EU Moves One Step Closer to Mandating Apple to Switch iPhone, iPad, and AirPods to USB-C

[hcherry]

“The idea that the ‘common good’ can be distilled down to [a standard] makes the term useless”
Like DIN or the metric system?
Not the same, but I don’t get your problem.

Consumers and businesses should generally be free to adopt the standards they believe best meet their needs—provided they don’t violate the rights of others in doing so.

They should be free to offer competing alternatives to challenge the status quo.

What if there had been a standard requiring all phones to have physical keyboards? You could justify that with the same “common good” argument used here.

 

[Analog Kid]

You know, we elect these governments to improve our lives. To protect us. To protect the environment. To permit a live in freedom. To protect us from monopolies. To stop bad developments that markets fail to correct.
And to provide an environment in which innovation can flourish, by standardizing and regulating what's necessary to enable the development of new products, and so that innovation can built upon. Or would you like to have a 314V power system? Passenger cars wider than 3meters? Non-standardized wall power outlets? Non-standardized currency units? Sounds like great fun...

The Soviet Union left production decisions up to government, how did that turn out?

How does government forcing a one-size-fits-all solution permit us to live in freedom, protect us from monoplies, and create an environment that allows innovation to flourish and enabling the development of new products? It runs counter to all those ideals.

You sound like someone who thinks that good decisions are made by amateurs sitting around a table and thinking hard. Free markets lead to much better outcomes by testing ideas in the market and selecting for those that succeed. That's not to say there aren't times when government needs to step in and fix distortions in the market, but do we really think the charging port is worth of the heavy hand of government?

 

[ackmondual]

EU: "Time for everyone to use USB-C"
Apple: *releases port-less iPhone.
EU: *shocked Pikachu face

That's one way to make things worse than USB-C

 

[Vespi]

monopoly?

 

[haydn!]

This is great news in many ways - but, what is the allowances/framework for innovation?

This creates little incentive for any manufacturer to develop a new faster/more efficient port further down the line?

Apple have already transition to usb-c on most devices but I can still see them opposing this because of the vast accessories market.

And what about devices that were heading towards portless with wireless charging instead?

 

[NastyMatt]

Okay then tell me how many people with Samsungs, Pixels etc complain that their USBC cable is not rugged enough.

Agreed... no one ever lets their iPhone just "float around in the car" relying solely on the lightning cable to save it from being damaged... no one.

 

[yabeweb]

Am I too late to be here before someone say Apple should pull out of EU?

 

[haruhiko]

While I hate the Lightning port, I don’t think having a government body to tell you what port you should use is a good idea. But I see how many people here secretly love socialist regimes where the party tells you what is good and what is not, sometimes the party will make correct decisions too, but does it mean that the system is fine?

p.s. Even China doesn’t dictate what port a phone should use.
(I just can’t help mentioning China because it’s something that one must hate to be politically correct.)

 

[BeatCrazy]

1. So you chose the iPhone for it's cable only?
2. How many USB-C cables do you have at home? No recent iPads, MacBooks, HomePods, tablets, Notebooks, storage systems, ...? Honestly?
3. This argument would make sense if the iPhone was sold WITHOUT a cable. (Anyways, to avoid waste, you should continue using your current phone instead of upgrading - you can even stick to Lightning this way.)

1. The EU is taking away my choice to use iPhones with my existing accessories.
2. You're missing my point... It's not convenient for me to replace the ~25 Lightning cables/accessories around my house as my iPhone(s) cycle to a mandated connector. Just like it was not convenient for me to make the transition from 30-pin to Lightning. At least when Apple made that transition 10 years ago, I got some added functionality and connectivity improvements out if it. There is no added functionality or benefit from going from Lightning to USB-C, when it comes to a device like an iPhone.
3. I don't want to keep the same phone in perpetuity. It's not like my old phone goes into a landfill. Again, we can use the 30-pin connector as the perfect example. Probably 90% of those ever manufactured have made their way to landfills over the past 10 years. No reason for Lightning to suffer the same fate just because the EU wants to over-regulate.

 

[akempf]

I honestly don't care what friggin' cable they use. I'm just amazed that so many people get emotionally invested in such trivial matters and that people support government overreach to regulate things like this.

So, what is it then? You a) don't you care or you b) do care a lot and get emotional about "government overreach"?

But you don't care. Never had to carry multiple power adapters with you when traveling with phone, iPad, Notebook? Never had to carry different Lightning / USB-C / HDMI adapters for plugging screens / projectors / displays in? Never needed different audio-connectors for your classical 3.5mm headphones? Never travelled without power cables, trusting that you could charge your phone in the taxi, at the airport or at your friends' place?

