Brazil Latest Country to Consider Forcing Apple to Adopt USB-C for iPhones

[FaustsHausUK]

Right. And when 5 came out if it was not backward compatible you can't use it. Mandating a specific plug based standard would hasten teh move to wireless charging and OTA synching/transfer.

Sorry, I should have been clearer: I consider USB4 the base starting point for year zero. Right now, there is no predictable way to know which features under the "USB" umbrella are supported by any given Android device with a USB-C connector.

- I don't think (m)any have Thunderbolt data transfer, they mostly have different variants of USB 3.* (meaning data transfers could top out anywhere between an effective 500MB/s to 2.4GB).
- There is no consistent support for USB-PD, and that too has different specs that can affect charging speeds and battery health.
- There is no consistent support for alternative data transfer modes besides such as DisplayPort and PCI Express.

By starting with a solid base feature set, we're not preventing future phones from building on top of that or implementing USB5 when that arrives, and USB has been fantastic about supporting legacy USB data transfer standards so, for example, you can connect to a USB 2.0 port on a PC and still expect data to transfer, if much slower.

 

[haydn!]

Stupid legislation. Risks doing more harm than good. But, it’s highly likely iPhone will go portless within less than 5 years anyway, so I can’t see Apple putting too much effort into opposing this.

 

[flofixer]

Yes. It is way too slow to charge like on vacation when you quickly need to give your phone a battery boost or when you need to charge it at Airports, on trains or in your backpack with an powerbank on the go. So many use cases

agree 100%. I also sometimes worry about the extra heat from wireless charging having an effect on battery life

 

[ThailandToo]

How do you come up with a new standard with this model? If the USB standard falls down over time and isn’t able to meet the needs of its users? Not defending Apple as exactly the same thing has happened to Lightning, but how would you define a new standard if various Governments define USB as the only port that can be used?

I think the top ten industry leaders in various sectors of technology should create and vote on the new technology they all will adopt. So rather than regulators stating USB C, they should state that the governing body will adapt every five years to ten years based on technological advancements and agreed upon standards from the group of ten.

And each of the companies making up the ten in each sector should vote based on their market power. If Apple has 15% of the laptop market, they should have 15% voting power. Likewise, if they have 55% of the smartphone market they should have 55% of the voting power. But it should be like the United Nations where the top three or five can veto any one company from implementation of their own standard based on one company owning greater than 51% of the voting power. So we are looking for joint development of standards leading to agreements among the companies.

All overseen by a worldwide regulating body. And start it off right by no money changing hands and no bribery or lobbying types of payments to get what one wishes over the whole.

 

[jlc1978]

That would still violate the USB-C mandate, as magsafe is still considered a port and would need a different charging cable.

Not in the EU. They specifically exempted wireless charging only devices. Not sure about Brazil.

 

[ackmondual]

Do people still plug in to charge these days? How 2018 of them. Just remove the damned port all together and MagSafe.

Anecdotal, but I know ZERO people who charge their iPhones and Android phones wirelessly.

Also, tread carefully when it comes to people's MagSafe

Forcing Apple .... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA

If Apple claims they follow laws of the countries they operate in, then they should "pull up their big boy pants" and comply

 

[jlc1978]

Either a new working group is formed by companies or a government funds an initiative that creates a new working group, it creates a standard, either as part of the group or under something like the IEEE umbrella, it gets proposed to regulators as an alternative, and after a lot of back and forth gets adopted, same as any other standard.

That said USBC isnt going anywhere for a long, long time

Standards are generally done under a working group, the challenge is to get agreement; which usually means allowing a lot of flexibility around what is considered standard. USB-C has a lot of ways to make a proprietary cable while meetng all the requirements of the standard.

The standard is for the general charging standard and the physical port, what protocol it handles beyond that is immaterial, the standard is around power....

Actually, a subset of power.

USB-C opens the doors to so many options. Connectors, ports, cables, etc., without the Apple tax.
I remember paying about $50 for a Lightning to HDMI adapter. You can buy a really good USB-C to HDMI cable for less than $15.00, and it works for your iPad and Mac.

