Can't come soon enough. Pretty much all of my other devices are USB-C now.
Lightning annoys me.
Lightning annoys me.
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EU Proposes to Force Apple to Switch iPhone, iPad, and AirPods From Lightning to USB-C
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This is something that I agree with! Apple should follow with the rest of the world!
Sometimes the EU just comes across as the ultimate cartel. All you hear about is them fining companies and taking them to court. Seem to have been pretty busy with this during the pandemic. You need to recoup funds somehow I guess. But in all honesty forcing companies to move to a standard seems like a bit of an overreach.
You and others might, so there's no net change there. But for the millions (billions?) who don't, that's still a MASSIVE difference
The misreporting, then, is that the EU tried to standardize on TWO different technologies that have been superseded, instead of just one.
I'm no fan of the EU, but if you left it to the corporates to sort out amongst themselves, how much do you think consumer's, environmental and other non-commercial interests would be recognised in the final outcome?
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This would be fantastic! Absolutely stupid and unnecessary that everything is moving to USB C, including Apples iPads and Computers (of which they all are now USB C bar the cheapest iPad), but their phones are lagging behind.
Annoying too that to use my iPad and iPhone with wired headphones, requires two different dongles!
Annoying too that to use my iPad and iPhone with wired headphones, requires two different dongles!
Atleast where i live (north europe) stores are obliged to take back electronic devices when you buy new. Also we have periodically e-waste collectors around the city where people can drop off their e-waste for free…
Darth Tulhu
macrumors 68020
By the time this is all said and done it will be the iPhone 15 what'll finally make the move to USB-C, if they don't go wireless altogether.
I don't see why Apple hasn't switched already. They were one of the driving forces to implement USB-C
Now I would fight that tooth and nail! Micro USB is the worst connector of all time. And SOOOO much crap comes with it!
Even Mini USB was better.
And ensuring that we will never see even better technology.
It was, up to a point... that's why Apple had to start bundling micro USB adapters in the EU. They'd just have updated the legislation when USB-C came along -- completely new standards with no backwards compatibility don't come along that often.
How? Nobody's stopping anyone from working on better technologies, and EU directives are updated all the time when new and better ideas come along.
The law will stifle innovation, not because Apple will be deprived of profits, but because all consumer electronics will be beholden to a standard that will be outdated in 10 years. This is a power grab and the reasoning being used for it is convenience and climate change. What a weak argument. Why not regulate the cables and require that they undergo endurance testing to last 10 years? Or better yet, why not ban cables and go fully wireless? Isn’t the problem cable waste?
Are they seriously going to spend time having policy meetings on communications standards and consumer electronic accessories? Can you imagine a room of politicians blowing out opinions and hot air about phones and cables? I think some have this idealized view “no more electronic waste” or connector convenience, but the reality is that the next innovative technology will need political approval. Your goods will cost more and arrive later than expected because of regulation and government bribery (aka lobbying and campaign contributions).
I’m not saying I prefer multiple cables, but there is also a small side benefit: resilience to attacks. When the entire world is on one standard and that standard has known (and possibly unpatchable) flaws, you have quite a serious predicament. On the other hand, a diversity of standards lowers the chances of outright destruction or disruption. I wouldn’t use this as my primary argument, but nevertheless it’s a real benefit (at the expense of convenience).
Are they seriously going to spend time having policy meetings on communications standards and consumer electronic accessories? Can you imagine a room of politicians blowing out opinions and hot air about phones and cables? I think some have this idealized view “no more electronic waste” or connector convenience, but the reality is that the next innovative technology will need political approval. Your goods will cost more and arrive later than expected because of regulation and government bribery (aka lobbying and campaign contributions).
I’m not saying I prefer multiple cables, but there is also a small side benefit: resilience to attacks. When the entire world is on one standard and that standard has known (and possibly unpatchable) flaws, you have quite a serious predicament. On the other hand, a diversity of standards lowers the chances of outright destruction or disruption. I wouldn’t use this as my primary argument, but nevertheless it’s a real benefit (at the expense of convenience).
What I would love to see: Apple "comply" with this, by semi-permanently attaching a Lightning-to-USB-C "nipple" on the bottom end of iPhones sold in the EU. You'd have a little pokey out of the bottom that one could remove with some effort. Of course it would look ridiculous. But hey EU, you asked for it.
the lightning connector is literally only in the Apple ecosystem. Just think about USB sticks, Keyboards, USB C / hdmi, headphones, etc.
I sure hope the iPhone 14 has USB-C, no notch and Touch ID