Government overreach at it's finest. I'm all for USB-C, but this is just governments meddling where they don't belong.
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EU Law That Could Force the iPhone to Switch to USB-C to Be Presented Next Month
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One of those referenced was a USB A to USB Micro
Universal
Serial
Bus
At the time it supported so many different protocols, or you know, universal.
I'm being a bit silly because I certainly agree with your technical view that USB-C is a good thing. I just don't advocate laws being passed to dictate standardization at this level.
It's really easy to say this AFTER a standard catches up to Apple's designs. The 30 pin dock connector did something USB wasn't cable of until MHL came along 8 years later. Lightning did something USB couldn't do until nearly 5 years later. Apple had a tough decision to make with Lightning because they saw USB C floundering. They knew that moving forward would eventually put them behind. But this law will be just the type of excuse Apple can use when its customers get pissed off.
The comparison to imperial units is so far off the mark it's not even funny. Apple has consistently been ahead of the functionality of the current standard at every turn so far and influenced where that standard would go.
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This is why we can't have nice things.
Think of how many USB connectors there have been over the years. USB-C is already a few years old. By the time this law passes and is able to be put into force (they surely won't want to disrupt the product cycle for designs that are already in progress and most phone designs start years before release), USB-C will quite likely be at the end of its useful life.
Except as a vestigial charge port nobody wants any more...
Think of how many USB connectors there have been over the years. USB-C is already a few years old. By the time this law passes and is able to be put into force (they surely won't want to disrupt the product cycle for designs that are already in progress and most phone designs start years before release), USB-C will quite likely be at the end of its useful life.
Except as a vestigial charge port nobody wants any more...
He said physically, so I assume he means the ability to plug it in. And it is, the rounded sides guide it in more easily and prevent scratching the outside of the device with sharp edges.
As a connector, USB C is likely the end of the road for a long, long time. There have technically only been two connectors before it - the minis and micros and all of those iterations were the device input side. Better logic and control and forward thinking make C very different.
If I recall correctly, usb2 did not support displayport, and certainly not pcie data. Also, usb-pd became a thing with usb-c. I hear you though on not wanting more regulations. But sometimes there needs to be standardization. Wi-Fi for example is standardized, same with pcie and usb. I lean towards supporting this specific regulation, but I certainly understand the points of view on the other side.
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I barely trust a technologist who says "this is all the tech we'll need for the next decade" and I certainly don't trust a government to make that call.
There was the:
- A
- B
- mini A
- mini B
- mini AB
- micro A
- micro B
- micro AB
- 3.x A
- 3.x B
- 3.x micro A
- 3.x micro B
- 3.x micro AB
- C
USB has always been more about broad adoption than aggressively thinking forward. This is why Apple led with Firewire, Lightning and Thunderbolt-- each time they provided what USB would not. Maybe, maybe, the integration of Thunderbolt into USB is an indication of changed thinking, but we have no actual way of knowing and history doesn't favor that bet.
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From Apple's perspective, that would be a lot less profitable... There's a % of accessory sales that profit from that connector afterall.
Unlikely. Widely used cable standards tend to change slowly. Also, USB-C is more future proof than mini- and micro-USB, since it supports a configuration channel and e-marked cables, which makes it easy to add new capabilities in a backward-compatible manner.
The one criticism I have is the USB-IF's confusing terminology ("USB-C 3.1 gen2", really?). But hopefully they'll do better with USB 4.
This is only the cables too. Also need to consider all the docs, radios, speakers, etc with Lightning plugs built in. It took several years for the world to switch over from 30-pin to Lightning. It will take at least that long this time too.
The real problem has always been the bricks, not the cables. When every phone had a proprietary port with a one-piece corded wall wart this made a little sense. Now that all charger blocks are modular the issues largely go away.
Of course, if you decide to not include a charger block in the box with every device the entire world (or at least the vocal part on this and other tech sites) will lose their collective ****.
edit: typo
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you don't have to carry multiple chargers. carry one with the max wattage you need. All the devices are smart enough the regulate power. All you would need is one USB-C to USB-C and one one USB-C to Lightning cable.
Unless of course you want to charge more than one device at once, and then you need multiple blocks, But that doesn't really matter to you since the issue is the fact that you "have" to carry multiple chargers which means you never charge more than one device at a time.
Apple talk is exactly vertical integration to ensure a better user experience as opposed to the compromises that broad compatibility carries wit itself
Incompatibility of cables and ports is without competition the IT industry largest failure in regard to user friendliness. They have tried for 40 odd years to get it right. Makes EU and States efficient in comparison. Whoever that cleans the port mess up deserves a medal.
Unless you have a multi-port charger (like this one, which currently happens to be on sale
). I love how small the new GaN chargers are ...
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IIRC, the first iteration of this law was centered around making MicroUSB the charging standard. But this lined up with the awful implementation of USB3 with the modified microUSB port. This has dragged on so long, that they’ve updated the favored connector to USB-C.
As has been mentioned by several posters, the real issue is that they standardize on the connector on the AC brick. As long as that end is consistent, then e-waste will be most efficiently minimized while allowing manufacturers to freely focus on design elements on the device side.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe WiFi is standardized by industry agreement, not by law. I'm all for industry uniting around (good) standards, but I'm very leery of government making laws that require manufacturers to use one connector and forbid another.
(Pro tip, to further your point, get a charger that has multiple usb-a and/or usb-c ports, and then one can charge everything at the same time.)
I actually carry a Hyper Juice model myself - 2 USB-C @100W and 2 USB-A @ 15W.Unless you have a multi-port charger (like this one, which currently happens to be on sale
I purposely left this option off my reply as the original post implied the need (issue, concern?) around carrying multiple chargers so I left that situation in place.
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Then again, always staying on current generation hardware is even more bad for the planet, by an order of magnitude or more.
no my iPhone cables are usb to lightning while the iPad charger is USB-C to USB-C. I think … ? I just confused myself
I have a little snap on adapter that converts USB-C female to lighting male so I only need to travel with one cable and one brick. I also have little clip on USB-C adapters for USB MicroB and USB MiniB for other peripherals in my travel bag. And one for USB-C to USB-A in case my charge brick dies or I need to charge from a public hub.
This turned out to be a much better solution than carrying a half dozen cables and chargers. Each adapter is a cm or two long-- about the same length as the native port.
This law doesn't change any of that. I'm not going to suddenly go out and buy all new stuff after this law, just like I didn't when we went from USB mini to micro to C.