 

[bcortens]

The Soviet Union left production decisions up to government, how did that turn out?

How does government forcing a one-size-fits-all solution permit us to live in freedom, protect us from monoplies, and create an environment that allows innovation to flourish and enabling the development of new products? It runs counter to all those ideals.

You sound like someone who thinks that good decisions are made by amateurs sitting around a table and thinking hard. Free markets lead to much better outcomes by testing ideas in the market and selecting for those that succeed. That's not to say there aren't times when government needs to step in and fix distortions in the market, but do we really think the charging port is worth of the heavy hand of government?

Wow, so this is soviet style communism is it? It's a tiny regulation, there has been little innovation in the space since USB-C was released, I actually think that USB-C should have used the lightning connector (Apple had a large hand in the USB-C design) but that would have required Apple to give up on their licensing fees and lock in. Anyway, this is not a giant overreach, it is a small attempt to make sure that electronics are easily interoperable with a common standard. The improvements to the ports are all coming with the same port style lately (TB3 to 4, USB3 to 4).

If iPhones don't need the advanced features of USB-C/TB why is innovation such an argument in favour of resisting this regulation? Why has lightning not gained at least full TB-3 support if its important for Apple to innovate? Apple has barely even started to standardize on 10Gbps speeds over lightning, hardly an example of consistent innovation in the space.

 

[haruhiko]

I honestly don't care what friggin' cable they use. I'm just amazed that so many people get emotionally invested in such trivial matters and that people support government overreach to regulate things like this.

Just give them one reason, be it the Lightning port, be it [some country name] or [some religion], some people will happily give up all their rights if the government tells them it can help the people defeat these things.

 

[enjoi52]

I look forward watching Apple find whatever loophole gets them out of this

It will be a usb C to lightning dongle that ships with the phone in the EU.

 

[randomgeeza]

I'm not in favor of a government mandate on this type of thing, but I do believe Apple needs to kill off that ****ing lightning connector. EVERY other Apple product I have is USB-C and it annoys the hell out of me to have to carry around a separate cable just to charge my phone and Airpods.

First world problems... much be soooooooooo heavy and cumbersome.

 

[hcherry]

So, what is it then? You a) don't you care or you b) do care a lot and get emotional about "government overreach"?

But you don't care. Never had to carry multiple power adapters with you when traveling with phone, iPad, Notebook? Never had to carry different Lightning / USB-C / HDMI adapters for plugging screens / projectors / displays in? Never needed different audio-connectors for your classical 3.5mm headphones? Never travelled without power cables, trusting that you could charge your phone in the taxi, at the airport or at your friends' place?

I simply don’t believe that a government body should be tasked with solving this minor inconvenience.

I don’t believe they’re capable of solving it better than an open market with many alternatives available to consumers based on what they need and value.

 

[usagora]

So, what is it then? You a) don't you care or you b) do care a lot and get emotional about "government overreach"?

But you don't care. Never had to carry multiple power adapters with you when traveling with phone, iPad, Notebook? Never had to carry different Lightning / USB-C / HDMI adapters for plugging screens / projectors / displays in? Never needed different audio-connectors for your classical 3.5mm headphones? Never travelled without power cables, trusting that you could charge your phone in the taxi, at the airport or at your friends' place?

What's so hard to understand here? I don't care what cable they use. Full stop. New thought: I DO care about governments overstepping their bounds and micromanaging things like this. Those are two totally different topics. And yes, I have a bag I carry with me with all sorts of adapters and cables when I travel with my MBA and iPhone. Either removing one or two lightning-to-USB-C cables from that bag or having to continue to carry them isn't going to affect my life in any significant way, lol!

 

[akempf]

1. The EU is taking away my choice to use iPhones with my existing accessories.
2. You're missing my point... It's not convenient for me to replace the ~25 Lightning cables/accessories around my house as my iPhone(s) cycle to a mandated connector. Just like it was. not convenient for me to make the transition from 30-pin to Lightning. At least when Apple made that transition 10 years ago, I got some added functionality and connectivity improvements out if it. None of those things are applicable in a Lightning-to-USB-C transition.
3. I don't want to keep the same phone in perpetuity. It's not like my old phone goes into a landfill. Again, we can use the 30-pin connector as the perfect example. Probably 90% of those ever manufactured have made their way to landfills over the past 10 years. No reason for Lightning to suffer the same fate.

1. You can continue using your existing iPhones or use a new iPhone with an adapter.
2. With USB-C, you get added connectivity to computer screens (which also charge your phone) and to the chargers, devices, headphones, screens, ... in your friends houses, in hotels, taxis, at airports, ...
3. You know, Apple can make a non-EU-spec "iPhone Classic", sticking to Lightning. They will surely make this if there's a market for it. If they do not make it, it's a clear sign that their market research showed too little interest.

