European Lawmakers Want to Force All Smartphones to Have Same Charging Port, Apple Defends Lightning

[siddavis]

I feel that history has proven that people are often bad at making decisions for themselves... or else, they’re all too good at making decisions for themselves which are not good or sustainable for society as a whole.

The catch 22 is that if people are bad at making decisions, they will inevitably choose bad leaders...

Normally I don't like govt stepping in but honestly, Apple has taken us on a few rides and NOT always for our best interests, like their "courageous" move to kill the headphone jack as well as the 30pin fun.
If all companies had to support USB-C we would be better off for many years to come and it would ensure that future switches to better options were NOT controlled by one big dog company to the detriment of us consumers.
It's about time.

Right, but the free market gives you the power and ability to determine if Apple’s design decisions are right for you, or if you agree with them in the bigger picture. Maintain that freedom and vote with your wallet. We don’t need government bureaucrats dictating these things. There are too many unintended consequences.

 

[jimbobb24]

I hope they vote for it and to enforce it. To not enforce it, but vote for it would be nothing but a joke. Lightning & other Apple-Crap connectors need to die already.
[automerge]1578937923[/automerge]

What if the EU votes for Lightning?

 

[SeattleMoose]

When government starts legislating type of ports.....ugh.
Especially when it is a foreign government trying to control an American company.🤡
No heavy hand here folks...move along. Just trust the government...😈

 

[tryintoregister]

A few years ago I was so happy when you could charge everything with micro USB. Now I have 4 different chargers:
1. 30 pin for my iPod Touch 4 (yes, it's still my daily driver - wherever I go, it comes with me)
2. Lighting for my iPad
3. USB-C for my Samsung phone
4. Micro USB for my headset
And for some weird reason my Logitech Harmony remote uses Mini USB (for programming, not for charging though).

I have two IKEA power strips that come with built in two USB chargers at my charging desk, each has a different cable plugged in...

I support unification very much. What I have is a mess.

 

[lkrupp]

Okay, and after this? Same size/type batteries? Same cameras? Same operating system? Mandated features that all work the same on any brand? What's to keep the EU from doing this?

 

[teeoh717]

I have a radical idea—get rid of Lightning and update the I/O into the 21st century past USB 2.0 to 3.2 C so that it doesn't take 12+ hours to offload 64GB of content. Your keyboard shouldn't be using the same I/O as a $1,400 smartphone. It's just unbelievable to me that USB 2.0 is STILL Apple's standard on these "Pro" 2019 phones.

How else are you expected to offload 4K60p? Why offer the triple-lens camera and massive storage options just to cripple it with USB 2.0. We're supposed to use AirDrop for hundreds of 4K videos? Yeah, no thanks.

 

[minik]

I really hope this doesn't go in effect and 'force' companies to adapt to one type of port. TBH, I prefer the Lightning port on smaller devices including the iPhone.

 

[LadaSoukup]

Well, all modern phones do have Qi Charging... Now just find a way to call it charging port 😂

 

[macduke]

Apple should just open up the Lighting connector for open source. It's basically the same as USB-C but thinner and stronger (it's a solid slab). If the EU forces them to adopt it, they're forcing us to accept a port that is inferior. It will take up more volume internally, and it will be less resistant to breaking. It will severely limit how thin foldable devices can be, which need to be at least half as thick as devices today to be the same thickness when closed.

Besides, I think we're only a few years away from an iPhone with no ports, no sim card slot and no mute switch. It might have a diagnostic port hidden somewhere, like the Apple Watch, if you pry off the power button or something, or maybe a smart connector on the back like the iPad which would be good for battery cases and for a special diagnostics connector. Would suck for people who need to do a DFU restore at home, however.

 

[joeblow7777]

I agree with your comment to some extent, however, there may be important security patches that may not be rolled out to a user if they are no longer receiving updates. Which is creating a possible loss of PII.

Not getting the latest OS editions does not necessarily mean that old OS versions don’t still get security patches.
[automerge]1578939764[/automerge]

Exactly. But Apple is saying that having a SINGLE port would be bad for the environment. I can’t imagine why.

Oh, sorry, I misunderstood. I can’t explain their logic there...

 

[alphaod]

Will the EU pay for replacements for all my lightning accessories to USB-C?

 

[SarcasticJoe]

This is a VERY bad idea. How do we ever move beyond USB C if the entire industry has to move at the same time?? USB C isn't the best port that will ever be invented.

1: It obviously won't be for all eternity as the rules started out pushing for everyone to move to MicroUSB from various proprietary chargers and oddball USB variants as was the case in 2007 when talk in earnest began. Chargers actually used to be a genuine pain when every manufacturer had their own proprietary charger standards multiple ones at that before companies quite rapidly moved to MicroUSB with the EU memorandum of understanding signed in 2009.
2: USB C, just like A, is a very extendable standard with lots of room for extension so it's obviously going to stick around for quite a while much like A has already been with us since the 90s. Sure, it too is eventually going to get replaced, but that's not going to be happening for at least the next decade as USB C will continue to evolve just like A with backwards compatibility intact.

