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The EU made Apple adopt new Wi-Fi standards, and now Android can support AirDrop

arstechnica.com

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Re: The EU made Apple adopt new Wi-Fi standards, and now Android can support AirDrop

#81

Post by notepad0x90 »

Look, I don't like some of the things the EU is doing and I think Apple should consider (along with other tech companies) selling products tailed to the EU, Asia and rest of the world. In the long-run, it might be cheaper.

That said, they are setting a good example of legislating for tech. We should be doing a lot of that here in the US. I don't need a bulletproof, ultra-secure, end-to-end encrypted, formally verified phone (although that would be nice). As a boring regular person, I want to not have to need all of that because my government will imprison people that violate my rights. But more on-topic, the FTC (EDIT: FCC) exists to regulate among other things, wireless comms, so this would be something they should be legislating.

Although, putting on my tech hat, I need to re-state that I disagree with this move. I want tech companies to experiment and use faster, more secure, more reliable comms tech without having to worry about compatibility. It is in my interest as a consumer.

Lightning was a superior technology to USB-C, we don't have it now because the EU forced apple's hands. I don't want to lose out on good tech. The EU should have instead forced everyone else to use lightning if they want things simpler.

Why is the EU intent on having inferior tech, inferior capability, inferior pay, inferior innovation-friendly environment. They have the power to demand better things and provide them for their people. The compromise isn't needed. At the risk of offending the HN crowd, I'll even say that the EU shouldn't support open-source things unless they are actually the superior tech. You can't eat or pay your bills with ideals. If commercial/properietary tech is better for europeans, that is what the EU should focus on.

I will drive European or Japanese cars that are better than American cars, I don't mind doing the same with tech, except with Europe that's getting more and more rare. What happened to Nokia and Ericsson. NL has ASML, wouldn't it be nice if we had a TSMC competitor in Europe as well? I don't want to keep going on, but I hope my point is clear.

Competition is good, Android shouldn't need to support AirDrop, it should come up with a better alternative and leave iPhone users wondering why Android's solution is faster and works at greater distances. Same with iMessage compatibility.

Instead competition, the EU is wanting forced mediocrity. They are within their rights for sure, but it isn't the best thing to do.

I only wish they did the same thing with electrical outlets and forced the world to use one mediocre standard :)

Re: The EU made Apple adopt new Wi-Fi standards, and now Android can support AirDrop

#82

Post by stouset »

KK7NIL wrote: post #47
giantrobot wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

USB-C is a worse mechanical connector for a device plugged in thousands of times over its lifetime. The female port of a USB-C connector has a relatively fragile center blade. Lightning's layout was the opposite which makes it more robust and easier to clean.

> USB-C is a worse mechanical connector for a device plugged in thousands of times over its lifetime. USB-C connectors are usually rated for 10k cycles. Do you have any evidence that lighting connectors are rated for more cycles than that? > The female port of a USB-C connector has a relatively fragile center blade. Lightning's layout was the opposite which makes it more robust and easier to clean. This is very weak…

My own empirical evidence suggests that USB-C ports stop holding tightly onto cables after light to moderate use.

To be fair, Lightning ports were prone to being clogged with lint, but that was fixable in twenty seconds with a safety pin.

Re: The EU made Apple adopt new Wi-Fi standards, and now Android can support AirDrop

#83

Post by lsaferite »

dijit wrote: post #59
lsaferite wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Plastic dental picks work great for cleaning USB-C ports.

just don’t apply too much pressure or the center segment can bend over time, becoming weak and prone to potentially snapping off. It happened to me at least.

Haven't encountered that yet. But I always try to be extra careful and also look for the thinnest ones I can find. Seems like a product niche right there. Rigid, thin, non-conductive picks.

Re: The EU made Apple adopt new Wi-Fi standards, and now Android can support AirDrop

#84

Post by stouset »

nl wrote: post #68
jdiff wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My Pixel 8 certainly hasn't gone through 10k cycles and it barely holds on to any USB-C connector I put inside it. They all fall out even when laying still on a flat surface. There's always outliers, of course, but I had this issue with USB Micro-B on at least one other device and never saw it with a Lightning connector.

