Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

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

techradar.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

71–80 of 868 posts

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

#71

Post by alpaca128 »

oger wrote: 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…

> limiting technical progress is not a good idea

If Apple is limited by USB-C then why do all their other current devices - where the EU never forced anything - use primarily (sometimes exclusively) USB-C?

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

#72

Post by blokey »

ThatPlayer wrote: post #60
misnome wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which cable should they have used instead?

They shouldn't have made it proprietary. Lightning could've been the USB-C instead of what we got.

You do realize that Apple designed the connector for USB-C and donated it to the consortium.

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

#73

Post by sschueller »

Gigachad wrote: post #65
pipodeclown wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What he means is, having a proprietary connector means they can milk accessory makers with licensing fees.

What accessory makers? The only thing lightning is used for these days is charging. I can’t imagine that charging cables is a huge money spinner for apple.

I assume the large car makers are paying apple a huge amount to be able to install lightning cable adapters in the cars.

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

#74

Post by ThatPlayer »

blokey wrote: post #72
ThatPlayer wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They shouldn't have made it proprietary. Lightning could've been the USB-C instead of what we got.

You do realize that Apple designed the connector for USB-C and donated it to the consortium.

So why not do that with Lightning too? It's still proprietary to this day.

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

#76

Post by dzhiurgis »

blokey wrote: post #70
orra wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> So, in other words, the EU forced one standard, which it is now abandoning (generating piles of micro-usb e-waste), This is hyperbole. Especially because a common retort on these articles is “surely this standardisation kills innovation”. A standard was adopted, preventing lots of e-waste. However, the old standard is now past its useful life, so a revised standard is being universally adopted. This is the best of…

That makes no sense. If USB-C is mandated, there will never be a newer standard to replace it, because no company will invest any time or money into developing it as it would not be legal to ship it until it’s blessed by the government and it won’t be blessed until it’s got a critical mass which it can never have! If the rest of the world mandated the Micro-USB standard at the same time as the EU previously, we would…

EU forces a standard that companies need to agree upon, not a particular standard they think fits the most.

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

#77

Post by dzhiurgis »

bartread wrote: post #11

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…

Apple should push Lightning iPhones onto UK for next 20 years just to piss brits off.

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

#78

Post by a13o »

Lapalux wrote: post #4

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

The last time they changed their connector (to lightning) they invalidated a lot of third party accessories designed around the old connector. Not simple stuff, like cables, but docks galore; many in expensive long-term purchases like luxury cars and stereo equipment. It stressed a lot of partnerships that define Apple's luxury brand status.

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

#79

Post by oxfordmale »

Gigachad wrote: post #65
pipodeclown wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What he means is, having a proprietary connector means they can milk accessory makers with licensing fees.

What accessory makers? The only thing lightning is used for these days is charging. I can’t imagine that charging cables is a huge money spinner for apple.

It is not the charging cables, but the actual chargers itself. They are eye watering expensive if you buy them from Apple directly.

Amazon and eBay are flooded with fakes that can be life threateningly dangerous. I can see why some people prefer to buy from Apple rather than figuring out what brands are actually not going to burn your house down.

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

#80

Post by [deleted] »

kweingar wrote: post #56
franga2000 wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lightning "just works" only because it's all made and validated by Apple. If you want guaranteed compatibility, just keep buying Apple-branded Type C cables and adapters like you did for Lightning. The only difference now is that you also have the option of using other cables and adapters if you want/need to, as well as use your Apple charging stuff for charging other things.

Yeah, I totally agree. The only annoyance I see is that you have to experiment with what cables and power adapters through trial and error to find what works with particular devices. I mentioned in a different reply in this thread that there ought to be some kind of consumer-friendly labeling on these things, so that you can see at a glance what will work with what.

[deleted]
Post reply on HN