 

[deeddawg]

Lawmakers dictating technology choices.

Lovely.

 

[psingh01]

Apple should switch to usbc, but lightning is a cash cow for them.

 

[LV426]

God bless Brexit.

Apple will conform with EU requirements, not a little backwater off its coast. Also, British manufacturers will have to suck it up post Brexit: if they don't conform to EU standards, they won't be selling their stuff in Europe. So much for Brexit "taking back control".

 

[[AUT] Thomas]

More than 1 billion Apple devices have shipped using a Lightning connector in addition to an entire ecosystem of accessory and device manufacturers who use Lightning to serve our collective customers. We want to ensure that any new legislation will not result in the shipment of any unnecessary cables or external adaptors with every device, or render obsolete the devices and accessories used by many millions of Europeans and hundreds of millions of Apple customers worldwide. This would result in an unprecedented volume of electronic waste and greatly inconvenience users. To be forced to disrupt this huge market of customers will have consequences far beyond the stated aims of the Commission.

What a quoke after releasing ONLY the iPad Pro with USB-C. They should have moved their entire ecosystem to USB-C with the iPad Pro.
For backward compatibility please supply us with a USB-C to lightning mini dongle like the headphone jack for that exact same price.
Case closed.

 

[JimmyHook]

If they force everyone to use USB-C, then companies won’t be able to develop better ports because they’ll be legally frozen on this. In a few years it will be sorely out date and transfer speeds will be stuck. While that sounds good now, we have no clue what transfer speeds will be necessary at the end of the decade and beyond. This is why lawmakers who have zero technical knowledge shouldn’t regulate things they don’t understand. Option B which would also be ok in my book is abandoning the EU market as they don’t seem to have their act together. Let low cost Android manufacturers sell there

 

[LV426]

iPhones won’t have ports in 5 years, so it’s a moot point.

I doubt it. A lot of people take their phones on long car journeys, and most cars won't be offering wireless charging within the next five years.

 

[SSDGUY]

The only reason Lightning even exists is because Micro USB sucks, and USB-C was not ready in time for the iPhone 5 which needed a physically smaller port.

Apple should put Lightning to rest already and move to USB-C. They already have on iPads and Macs, why is the phone the odd one out? Enough already, Apple! I won't even mind having to buy new cables because it'll probably be the last time.

There is never a "last time". Too much money to be made by changing things up every few years.

 

[Appleman3546]

When apple goes port-less all together and does everything off of the back of the device, the decision reached today will not matter to Apple devices or their ecosystem

 

[Glockworkorange]

Typical Euro nanny state.

Wonder why you don’t have an Apple, Microsoft, Google or Amazon of your own EU?

Here it is—oppressive regulatory schemes.

Don’t you feel safer, though?

Lol.

 

[Breaking Good]

Um, does everyone understand that computer makers already do this with data ports?

USB is an example of a consortium which creates a standard for everyone to adopt. When the standard is revised/improved, everyone adopts the new standard.

The smartphone manufacturers would just form a consortium to create a new standard. The consortium would be responsible to doing R&D to update the standard as necessary. They create a roadmap so that all the manufacturers know the direction they are going and can plan it into the their future devices.

 

[seanmcbay]

Lots of terrible 50 year old middle manager opinions in this thread. lol

 

[dlondon]

By encouraging loyal Apple customers to ditch all their lightning cables en masse.

That assumes that the lighting cable lasts. I've had countless damaged cables over the years.

Why not let the market decide? Why do we need the government to force things like this? If having a universal port is important to people, they would flock to the many USB devices. It isn't. Annoying to some? Yes, but most people deal with it. If enough people were leaving Apple due to the port, Apple would happily change it.

I suspect the majority of iPhone users wouldn't switch to Android just because of a port (even if they're annoyed with ports). Like you say, Apple would change if they thought they needed to, but they don't need to right now – either by law (yet) or consumer demand.

Having standard inputs on the phones for charging would save on the number of adapter cables being produced, but the effect would be minimal, I think.

The effect wouldn't be minimal if chargers were not included with devices. The user can decide whether to use a standard charger or purchase an appropriate charger if their device supports fast charge or other tech. Assuming we all need a new charger and charging cable when we purchase a device is a wasteful to the environment. That might mean paying more if we decide to purchase one, but consumers would be more likely to reuse existing devices. It's a bit like plastic bags.

Store: "Would you like a free charger included with your phone?"
Consumer: "Yes please!"

Store: "Would you like to pay for a charger today?"
Consumer: "I've got one thanks."

 

[testcard]

What a waste of law making energy. Im guessing the European Parliament has nothing better to do if they are making laws like this.

If only there was some way for the UK to cut our ties with this bunch of wasters.