 

[BeatCrazy]

What's so hard to understand here? I don't care what cable they use. Full stop. New thought: I DO care about governments overstepping their bounds and micromanaging things like this. Those are two totally different topics. And yes, I have a bag I carry with me with all sorts of adapters and cables when I travel with my MBA and iPhone. Either removing one or two lightning-to-USB-C cables from that bag or having to continue to carry them isn't going to affect my life in any significant way, lol!

If it was really bothersome, you could just switch to Android. See, no EU regulation required!

 

[Amazing Iceman]

OK, then. My toaster should also be on USB-C.
And I want a Tesla that fast charges over USB-C too.
The Lightning interface was developed and marketed by Apple before USB-C became popular.
There are lots of people with peripherals containing Lightning connectors (Stereos, Speakers, cars, etc).
What are people going to do with these? Throw these away?

 

[usagora]

Just give them one reason, be it the Lightning port, be it [some country name] or [some religion], some people will happily give up all their rights if the government tells them it can help the people defeat these things.

It's amazing, isn't it? And people can't seem to separate in their mind the specific issue the government is meddling in vs. the principle of whether they should be meddling in such things to begin with. For instance, would it be great if everyone ate a well-balanced diet and thus reduced the instances of illness and disease for themselves and society? Hell yes! So should the government start regulating everyone's diet? Hell no!

 

[xRem]

On one hand I believe this legislation is a good step forward. Some manfufactureres, not naming names!, have often used a propiertery standard and not often with a good enough justification. So in that, this is a massive step forward.

But on the other hand I am wondering if this is going to impact innovation. Some devices are small enough that you can basically only offer one port - and being forced to use the USB C port might prevent you from putting your own port there, even though your port has a certain advantage over USB C, be it speed, higher display resolution or whatever. So I hope that this legislation either has a mechanism to work with relevant standards bodies to keep the pace or that companies will be able to present a case for why they might require a special permit to use their own port instead of USBN C.

 

[BeatCrazy]

1. You can continue using your existing iPhones or use a new iPhone with an adapter.
2. With USB-C, you get added connectivity to computer screens (which also charge your phone) and to the chargers, devices, headphones, screens, ... in your friends houses, in hotels, taxis, at airports, ...
3. You know, Apple can make a non-EU-spec "iPhone Classic", sticking to Lightning. They will surely make this if there's a market for it. If they do not make it, it's a clear sign that their market research showed too little interest.

An adapter? More waste!
Added connectivity to screens? Apple already makes a dongle for that, plus wireless/AirPlay solutions. We don't need to regulate a different port for that.
More access to chargers when I'm desperately out of iPhone battery somewhere outside my home/car/office? Dude it's 2022, if I find myself in that situation, the person/place that helps me out is more likely to have a Lightning cable and/or Qi vs. USB-C.

 

[bcortens]

OK, then. My toaster should also be on USB-C.
And I want a Tesla that fast charges over USB-C too.
The Lightning interface was developed and marketed by Apple before USB-C became popular.
There are lots of people with peripherals containing Lightning connectors (Stereos, Speakers, cars, etc).
What are people going to do with these? Throw these away?

Toasters don't need data nor do they actually charge, instead they usually stay connected to mains power at all times (at least they shouldn't, smart devices in everything is a terrible trend).
Teslas aren't a small personal electronic device
USB-C was developed with a lot of Apple input, if they liked lightning so much they could have contributed its port design to the USB-C spec.
Keep your existing devices but as they wear out and need replacing you'll need fewer cable types and in time all devices will have a nice common cable standard.
If TB-5 can double the data rate of TB-4 with the same port and backwards compatibility then we can get even more life out of this port and extend its use further.

 

[haruhiko]

It's amazing, isn't it? And people can't seem to separate in their mind the specific issue the government is meddling in vs. the principle of whether they should be meddling in such things to begin with. For instance, would it be great if everyone ate a well-balanced diet and thus reduced the instances of illness and disease for themselves and society? Hell yes! So should the government start regulating everyone's diet? Hell no!

“The Party now dictates that one must eat one part of meat and three parts of vegetables every day. Oh and also one must recite the great words of Dear Leader every day for at least one hour. These are good to our citizens’ health and we will all live in a harmonious healthy socialist society.”

 

[akempf]

What's so hard to understand here? I don't care what cable they use. Full stop. New thought: I DO care about governments overstepping their bounds and micromanaging things like this.

OK. But based on your user ID, you're US based - so why do you really care about European legislation then?
Here in Europe, most of us actually like to be governed effectively (not minimalistically) where it's good for EU citizens. Through a democratic process, and with the freedom of choosing between various different parties.