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The ultimate example of design by committee.

Environmental benefits, reduced waste, convenience, and $293 million in annual savings for users are said to be among the advantages of the new directive.
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.

Nothing reduces waste and cost while increasing convenience quite like suddenly obsoleting 71 percent of people's stuff...
 
• Apple releases iPhone 13 with ProRes codec video & pseudocinematic tools
• iPhone 13 releases with Lightning at USB2 transfer speeds

Hey Apple, tell us you don't believe in your own new flagship feature without telling us.
Saddest part is all these cheapo consoles now come with USB-C standard, making Apple actually seem antiquated. Apple can't be bothered to put USB-C on a $1200 phone. Nice.

Apple wanted to put USB C in the iPhone almost 10 years ago - but USB C wasn't ready yet. They made a decision to use their own in house solution with the plan to change again in the future. It's not about being bothered, it's not about costs, it's not about anything but trying to appease the vast community of iPhone users who do not even know what USB C is by not pulling the rug out from under them.

Seriously, it's either naive or disingenuous that you ignore Apple being the absolute biggest proponent of USB C in the world while you pretend they don't know or care what the benefits of USB C are.
 
And this is how the iPhones goes portless... to escape the EU police state
You use the term ‘police state’ a lot in your comments.. you must really hate usb-c the only porttype on my mbp..
 
Can’t wait to have just one charging cable. This should be applied equally to all portable electronics with a rechargeable batter, of course.


The European Commission has presented legislation that would compel Apple to use a USB-C port on all iPhones, iPads, and AirPods in Europe (via Reuters).

USB-C-Over-Lightning-Feature.jpg

The proposal, known as a directive, would force all consumer electronics manufacturers who sell devices in Europe to ensure that all smartphones, tablets, cameras, headphones, portable speakers, handheld videogame consoles feature a USB-C port. This "common port" would be a world first and impact Apple in particular since it widely uses the Lightning connector instead of USB-C on many of its devices.

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. 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.


Environmental benefits, reduced waste, convenience, and $293 million in annual savings for users are said to be among the advantages of the new directive.

The draft legislation also proposed that chargers should be sold separately from electronic devices, a move that Apple already started with the iPhone 12 and Apple Watch Series 6 models last year. The European Commission is also planning to revise its eco-design regulations to ensure that external power supplies for devices are interoperable.

In a statement shared with Reuters, Apple said "We remain concerned that strict regulation mandating just one type of connector stifles innovation rather than encouraging it, which in turn will harm consumers in Europe and around the world." The company also expressed concerns about the proposed two-year transition period to switch to USB-C.

The directive now needs to be greenlit by the EU Parliament and national governments, who may suggest amendments, before it can come into law. The European Commission hopes that this will occur in 2022. From that point, companies will have two years to transition to USB-C on their devices.

Article Link: EU Proposes to Force Apple to Switch iPhone, iPad, and AirPods From Lightning to USB-C
 
and rail gauge...
I'd like to see them try!
I don't believe so - seems mostly various industry organizations/associations adopted a standard for their particular area. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AC_power_plugs_and_sockets
The story in the UK, as related by Wiki is:

In 1941 Lord Reith, then the minister of Works and Planning, established committees to investigate problems likely to affect the post-war rebuilding of Britain. One of these, the Electrical Installations Committee, was charged with the study of all aspects of electrical installations in buildings. Amongst its members was Dame Caroline Haslett, President of the Women's Engineering Society, Director of the Electrical Association for Women and an expert on safety in the home.[39] Convened in 1942, the committee reported in 1944, producing one of a set of Post War Building Studies that guided reconstruction.[40]

The plug and socket-outlet system defined in BS 1363 is a result of one of the report's recommendations. Britain had previously used a combination of 2 A, 5 A, and 15 A round pin sockets. In an appendix to the main report (July 1944), the committee proposed that a completely new socket-outlet and fused plug should be adopted as the "all-purpose" domestic standard. The main report listed eight points to consider in deciding the design of the new standard. The first of these was stated as, "To ensure the safety of young children it is of considerable importance that the contacts of the socket-outlet should be protected by shutters or other like means, or by the inherent design of the socket-outlet." Others included flush-fitting, no need for a switch, requirements for terminals, bottom entry for the cable, and contact design.[41] The appendix added five further "points of technical detail" including requirements that plugs could not be inserted incorrectly, should be easy to withdraw, and should include a fuse.[42]

That is, whether it was done by formal legislation or other means, the government effectively mandated BS 1363.

And the voltage standards of today were made standard by the EU.
 
Can’t wait to have just one charging cable. This should be applied equally to all portable electronics with a rechargeable batter, of course.
And all powered docks and hubs that use less than 100 Watts. No more barrel power connections.
 
It would be great if everything went USB-C. You wouldn't believe the fistful of white adapters I carry in my laptop bag.
 
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I'm sure someone has stated it before in this thread, but Apple would probably get rid of any ports before adding a new one. No question why Apple has been pushing wireless everything in recent years. If they make a foldable, most likely it will have no ports.
 
Crying for Innovation and waste. Apple includes less and less cables and chargers. So Customers have to buy it anyway at some Point. And about usb c… it is much better than lightning. And on the other side - they have more and more usb c as only option on theyr computers and cry bec of theyr iphones?
I think the only reason to keep it is apple‘s safety around lightning.
they could even ad thunderbolt instead of usb c and beat the rest of the industry.
 
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I no longer use lightning for charging on any of my two iPhones, 11 and 12. Not even with my Airpods case. I would only use it in case I want to transfer files faster from my iPhone to my Mac or iPad, but giving that lightning only transfers at USB 2.0 speeds, Airdrop is way faster.
It doesn't make any sense enabling Prores on the new iPhone 13 pro and keep the lightning port. They should go full USB-C already. They did it with the Mac in 2016, can't understand why they are keeping it.

And the excuse of causing extra waste if going USB-C has no sense to me. I for one will be carrying only one cable, as I have the USB-C to USB-C for my iPad Pro, and am forced to carry an extra Lightning cable just in case I need to quick charge my iPhones.
 
Fine with me. Looking at the case for the new 13 it’s clear the thing would be Chonky enough to accommodate a C plug. I’m sure this would tick off Apple as it would be giving up the last vestiges of their MFi licensing program in the form of Lightning plugs, which is the real reason they’ve kept the port around. Oh, you thought it was because Apple cared about compatibility? You poor, gentle soul.
Im sure Apple thought it could replace that cash cow with MagSafe devices, but one quick search for fully compatible chargers and mounts from 3rd party manufacturers shows how popular that has been. Spoiler: not very.
 
some people are so loyal to Apple that they cannot critically evaluate the details, they just say ‘EU dumb, Apple good!’
My iPad Pro uses USB C and for me it’sa better experience. I can minimise cable clutter, if I visit somewhere and forget a lightning cable I’m not stuck having to run around to find a shop. And I have access to all these USB C accessories. it’sa big improvement.
 
The ultimate example of design by committee.




Nothing reduces waste and cost while increasing convenience quite like suddenly obsoleting 71 percent of people's stuff...
In the interim it will likely increase waste and costs. That's short-term thinking though. In the long-term it's quite advantageous on both of those counts to be able to charge all of your electronic devices with potentially a single cable/brick. In the future, people switching between Android and iOS will no longer have to buy new charging cables or other accessory devices. And the only reason micro USB is around is because some phone manufacturers are cheap bastards. It should've disappeared from most new devices several years ago.
 
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