EU Law That Could Force the iPhone to Switch to USB-C to Be Presented Next Month

[Darth Tulhu]

Apple, as well as every other electronic device manufacturer have known for a number of years now that the EU was planning on a standard for charging devices connector. Everyone of them could have got together to work out a standard but no, instead they decided to carry on as they were. The deadline time has now come and the EU have seen there has been no action take by any of the electronic device manufacturers so they've had to step in and force the issue on them.

Apple is not a victim here. The EU made it extremely clear what they were planning to do, they want to limit the amount of e-waste produced due to the excessive amount of AC adapters ending up in landfills and the manufacturers ignored the EU's message.

Government mandated standards can be a bad idea, and in this particular case I think it is.

Apple stopped providing AC adapters entirely with the phone so it complies with the "limit the amount of e-waste produced due to the excessive amount of AC adapters ending up in landfills" part.

Apple includes a USB-C cable with the device that will work with ANY existing USB-C adapter.

I don't get the conflict here, because really we're now talking about cables.

And soon, Apple will eliminate the need of those too. ANY Qi charger will do. So Apple will be adding nothing to landfills that isn't already in the market.

Now, I'd love to bring just one cable type for my iPhone and iPads, etc., but this is not what we're talking about here.

 

[teksurv]

I know it's a pain. In the end, being able to charge my Mac, my phone, my headphones etc. with one cable is huge.

 

[Michael Scrip]

Help me out...

MacRumors: "EU law could force Apple to put USB-C port on iPhone"

Source: "EU to propose legislation on common mobile charger"

See the confusion?

Are we talking about the thing that plugs into the wall?

Or the connector at the end of a cable and the port on the device itself?

 

[400]

This is amusing coming from a region that has how many different shapes for wall outlets?

Not that many as it happens I think (2, UK and Europe?), one travel pack has done me for decades around the main Western Europe nations. Though UK is still on its standard but the voltages are now 220 +/- 10% (I think, the +/- that is) to standardise it especially with cross border supplies. Even the industrial connectors are standardised. Though I did come across some shonky east german 16 amp throw back to pre wall one time and presented with bare butterfly terminals in one French town, which were all live.

 

[thebeans]

Apple may be forced to remove the Lightning port from the iPhone in favor of USB-C, according to legislation expected be presented by the European Commission next month, Reuters reports.

The legislation would establish a common charging port for all mobile phones and other relevant devices in all European Union countries. The move is expected to primarily affect Apple, since many popular Android devices already feature USB-C ports.

In 2018, the European Commission tried to reach a final resolution on the issue but it failed to come into law. At the time, Apple warned that forcing a common charging port on the industry would stifle innovation and create electronic waste as consumers were forced to switch to new cables.

• The EU Wants All Phones to Work With Interoperable Chargers, Here’s What That Means for Apple's Lightning Port

A European Commission impact assessment study conducted in 2019 found that half of all charging cables sold with mobile phones had a USB micro-B connector, 29 percent had a USB-C connector, and 21 percent had a Lightning connector. The study suggested five options for a common charger, with various options that cover ports on devices and ports on power adapters.

Last year, the debate was reignited as the European Parliament overwhelmingly voted in favor of a common charger, citing less environmental waste and user convenience as the main benefits.

The executive branch of the European Union is currently drafting the legislation, according to sources speaking to Reuters, which is expected to be presented next month.

Article Link: EU Law That Could Force the iPhone to Switch to USB-C to Be Presented Next Month

It would be hilarious if they pass this and Apple said screw you we just won’t sell any new iPhones to you. I know that would never happen but ….😂😂

 

[Shirasaki]

Recipe for stagnation, technical lockout and terrible workarounds.

Meanwhile in the tech world, any port that is not the bleeding edge is considered obsolete.

 

[Shirasaki]

Go port less already.

My local iTunes library is crying.
(No port to connect to my computer)

 

[arvinsim]

Good. Lightning needs to die.

 

[siddavis]

The iPhone is the last high performance computing device in my house that uses lightning. Everything else is on usb-c. My work computer, my MacBook Pro, android devices, and even the iPad Pro. It would be nice to just have one cable type (usb-c) for all my devices.

I agree with this statement 100%. BUT, you yourself have the ability and freedom to make the one cable type for all devices a reality. Governments have no business doing this and just because it might work out well for you today doesn't make it a good thing.

 

[gaximus]

Apple can talk the talk, but they never walk the walk. At the very core of their "business model" is incompatiblity with the world at large. Just like the rest of the US with its miles, ounces and gallons.

Their business model is a good business model because it works and make them money. If the charging port was a deal breaker, then people would choose to leave for other phones.
Also the comparison with the US's measurement system doesn't really work, we keep our old system because we are hard headed and like our old ways, definitely not to keep people in our eco system. :trollface"

 

[WiseAJ]

iPhones already support USB-C chargers. That's why USB-C to Lightning cables exist.

 

[WiseAJ]

Good. Lightning needs to die.

I hope it lives forever. Best port ever for my iPhone and its accessories.

 

[thefourthpope]

I think the move to usb-c is inevitable for iPhone now that iPad Pro went that way. What I don’t like is a law that forces companies to use a specific connection. It makes it impossible to move off that when something better becomes available. The only reason lightning exists is that Apple could not get the usb-c standardization process to move fast enough and they needed a smaller reversible connector for their iPhone 5. So lightning was born. And suddenly that caused the standardization committee to get off their collective butts because the reps on the committee from Apple’s competitors wanted a tiny reversible port like Apple now had.

