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

Post by Dylan16807 » Thu, Oct 27, 2022, 9:42 PM UTC

markus92 wrote: post #368

mortenjorck wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think this meme started due to Nintendo (very inadvisedly) adopting a non-standard USB-C implementation for the Switch. It wouldn't have been nearly as bad if they'd used a proprietary connector on top of their modified implementation, but they left the connector unchanged and simply added a "use only official Nintendo chargers" warning which of course no one was going to follow. This did then, in fact, predictably…

Wasn't that meme only due to one third-party docking station putting 12V on the data lines? I never heard any stories about regular USB-chargers or USB-C cables frying the Switch.

Post by lacker » Thu, Oct 27, 2022, 9:43 PM UTC

selykg wrote: post #192

lacker wrote: post #185

I'm generally not a fan of the EU mandating technical decisions, but for me personally, Lightning connections have always been really low quality. Since my iPhone was about a year old, it often won't recognize a new Lightning cable that's plugged in, I have to unplug and re-plug it several times. Or it will charge for a minute and then suddenly think it's disconnected. Or you will bump it slightly and it thinks it's…

I've had iPhones since the original came out with the big ol iPod connector on it. Generally upgrading every two years, except the last one which was an Xs to a 14 Pro. I have never had this happen. I welcome the USB-C change, but I have never once had what you're describing happen in however many years the Lightning connector has been out.. feels like 8+ years, but without looking I wouldn't know. I've had, I think,…

Post by lacker » Thu, Oct 27, 2022, 9:44 PM UTC

dmitriid wrote: post #203

lacker wrote: post #185

I'm generally not a fan of the EU mandating technical decisions, but for me personally, Lightning connections have always been really low quality. Since my iPhone was about a year old, it often won't recognize a new Lightning cable that's plugged in, I have to unplug and re-plug it several times. Or it will charge for a minute and then suddenly think it's disconnected. Or you will bump it slightly and it thinks it's…

> I have to unplug and re-plug it several times. Or it will charge for a minute and then suddenly think it's disconnected. Take a toothpick, and scrub inside the connector on the Phone side. Most likely there's some dust/lint stuck in there.

Post by hot_gril » Thu, Oct 27, 2022, 9:45 PM UTC

scarface74 wrote: post #375

hot_gril wrote: post #373

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not very well, but you can buy decent cables from a variety of manufacturers for cheap, and there isn't this one license-holder (Apple) out there trying to take a big cut from that. If someone wants to make a good Lightning cable for cheap, first they have to break the law by skipping the licensing deal, then they have to get around Apple's own mechanisms.

It doesn’t prevent “ewaste” if phone makers (mostly low end Android phone makers) still bundle shoddy cables, stores are still allowed to sell shoddy cables, etc. And USB C is not free of licensing requirements https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/450494/are-u... A “good” USB C cable that supports all of the things I said - high speed data, video over USB, etc - costs around $15. The same price as an Anker…

Post by Dylan16807 » Thu, Oct 27, 2022, 9:47 PM UTC

scarface74 wrote: post #369

hot_gril wrote: post #352

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You care when it stops working one day because Apple changed something (maybe intentionally). Out of a combination of spite and cheapness, I've only ever bought unlicensed cables for several years, and this is the price I've paid over time.

So how well are the USB C cables going to work that follow the minimum “mandate” that doesn’t require cables to support data at all? How well are they going to work when people pick up a “USB C” cable and wonder why they aren’t seeing video when they connect their phone to their TV?