EU Proposes to Force Apple to Switch iPhone, iPad, and AirPods From Lightning to USB-C

[MallardDuck]

Let's hope not. Wireless charging is incredibly inefficient and thus a waste of electricity.

Not to mention that syncing a half terabyte of content will take freakin forever...if it even works at all.

 

[deeddawg]

Be careful, you'll end up opening a can of worms on whether we should have DC outlets in homes and get rid of AC outlets and their accompanying AC-DC rectifiers.

Hopefully no elephants will be harmed if that debate should occur (again).

 

[kemal]

- Try moving a 100GB ProRes movie off your phone with Lightning / USB 2 (when it becomes available). USB C will be much faster.

- Apple will eventually go USB c. But if it is mandated too soon, they will not be able to sell the previous generation Lightning port phones.

 

[djlythium]

Yeah, I’m not sure I agree with this. Is the line drawn at ubiquitous tech standards? If that’s the case, why not just outline how all companies need to follow specific I/O protocols, like USB-C, LTE, WiFiaxbxfxixn (or whatever we’re on now), Thread, etc., to sell their devices? I’m for certain regulatory standards across devices, but not piece—meal, and certainly not if it severely restricts uniqueness.

Apple should have used USB-C on the iPhone a long time ago, but forcing them via legislation is not the way. The EU could’ve made a blunt statement to raise social pressure on this issue without having to risk mission creep.

 

[adamlbiscuit]

You wrote "charging cable" which is a distinctly different use case from data transfer.

You're also conflating connector type with the underlying data transfer protocols and capabilities. See the myriad USBC connector equipped charging cables supporting USB2.0 data speeds.

Also note - for thirty years we've been using RJ45 connectors for hardwired Ethernet even as speeds and protocols have changed drastically.

I know, I phrased that poorly given the point I was trying to make.

And that's a fair point as well about the physical connecter vs. it's internal capabilities. I still believe that having USB-C on iPhone would have it's advantages and should happen sooner rather than later, but contrary to my stance in this thread, for me personally (i.e. someone who only uses the cable for charging) it's not that I have a deep-seated hatred for the thing.

 

[ajfahey]

The EU could be doing something about the fact that the EU hasn’t ever standardized on electrical wall outlet connectors, supply voltage or even supply frequency.

 

[2010mini]

Likely because the low usb 2.0 transfer speed and poor external connectivity of the Lightning port, drives the sale of high margin offerings such as higher storage and icloud subscriptions on their best selling product.

usb-c transfer up to 20gbps. You need faster than that for a phone? How many users will even use that?

 

[ddtmm]

Apple’s already gradually moving to USB-C. The EU needs to take a bloody quaalude.

Exactly. In just 8 or 10 more years the transition would have been complete anyway.

 

[Mousse]

I can tell you Apple's response to this right now before all the leakers/analyst/rumor mongers. They're going all wireless charging. It's been the plan for a long time.

Not anymore. Apple already has wireless charging as an option. Soon™ wireless charging will be the only option...as soon as that law passes.

 

[Lwii2boo]

Let me attempt to translate:

MacRumors said:
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."

Let me attempt to translate:

Apple said, "We remain concerned that strict regulation mandating just one type of connector stifles our lucrative "Made for iPhone" accessory royalty income, which in turn will harm shareholders in the US and around the world."

100% agree
This is all about royalties.
MagSafe is just Lightning 2.0 in terms of business model (patented "port" to charge royalties on every single MagSafe related accessories)

 

[matt_and_187_like_this]

Lightning is better for the environment, though.

 

[vipergts2207]

Good. Considering how long USB-A has stuck around, I'm not how much real weight people have behind their argument that this law will inhibit the adoption of future connectors. There have been a lot of lackluster USB connectors over the years, but USB-C seems to have finally gotten it right. If USB-A was able to stick around for 30 years, the much superior USB-C should be able to as well.

 

[2crazy]

Isn't this a moot point? In a couple of years I would expect Apple and Samsung to fully transition to wireless charging anyway, doing away with a physical USB style port. I think the EU is just bored, because there are no important issues that need to be dealt with. I mean it's not like we are in a pandemic or the earth is slowly melting. So yeah, let's spend money on frivolous mandates.

 

[deeddawg]

I know, I phrased that poorly given the point I was trying to make.