Until Apple choses to addd the newest implementation of MiFi to their USB protocal; which the standard would allow.

I think the top ten industry leaders in various sectors of technology should create and vote on the new technology they all will adopt. So rather than regulators stating USB C, they should state that the governing body will adapt every five years to ten years based on technological advancements and agreed upon standards from the group of ten.

Getting such a group to agree on anything in 5 years would be an accomplishment. They already have such setups under the IEEE, SAE, etc.

Anecdotal, but I know ZERO people who charge their iPhones and Android phones wirelessly.

Anecdotally, I do. Lot easier than plugging it in.

If Apple claims they follow laws of the countries they operate in, then they should "pull up their big boy pants" and comply

Complying doesn't mean doing something; going to court to see if the requirement is legal is acceptable as well.

 

[ackmondual]

How public opinion evolves. When the EU legislation was announced, this forum was full of angry comments about useless bureaucratic governments stifling innovation. And now most comments encourage Apple to switch to USB-C.

I for one am very happy I will be able to use one charger in the future. And I hope all devices in my home will follow this example, even if they’re not forced by legislation.

Apple users have short memories it seems

 

[FaustsHausUK]

Anecdotal, but I know ZERO people who charge their iPhones and Android phones wirelessly.

Also, tread carefully when it comes to people's MagSafe


If Apple claims they follow laws of the countries they operate in, then they should "pull up their big boy pants" and comply

I got my girlfriend a wireless charging mat for her night stand, but I'm not sure she uses the thing. She mostly chargers in her car via Lightning when her battery is close to dead. I know way too many people who have old, frayed cables hanging around because it's easier to keep using your phone while charging that way.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

I think the top ten industry leaders in various sectors of technology should create and vote on the new technology they all will adopt. So rather than regulators stating USB C, they should state that the governing body will adapt every five years to ten years based on technological advancements and agreed upon standards from the group of ten.

And each of the companies making up the ten in each sector should vote based on their market power. If Apple has 15% of the laptop market, they should have 15% voting power. Likewise, if they have 55% of the smartphone market they should have 55% of the voting power. But it should be like the United Nations where the top three or five can veto any one company from implementation of their own standard based on one company owning greater than 51% of the voting power. So we are looking for joint development of standards leading to agreements among the companies.

All overseen by a worldwide regulating body. And start it off right by no money changing hands and no bribery or lobbying types of payments to get what one wishes over the whole.

If that had been done right around the time the Mac was introduced, those top ten industry leaders would have settled on “whatever Microsoft was using”. If that had been done just before the iPhone was introduced, it might have been “whatever Nokia is doing”. The “current leaders” are good for solidifying what’s in place, especially if it benefits the leaders or the leaders partners. But, you don’t get things like the iPhone’s 30-pin connector from the “current leaders”.

Seems like a lot extra overhead… and what if that group decides, every 5 years, that a new connector is needed? Sure would drive up sales for their supplier partners (that they own a portion of). And, could mean a guaranteed boost in sales every 5 years for the latest new cables! Oh, and it’s overseen by a worldwide regulating body… that the EU would absolutely agree with even though they have no control over it. And, with billions on the line, it can be set up in a way that no money changes hands…

 

[nrose101]

Do people still plug in to charge these days? How 2018 of them. Just remove the damned port all together and MagSafe.

I stopped using my port until Apple Music became lossless...Now I do it with an audio converter to make it really have true lossless.

I also use it to use wireless mic's for short interviews.

 

[Paddle1]

I don't get why someone would want wireless only. Wireless charging is inferior to wired in almost every way other than being able to put it on and off charge a little easier. It's slow, wastes energy, makes your device hot and decreases your battery health at a faster rate. That's not even getting into wanting to physically connect things like storage, audio devices, computers etc.

 

[@Brett]

Maybe Brazil should do more to protect the Amazon Rainforest first perhaps.

 

[imageWIS]

Do people still plug in to charge these days? How 2018 of them. Just remove the damned port all together and MagSafe.

