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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

#361

Post by dzikimarian »

Marsymars wrote: post #223
batuhanicoz wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not an expert but I would think not putting a board in is way easier than putting in a different one. It's also harder to manage supply for two different boards with different connectors, making different cables, split the accessories ecosystem etc. Apple, esp. under Tim Cook, is super efficient when it comes to this stuff.

They could do the same for EU iPhones; sell them without a physical port and make people charge wirelessly.

They couldn't. They already have mediocre market share here.

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

#362

Post by scarface74 »

adam_arthur wrote: post #359
scarface74 wrote: post #344

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How many of those users have USB C cables capable of video over USB, USB3 speeds etc? If the EU were going to “mandate” something, don’t be half assed about it.

I dunno, but lightning doesn’t support that anyway, so who cares?

Actually, Lightning can support USB 3. The first generation iPad Pro did.

But I thought EU was trying to prevent incompatibility?

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

#363

Post by lwkl »

hooverd wrote: post #81
xxpor wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Sounds great. I want to buy a new charger or adapter every time I travel to a different country.

If we're at it we should also stop using SI units and go back to the times where every city had a different unit of measurement. Maybe we should go further and let companies develop their own units of measurement to allow for more innovation.

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

#364

Post by adam_arthur »

scarface74 wrote: post #362
adam_arthur wrote: post #359

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I dunno, but lightning doesn’t support that anyway, so who cares?

Actually, Lightning can support USB 3. The first generation iPad Pro did. But I thought EU was trying to prevent incompatibility?

Love seeing all the Apple zombies malding over making society convenient for people.

This legislation wouldn’t have even happened if Apple had done the right thing to begin with. Instead of trying to eek out margins on proprietary cables

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

#365

Post by kennend3 »

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…

> So they pressured the EU to mandate the change to a standard that Apple helped pioneer so that Apple's environmentally-friendly record would remain unblemished.

Is this why apple's repairability index is always so low? Because by allowing their devices to be repaired they avoid being put in the landfills?

They totally don't use proprietary screws, and glue to help you repairing your device.

And again, they are changing thanks to.. legislation...

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

#366

Post by cmeacham98 »

CharlesW wrote: post #355
cmeacham98 wrote: post #301

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

September 12, 2012. https://www.engadget.com/2012-09-12-apple-details-new-dock-c...

The question was rhetorical, because I knew it was 10 years in the past already.

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

#367

Post by scarface74 »

adam_arthur wrote: post #364
scarface74 wrote: post #362

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually, Lightning can support USB 3. The first generation iPad Pro did. But I thought EU was trying to prevent incompatibility?

Love seeing all the Apple zombies malding over making society convenient for people. This legislation wouldn’t have even happened if Apple had done the right thing to begin with. Instead of trying to eek out margins on proprietary cables

Yes because out of the billions Apple makes, the few pennies that Lightning makes is really meaningful.

My issue is not the USB C mandate, it’s the usual incompetence of the EUs half way thought out laws.

If you are going to mandate a standard, mandate a good one - including minimum data transfer, power delivery and video - all parts of the standard.

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

#368

Post by markus92 »

mortenjorck wrote: post #122
postalrat wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it even possible to fry a device with the wrong USB c? I thought at worse you get longer charging times or slower data

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.

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

#369

Post by scarface74 »

hot_gril wrote: post #352
scarface74 wrote: post #349

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And why do I care about a “license”?

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?

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

#370

Post by adam_arthur »

scarface74 wrote: post #367
adam_arthur wrote: post #364

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Love seeing all the Apple zombies malding over making society convenient for people. This legislation wouldn’t have even happened if Apple had done the right thing to begin with. Instead of trying to eek out margins on proprietary cables

Yes because out of the billions Apple makes, the few pennies that Lightning makes is really meaningful. My issue is not the USB C mandate, it’s the usual incompetence of the EUs half way thought out laws. If you are going to mandate a standard, mandate a good one - including minimum data transfer, power delivery and video - all parts of the standard.

I agree the law could have been written better.

It could have just enforced that vendors must use an agreed upon standard by X% of industry participants or similar. Thus if you want a competing connector, you have to propose a new standard and get buy in from others.

But the end result is the same regardless. When the need for a new standard comes, the spec will be updated or abandoned in favor of a new one.

As to Apple’s reasoning for not using USB-C, who’s to say? I would think cable revenue is minuscule at the end of the day, yet here they are still using lightning almost a decade after the rest of the industry standardized on USB-C

At their scale they need to operate in a somewhat sensible way or regulators will target them, that’s life. Society is not going to be beholden to Apple’s design choices if it negatively affects enough people

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