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EU sends Apple stark warning over USB-C charging on new iPhones

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Re: EU sends Apple stark warning over USB-C charging on new iPhones

#31

I recently bought an Apple TV. It's a great device, but comes with a remote that's USB-C charged. That's fine except that it doesn't come with a USB-C cable, nor does the device have a USB port that could be used for charging the remote. So I ended up having to buy a third party USB charger and cable (I just don't have that much USB-C stuff laying around). That pissed me off and I wasn't shy about, politely, letting…

I think Apple not providing all the parts needed to charge the iPhone is more surprising. Reduced waste is great but at the same time it is a way to myddy the total cost of buying a gadget. Apple cables are quite expensive and break in use.

What comes to apple tv remote, I have never charged mine and it’s been running over a year. I’m pretty happy I didn’t receive yet another usb-c with mine.

Re: EU sends Apple stark warning over USB-C charging on new iPhones

#32

I recently bought an Apple TV. It's a great device, but comes with a remote that's USB-C charged. That's fine except that it doesn't come with a USB-C cable, nor does the device have a USB port that could be used for charging the remote. So I ended up having to buy a third party USB charger and cable (I just don't have that much USB-C stuff laying around). That pissed me off and I wasn't shy about, politely, letting…

But we can't stay on Lightning just because it's convenient, otherwise we'd still be on Apple's 30-pin connector. Even Apple seem to think USB-C is better and was one of the first to move to USB-C with the Macbook. iPad Pros have been USB-C for years, with the regular iPad finally getting USB-C recently. Should we have a law instead of force Apple to keep using Lightning to fix your Apple TV remote anecdote?

Re: EU sends Apple stark warning over USB-C charging on new iPhones

#33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you elaborate?

To be clear, I am pro USB-C, but I do get the arguments from the other side. If I have a lightning cable and a device with a lightning port, I can plug it in and not really think much about it. If I have a device with a USB-C port and a USB-C cable, I have no idea whether I can charge at full speed or even charge at all. As an example, I plug my Xbox controller into my PC via USB-C. It keeps it fully charged. Recentl…

With the same Xbox cable but with a proper charger, does it work?

Most of the time, you avoid problems of "PD device hierarchy" by using a proper charger (i.e. a device that only has the functionality to charge other devices).

Re: EU sends Apple stark warning over USB-C charging on new iPhones

#34

I recently bought an Apple TV. It's a great device, but comes with a remote that's USB-C charged. That's fine except that it doesn't come with a USB-C cable, nor does the device have a USB port that could be used for charging the remote. So I ended up having to buy a third party USB charger and cable (I just don't have that much USB-C stuff laying around). That pissed me off and I wasn't shy about, politely, letting…

> I've been using iPhones for 13 years now personally, and for 6 years with work. I have lightning cables coming out of my ears (a mixture of first and third party)

I had loads of pre-lightning connectors. I've still got two clock ratios with those connectors on. Apple change to lightning created tons of e-waste then.

Re: EU sends Apple stark warning over USB-C charging on new iPhones

#35
post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What technical progress. Don't you think that 20V and 240W that are the maximum for Power Delivery are enough to fast charge a smartphone? Even laptops use it!

Of course! 640kB will be enough for everyone!

Do you realize your parallel doesn't apply here? We're speaking about an iPhone, not a fridge nor a car.

Re: EU sends Apple stark warning over USB-C charging on new iPhones

#36
post #16

First of all: the EU definitely had good intentions when regulating the charger mess. The amount of incompatible chargers rotting in drawers and (possibly) landfills could definitely be reduced over time by agreeing on a common physical and electrical interface. However — limiting technical progress is not a good idea and we see that with the plethor of different power modes existing within USB-C. Possibly politician…

What technical progress. Don't you think that 20V and 240W that are the maximum for Power Delivery are enough to fast charge a smartphone? Even laptops use it!

It’s not universal until we can power appliances, TVs, Microwaves, Fridges, Ovens, and EV Cars with it.

Re: EU sends Apple stark warning over USB-C charging on new iPhones

#37
post #18
post #4

I don't understand why Apple are dragging their heels on this so much

On what? This article is pure speculation, and Apple has been slowly moving more and more of their ecosystem to USB-C over time anyway. It sounds like good for the consumer that they don't have to throw out all of their existing cables at once. .... and as far as I can tell USB-C is a shitshow of an ecosystem anyway. This entire article could just be saying that Apple devices could charge "slower" on random USB-C cab…

If Apple just sticks to the specification to the letter they achieve exactly what they want and what HackerNews hates, only proper power supplies work and cheap inferior crap charges slowly. They can just put a logo on cables and chargers that work to the specification instead of cutting corners left and right in the race to the bottom. And there is no way for the EU to appear credible and restrict this.

Re: EU sends Apple stark warning over USB-C charging on new iPhones

#38
post #9

Good chance for apple to try to repeat dieselgate: only charge fast while tested. Circumventing EU regulations is clearly a business opportunity, while all small competitors suffer from them. Only bad luck, that they are an US company and thus nobody is willing to look away. Sincerely, I am really skeptical about all those EU regulations with such a clear enforcement deficit. I really wish the commission luck on this…

Honestly I don't see how a dieselgate-like situation may be possible. Automakers could bypass the law because no one measures their own car's emissions. In this case, instead, people would take 30 seconds to realize their third-party cable doesn't work with their iPhone because of Apple.

Re: EU sends Apple stark warning over USB-C charging on new iPhones

#39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What technical progress. Don't you think that 20V and 240W that are the maximum for Power Delivery are enough to fast charge a smartphone? Even laptops use it!

It’s not universal until we can power appliances, TVs, Microwaves, Fridges, Ovens, and EV Cars with it.

It's universal enough for all power consumption up to 240W, which includes what you need to charge a smartphone.

For huge appliances, you need a different connector, larger conductors in the cables, etc... it really will never scale the whole spectrum because of physics laws. Else, everything melts and burns.

Re: EU sends Apple stark warning over USB-C charging on new iPhones

#40
post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of course! 640kB will be enough for everyone!

Do you realize your parallel doesn't apply here? We're speaking about an iPhone, not a fridge nor a car.

Power is not the only parameter…
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