My lightning connector on my iPhone 12 is completely unreliable - I need to twist the phone against the cable to get it to change. Fortunately MagSafe works fine!

This is probably lint buildup. You can scrape it out with any thin and stiff object like a safety pin.

A small amount of lint gets into the hole. You pack it in when you plug in the cable. Repeat a thousand times and now you have a stiff “plug” of lint that prevents the connector from fully entering your device.

Re: The EU made Apple adopt new Wi-Fi standards, and now Android can support AirDrop

#85

Post by bdangubic »

stouset wrote: post #82
KK7NIL wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> USB-C is a worse mechanical connector for a device plugged in thousands of times over its lifetime. USB-C connectors are usually rated for 10k cycles. Do you have any evidence that lighting connectors are rated for more cycles than that? > The female port of a USB-C connector has a relatively fragile center blade. Lightning's layout was the opposite which makes it more robust and easier to clean. This is very weak…

My own empirical evidence suggests that USB-C ports stop holding tightly onto cables after light to moderate use. To be fair, Lightning ports were prone to being clogged with lint, but that was fixable in twenty seconds with a safety pin.

exactly!

Re: The EU made Apple adopt new Wi-Fi standards, and now Android can support AirDrop

#86

Post by jjtheblunt »

notepad0x90 wrote: post #81

Look, I don't like some of the things the EU is doing and I think Apple should consider (along with other tech companies) selling products tailed to the EU, Asia and rest of the world. In the long-run, it might be cheaper. That said, they are setting a good example of legislating for tech. We should be doing a lot of that here in the US. I don't need a bulletproof, ultra-secure, end-to-end encrypted, formally verifie…

> the FTC exists to regulate among other things, wireless comms

FCC purview?

Re: The EU made Apple adopt new Wi-Fi standards, and now Android can support AirDrop

#87

Post by SoKamil »

IshKebab wrote: post #31

The DMA also forces them to have interoperable end-to-end encrypted group video call support in like 5 years or something insane. No idea how that's supposed to happen!

Telegram implemented such feature.

https://core.telegram.org/api/end-to-end/group-calls

Re: The EU made Apple adopt new Wi-Fi standards, and now Android can support AirDrop

#88

Post by jdiff »

bashkiddie wrote: post #77
jdiff wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My Pixel 8 certainly hasn't gone through 10k cycles and it barely holds on to any USB-C connector I put inside it. They all fall out even when laying still on a flat surface. There's always outliers, of course, but I had this issue with USB Micro-B on at least one other device and never saw it with a Lightning connector.

Your Pixel 8 could be about two years old. The connector performed way under spec and you should send it in for repair (assuming your are in a country with a 2 year warranty period)

Unfortunately we're nearing the anniversary of the warranty's expiration.

Re: The EU made Apple adopt new Wi-Fi standards, and now Android can support AirDrop

#89

Post by bigyabai »

notepad0x90 wrote: post #81

Look, I don't like some of the things the EU is doing and I think Apple should consider (along with other tech companies) selling products tailed to the EU, Asia and rest of the world. In the long-run, it might be cheaper. That said, they are setting a good example of legislating for tech. We should be doing a lot of that here in the US. I don't need a bulletproof, ultra-secure, end-to-end encrypted, formally verifie…

> it should come up with a better alternative and leave iPhone users wondering why Android's solution is faster and works at greater distances. Same with iMessage compatibility.

Okay, so, why don't we see competition in places where it matters, like Airdrop, iMessage and the App Store?

The answer seems to be pretty simple, to me; Apple considers themselves above competition. It doesn't matter if a superior system exists, they ultimately decide what is righteous and anyone who disagrees buys a different phone. It's a lose/lose situation between consumers and the economy, who neither get superior software solutions nor cheaper products.

Re: The EU made Apple adopt new Wi-Fi standards, and now Android can support AirDrop

#90

Post by hshdhdhj4444 »

MBCook wrote: post #3

So they forced Apple to drop an Apple proprietary thing in favor of… a Wi-Fi standard Apple helped develop specifically to replace their proprietary thing. Not quite as strong as the headline makes the case sound.

[flagged]
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