Well, my car from 2018 has neither Qi nor wireless CarPlay, so I either have to plug the phone in or not use CarPlay... I also mention in passing that I have driven a 2021 car with Qi and wireless CarPlay, and honestly, it works far better then it's physically plugged in.

 

[ponzicoinbro]

I haven’t charged with a cable for years.

Apple has been the main promoter of USB-C since the start and helped Intel develop the standard. It takes time for all devices to move across to a new cable because lots of people already own Lightning cables which are really convenient.

Personally I’d like USB-C Thunderbolt to have the same size port as Lightning but that will take years.

 

[ponzicoinbro]

Maybe Brazil should do more to protect the Amazon Rainforest first perhaps.

Not with the fascist pig leader they have. He’s a climate denier who boots tribal people off their homeland and razes the forests.

 

[Thebrochure]

The fact that no one seems to be able to see that all these orders are just shells to hide their real motives (greed) is disturbing.

 

[Macative]

Do people still plug in to charge these days? How 2018 of them. Just remove the damned port all together and MagSafe.

What a ridiculous statement. Forget charging. There is an entire world of wired infrastructure that isn’t going away any time soon, including millions of cars that will be in use for 10 more years.

iPhone will always have a port. Thinking otherwise is arrogant drivel.

 

[Macative]

We need a common standard on USB-C cable identification (supported protocol, bandwidth, power...). I really like the cable mechanics but we need this identification.

There are at least 20 different cable specs today with a USB-C connector on the end. “Single cable” my ass.

 

[Damian83]

There are at least 20 different cable specs today with a USB-C connector on the end. “Single cable” my ass.

the lowest usb-c spec cable on a highest usb-c spec port (and viceversa) will still work at the spec of the lowest, and either possible combination of both will be still better than ****ning

 

[Instrumentality]

Are there any good arguments against putting USB-C on iPhones? It could make them thicker maybe? Other than that are there any good reasons this wouldn't be better? I'd like to move to an all USB-C ecosystem but I'm willing to hear the other side. 🤷‍♂️

 

[_Spinn_]

While it make sense to transition the iPhone to USB-C I don't see how this is the job of any government to mandate it.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

Are there any good arguments against putting USB-C on iPhones? It could make them thicker maybe? Other than that are there any good reasons this wouldn't be better? I'd like to move to an all USB-C ecosystem but I'm willing to hear the other side. 🤷‍♂️

Well, there’s the whole “trashing of the billions of Lightning cables” over time, thing. A lot of folks would be able to just drop them off at the local Apple Store to be recycled, but there’s a LARGE number of people that don’t have that option, don’t have any other convenient eWaste option OR that just don’t want to recycle that will just toss them in the trash. If the governmental goal is really “less eWaste” then perhaps a government sponsored program of education on how to properly handle those old cables in the transition would be good. If it’s more about “we literally are unable to do ANYTHING else right now, but need to feel important” and not about the environment, then trash away!

The only other thing is that I’m sure (and it’s already been experienced on the Chromebook and other USB-C devices) that people will fry their iPhones by connecting them to an “inexpensive” charger capable of up to, say, 30W, using an “inexpensive” cable that doesn’t properly report voltage capabilities. Then again though, that’s more of a good argument that “people will do the bad things in a surprisingly large number” than anything else

Wait, I guess there’s the hardiness of lightning, too. BUT, then again, I haven’t seen anything that indicates which fares worse under torque, so in my mind, that one still may be a toss up.

 

[PeterDTown]

How do you come up with a new standard with this model? If the USB standard falls down over time and isn’t able to meet the needs of its users? Not defending Apple as exactly the same thing has happened to Lightning, but how would you define a new standard if various Governments define USB as the only port that can be used?

There are provisions for that in the legislation (at least in the EU). It doesn't actually say the standard has to be USB-C, it just says that everyone has to follow the current standard (which right now is USB-C).

 

[darngooddesign]

Well, there’s the whole “trashing of the billions of Lightning cables” over time, thing...

No one is just going to throw out Lightning cables just because their new phone uses USB-C.

Some things like AirPods still require them. If you keep your phone as a backup you will keep them with it. If you sell your phone you will give them to the buyer.