If this law existed 10 years ago we’d probably all be using micro-USB still with usb-c being stuck in committee.

A good point. Not practical, but it would be nice if the law/regulation could just reference a current standard.

 

[danckwerts]

This isn't really about waste; it's all about the European Commission's unquenchable thirst for power. I've had so much trouble with micro-USB and none with lightning cables. If the European Commission had been around at the time, they'd have insisted on a standard for stone axes and we'd still be using them.

 

[falkon-engine]

I agree with this statement 100%. BUT, you yourself have the ability and freedom to make the one cable type for all devices a reality. Governments have no business doing this and just because it might work out well for you today doesn't make it a good thing.

I agree with the sentiment that we don't want to unnecessarily stifle innovation in the port connector space, but usb-c is pretty versatile given that it supports usb2.x, usb3.x, usb4, thunderbolt, pcie, and display port, it's not going to be limited in abilities anytime soon.

Usb-c is likely to stick around for a long while, probably until we abandon copper and move to a different material. Thunderbolt works over usb-c, same with display port 1.4 and 2.0, and thunderbolt 5 with 80 gbps is rumored to be on usb-c as well. Also, usb-c is being upgraded so that it supports up to 240W of power. With a versatile feature set like that, I think the Eurozone will be just fine with a law calling for standardization.

I have had so many lightning cables break over the years and I can only use them with apple devices. E-waste. On the other hand, I have a 6 ft 20gbps thunderbolt cable that has lasted years, and works for power delivery(to charge my laptops, ipad, usb-c battery, and other devices), data transfer, video/audio output to my usb-c monitor, attaching my external thunderbolt 10gbps lan adapter or thunderbolt nvme drive, and so on. 1 cable, very strong, resilient, and very versatile. And also, very simple.

 

[anthonylambert]

The problem with the EU and tech is tech moves too fast. The EU tried to make one of these the standard phone connector a few years ago.
Please stay out of tech.... Connectors are a little out dated new phones come with contact less charging.... and that will be the norm within a year or two... go standardize some bananas or something or let the people of NI buy sausages.

 

[bluespark]

It would be really nice if Apple would just do this on their own. Our MacBooks and iPads already have USB-C, so it’s super annoying to have to keep lightning cables around just for our phones.

 

[anthonylambert]

Good Point, Apple sells phones with connectors, and they sell chargers.... but not phone chargers....

 

[falkon-engine]

iPhones already support USB-C chargers. That's why USB-C to Lightning cables exist.

True, but they don't support usb-c cables. So you have to get a cable that only works with the iphone and can't use that same cable to charge the ipad or MacBook pro. Doesn't make much sense to me. Why not Just add a usb-c port to the iphone and get on with life?

 

[falkon-engine]

View attachment 1818227View attachment 1818228
The problem with the EU and tech is tech moves too fast. The EU tried to make one of these the standard phone connector a few years ago.
Please stay out of tech.... Connectors are a little out dated new phones come with contact less charging.... and that will be the norm within a year or two... go standardize some bananas or something or let the people of NI buy sausages.

This is a bad example because usb-c is extremely versatile given that it supports usb2.x, usb3.x, thunderbolt, displayport, pcie, and will support power delivery up to 240W. Also, thunderbolt 5 with 80gbps is rumored to be on usb-c as well.

Usb-c is a good thing. Those connectors referenced in your comment didn't support so many different protocols traveling along the same cable.

 

[RadioHedgeFund]

I’ve a friend that runs a phone repair shop. He gets umpteen Android devices in each week with broken USBC ports and can count on one hand the amount of lightning ports that he has had to repair in the last year.

I don’t want USBC. Neither do you.

 

[Shirasaki]

Here’s my two cents…

We need to start thinking about what this means for the environment. Going forward no company should have proprietary connectors for mass consumer products. We should be using standardized cables.. and when a new one is proposed we should be planning with the environment in mind.

Second we should be pushing other industries and countries to all use the same standard stuff. Countries should convert to the same measurements, same electrical systems and same side of driving a car.

Think of all the waste used in multiple standards when really just one is super efficient and optimal

Good in theory, in reality nobody cares, cause nature is not their bottom line. Companies including Apple will sacrifice nothing to protect the Earth. At most some token actions but that’s about it.

 

[Shirasaki]

This is a bad example because usb-c is extremely versatile given that it supports usb2.x, usb3.x, thunderbolt, displayport, pcie, and will support power delivery up to 240W. Also, thunderbolt 5 with 80gbps is rumored to be on usb-c as well.

Usb-c is a good thing. Those connectors referenced in your comment didn't support so many different protocols traveling along the same cable.

But because USB-C can do so many things customer can sometimes be confused. Port pinouts could be different and serves different purposes yet they look the same in a glance.

 

[mateytate]

Recipe for stagnation, technical lockout and terrible workarounds.

Except the Lightning port has stagnated and is slow! I have a 512GB iPhone, with about 400GB of music on it and it’s painful transferring that much data when I wipe/get a new phone. Sure, it’s only once in a blue moon but if you’re going to sell 512GB devices, you sure as hell should make the port fast enough to handle it!

 

[2crazy]

I think it's silly what the EU is trying to do there. The charger port will disappear anyway in the future in favor of wireless charging. If anything, Apple should be mandated to include a lightning to USB-C adapter for people who want one for free.