If there were actual evidence of this then you'd have a good point. But in the case of Apple, the opposite was true: we were getting worse products because Apple wanted to lock consumers in to an inferior, proprietary plug standard.
I'm not convinced it was necessarily inferior given its history. Apple needed to replace the 30 pin connector with something better, and USB-C was still in the future; and thus the Lightening connector was born. Lightening had many of the advantages USB-C would later have - small, flippable, and robust.
the USB-C spec came out 2 years later, but it took a while for USB-C to start gaining traction and by the time it did there was an ecosystem around the Lightening connector for iPhone/iPad users. Apple faced a quandary - do we dump Lightening early on and basically make all the existing accessories unusable without a dongle and upset users as well as force accessory makers to retool their products, or ride with Lightening until USB-C becomes widespread and then sunset Lightening.
The EU may have speed up the switch but it was inevitable. From a financial perspective, I'm guessing the sale of cables, chargers and dongles made up for any lost MiFi revenue, especially since most stuff was never certified anyway but simply a knockoff of the connector.
Side note: My earlier "what part of ..." reply was a bit snarky, and I apologize for that. I try to stay civil but sometimes I can't resist temptation.
The fact that anyone thinks a connector should be mandated after the EU wanted to mandate micro-usb blows my mind. Just because usb-c is the best today (and again it’s actually slightly worse at being a connector than lightening even if it’s ubiquity makes it more convenient) doesn’t mean it would have been the best in ten or twenty years. And if you believe the EU will ever change the standard I have oceanfront property in Austria you’ll be interested in buying.
The next standard will no doubt be designed by the USB-IF, which takes time. I have no doubt once they get serious about a replacement, discussion will take place to allow a transition to a new connector; and we'll make the same arguments for and against it.
I am not a big fan of government regulation, as it distorts markets, creates barriers to entry and often ultimately favors incumbents. But am not an anarchist either, and realize some level of government regulation is needed for a market to function, the question always remains, "How much is enough?"
As for ocean front property, I hear Sydney has some beautiful ones...
Edit: Grammar fix