -A accessories, and even a lot of -C ones tend to come with an A-to-C cable in the box (and no -C to -C cable!).

Non-tech people tend to understand these things without knowing it. They see new port, they say no.

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

#304

Post by adam_arthur »

hot_gril wrote: post #232

This effectively decides that USB-C is the final iteration of phone connectors. Nobody is going to invest in making a new one. Maybe there wasn't much room left for innovation anyway; Apple has been showing for a while that they prefer the lock-in.

Not true at all.

If USB-C hits hard limitations, vendors will come together to create a new spec. The EU law has provisions to reassess the standard every few years.

There are already many specs such as web standards that are critical to society and collaborated on by many vendors.

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

#305

Post by kennend3 »

robertoandred wrote: post #36

What a pain, forcing everyone to buy new cables.

I suspect you misread the legislation.

Anyone who currently has a lightening cable/phone wont need to change it ;)

And yes, eventually it will lead to e-waste as people replace their Lightening based phones with USB-C, but didn't the same thing take place with the 30 pin dock connector?

At least after this apple wont need dongles like this beauty : https://www.apple.com/ca/shop/product/MQLU3AM/A/usb-c-to-app...

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

#306

Post by dwaite »

iso1631 wrote: post #184
Reason077 wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> ”The number of people who care about standardizing on USB-C are definitely less than the vocal folks who will now complain loudly that Apple just forced them to buy a whole bunch of expensive new cables.” I don’t think that’s true. Even hard core iPhone users likely already have multiple USB-C devices and cables, and the existing chargers are already USB (A or C) and will continue to work just fine. Apple does stil…

We have 2 recentish iphones and an old c. 2016 ipad, but we have at least 10 lightning connections around the house, car, etc to plug into. We obviously aren't going to replace all 3 devices at the same time, so it means that the first device we replace will suffer from not having the places to plug in that we currently can (sofa, kitchen, bedroom, car, office, bag, etc), or we have to get more power supplies in thos…

The good news is that all functional USB-C cables will generally charge at 30W. They might not be able to go above 30W, they might only have USB 2.0 speeds. The USB-IF has only just now come up with IMHO their first passable attempt at labelling.

However, for a couch or car charger for a phone, just about any cable that is wired correctly should do everything you want.

The problems come with alt modes and fast charging - the cable might not support the full capabilities, or the device itself (points idly at Nintendo Switch and Raspberry Pi 4) might not have shipped as USB-compliant, breaking with certain valid setups.

My opinion, the problem here isn't just cabling but troubleshooting help - how do I know the cable or charger I'm using isn't charging my computer at full speed? And which one is the problem?

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

#307

Post by evilduck »

eropple wrote: post #213
gnicholas wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And just in time for MagSafe's return...the iPhone will go to USB-C! Of course, you can still charge a Mac over USB-C — it's just not as much of a unification as it seems.

Does MagSafe charging cause a Macbook Pro to heat up in the same way that USB-C charging on the left side of the device does? When I saw that on my new M1 Max, I assumed so, so I never used it. (Also because I had USB-C charging for everything else...except my iPhone.)

Wasn't that just an issue with the final 16" Intel MBP? I don't think any M1/M2 Macs have had that problem.

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

#308

Post by yunohn »

mantecademani wrote: post #137
dervjd wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have the latest Apple TV 4K, and it still uses the Lightning connector to charge the remote.

The newest Apple TV, announced earlier this month, uses USB-C for the remote. https://www.apple.com/apple-tv-4k/specs/

To be fair, almost everyone missed this announcement. It got less attention than the new iPads.

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

#309

Post by eropple »

stouset wrote: post #221
eropple wrote: post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does MagSafe charging cause a Macbook Pro to heat up in the same way that USB-C charging on the left side of the device does? When I saw that on my new M1 Max, I assumed so, so I never used it. (Also because I had USB-C charging for everything else...except my iPhone.)

Nope. My MacBook Pro w/ M1 Max has never even gotten warm , even while plugged in with MagSafe and pegging every CPU at 100% with SIMD instructions.

Cool (ha!) good to know. The times I've noticed mine getting pretty toasty when charging was from the left side, so I consciously try to avoid it (apparently a sibling suggests it's Intel only, so it totally could just be selection bias on my part). Regardless, I'm glad MagSafe doesn't have that problem. Thanks!

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

#310

Post by mrtranscendence »

jyrkesh wrote: post #145
renewiltord wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thank fuck they didn't because otherwise we would have ended up with the shitty mini USB crap. Apple has been the one company making progress on stuff: - no floppy - no optical - no shitty as mini or micro USB - no Flash Each time people whined about the fact that they "didn't use what everyone else does" and each time they were right.

I'd say the one exception here is removing the headphone jack. I'm still really salty about that one. Even as a Pixel owner...the downstream ecosystem effect was everyone removing the headphone jack. And most Android phones didn't even get the waterproofing benefits! Bluetooth just STILL isn't there from a reliability perspective. Even with the latest Gen 2 AirPods, I talk to friends who continue have sporadic stuff…

Anecdotally, I haven't had any problems of the problems you describe on the latest AirPods Pro. And I like the ability to wander the house without dragging my MacBook Pro around -- I can get surprisingly far away before it starts to cut out. It's not perfect, mind you; on rare occasions they won't connect to my phone at all, requiring a restart, but once connected they're fine. And one time the left and right AirPods became veerryy slightly desynced, which was a bit trippy ...

The main problem I have with bluetooth is that some devices make it kind of a pain to connect. It's not a huge deal, but it's not as simple or as quick as simply plugging in a cable.

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