And that's a fair point as well about the physical connecter vs. it's internal capabilities. I still believe that having USB-C on iPhone would have it's advantages and should happen sooner rather than later, but contrary to my stance in this thread, for me personally (i.e. someone who only uses the cable for charging) it's not that I have a deep-seated hatred for the thing.

All quite reasonable.

My personal position is that while I'm relatively indifferent between the two connectors (other than inertia of having to replace various cables at the different household chargepoints), I think this is something better handled by free-market forces rather than bureaucracy. Particularly given the mess that is the current USBC cable landscape with myriad different data transfer capabilities and little/poor labeling to differentiate one USBC cable from another.

 

[BWhaler]

Good. Appe should have made this switch for the IPhone X, and never looked back. This is an example of hthe MBA suits have too much power at Apple, not the people who care about customers.

 

[deeddawg]

Likely because the low usb 2.0 transfer speed and poor external connectivity of the Lightning port, drives the sale of high margin offerings such as higher storage and icloud subscriptions on their best selling product.

Where is this USB2.0 limitation for Lightning published?

Seven years ago the ipad pro had USB 3.0 speeds on its Lightning port.

iPad Pro's Lightning Port Supports USB 3.0 Transfer Speeds, New Adapters in the Works

Apple's larger-screened iPad Pro includes a Lightning port that's capable of supporting USB 3.0 speeds, according to both an iFixit teardown...

www.macrumors.com

 

[trainwrecka]

As much as I would want iPhone to have USB-C I hope this never gets through. Imagine if they did this when micro-USB was the standard. We would have been stuck with that forever. At some point we will get a connector that's even better than USB-C but this legislation would not allow any new standard to be used.

This will be absolutely horrible for innovation. One only needs to look at “modern” military systems to see how archaic the technology is. In most cases it is 20-30 years behind what is current.

 

[performa_6400]

The solution is obvious. Just slap an additional usb-c port on the devices that a handful of people will use.

Can we also get a SCSI port while we're at it?

 

[trainwrecka]

Good. Appe should have made this switch for the IPhone X, and never looked back. This is an example of hthe MBA suits have too much power at Apple, not the people who care about customers.

For iPhone purposes and most iPad, lightning is fantastic.

 

[BWhaler]

Why so authoritarian, EU? It's like you want to be up in everyone's business... let the market decide.

USB-Crybabies go home.

the free market also gave us Boeing planes which were known to crash, Theranos, dumping of lead pollutants into our drinking water, etc.

we all need rules. Profit motive alone is not enough to be a decent society.

 

[H2SO4]

Why so authoritarian, EU? It's like you want to be up in everyone's business... let the market decide.

USB-Crybabies go home.

The market will decide. Apple, (and you), can decide not to do business in the EU. How about that?

 

[thebeans]

Wouldn’t be that hard. Want to sell your products in the EU? Comply. No? Ok, you can’t sell them here, say bye to a large income source.

What would be hilarious is if Apple said ok, we won’t sell in EU. How long till the consumers forced a reversal of the policy?

 

[_Spinn_]

While I like the idea of having a single cord for all devices, mechanically lightning is better than USB-C. My old phone had USB-C and in less than 2 years the port was so loose I couldn't handle my phone while it was charging without the cord falling out.

 

[Stratus Fear]

You wrote "charging cable" which is a distinctly different use case from data transfer.

You're also conflating connector type with the underlying data transfer protocols and capabilities. See the myriad USBC connector equipped charging cables supporting USB2.0 data speeds.

Also note - for thirty years we've been using RJ45 connectors for hardwired Ethernet even as speeds and protocols have changed drastically.

Yeah I was going to bring this up. USB 3.0 over Lightning exists, albeit on a small handful of Lightning-equipped iPad Pros from a few years ago. Anybody thinking forcing Apple to USB-C will mean the iPhones will 100% get USB 3.0 or newer signaling are in for a surprise. The reason the iPhone still only supports USB 2.0 over Lightning isn't because Lightning can't support newer standards (it absolutely can), it's because Apple deliberately builds iPhones that way.

 

[polyphenol]

I'd welcome this, but it's pointless. All of Apple's devices will use USB-C well before this regulation (if it passes) would come into effect in 2024-5.

Also, while regulating one universal standard would be good for the environment and user, device makers would then probably require EU permission to move from USB-C to a more advanced port in the future.

Which might work out better than having half a dozen different companies fighting each other to implement a successor to USB-C.