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Greg Joswiak: Apple Will Have to Comply With the EU and Switch iPhone to USB-C

iSamurai said:
The EU did it with Micro USB a decade ago and here we are moving towards a new standard. So no, we won't be stuck with USB-C forever.
en.wikipedia.org

Common external power supply - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org


Also, the EU are gonna regulate wireless charging, and they're already onto it. I guess it's reasonable to assume portable devices would require a physical port, as wireless charging and transfer is not as efficient as a physical connection.
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So how could those Android phones get a USB-C connector if a micro-USB connector was required?
 
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mrat93 said:
I mean, if you’re an iPhone user, yeah, you need(ed) to buy needlessly expensive cables. How long did it take third parties to make MFi Lightning cables? A while. Even took longer with the USB-C to Lightning cables. In the early Lightning days, if you wanted an extra cable, you were paying $19 plus tax for a USB 2.0 cable which only works with other Apple devices.

Or was your comment a way to say “Android was always an option”? If so, nah, don’t be silly. You knew what I meant.
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If you are iPhone user you never had to buy one been in the box since iPhone 4 to at least 11
 
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Gudi said:
The cue is in the name Universal Serial Bus (USB). It makes no sense to conceptualize a universal port and then go on with a mixture of connectors. The first ever iMac G3 abandoned all other ports in favor USB (12 MBit/s) in May 1998.
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That's a nice theory - and if every 'single use' port on a laptop got replaced 1:1 by such a universal port it might even have been true.

The reality is that such "universal ports" are more complex, expensive and resource hungry than single-use ports, so it resulted in a drastic reduction in the number of ports available. Before USB-C you could connect a charger, external display, mouse and backup drive to (say) a MacBook Air, whereas after USB-C you suddenly only had two ports of any kind and needed a multiport dongle. It's like evolution without the "getting better" part... 6 years later USB-C is getting a bit more useful (but you've only recently been able to get things like hubs with multiple downstream USB-C ports...)

...but this thread is mainly about phones, where universal ports & dongles are a necessity because of size limitations.

NB: on the original iMac the USB was mainly replacing ports such as the ADB bus (Apple proprietary), Localtalk (Apple Proprietary) and RS 423 serial (needed a special cable to convert to RS232) so it really was a clear step forward...
 
TheYayAreaLiving 🎗 said:
Mr. Joz. This was not needed if Apple had implemented it long time ago. Better late than never. Bring it on for the iPhone 15 Pro/Pro lineup. This world is ready to say Goodbye to the lightning connector.

It is time and it’s got to go. 😎
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Apple certainly was a holdout, but they were already well on their way to skating that direction before the law even ot finalized; they didn't just pop out these products in the past year magically. Cook's Apple is a big ship and they don't change on a dime.

Frankly I think the bigger impact isn't really Lightning, it's on all those random electronics that would have stuck with mini or micro-USB forever without this change.
 
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iOS Geek said:
And again...Apple could very well be super petty and give us USB-C in looks only. They can give us USB-C capability on the iPhone...with USB 2.0 speeds. EU says they have to go to USB-C. EU doesn't say anything about speed. I have USB-C cables in my house that are 2.0 🤷‍♂️
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A lot of USB-C charge cables are only USB 2.0. Including the ones that Apple ships with Macs. The reason is that USB 3.x requires more data lines, and therefore a thicker, more expensive cable if you want to support both USB 3.x and high power (> 60W) charging.
 
Alpha Centauri said:
Theoretically Apple could still cap USB-C at 480Mbps. Off course that'd just be plain nuts.
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It's plain nuts for anyone to do it, and yet here we are :rolleyes: Thank god Apple mostly sticks to TB3/4, where you know your cable can do what you want it to. Actually finding a USB-C cable that can do speedy data transfers and not just fast charging is surprisingly hard, I can't imagine non-techie people can easily do it. Maybe when Apple changes over the Lightning section of Targets and the like will offer more products.
 
I have to add - USB C is the most frustrating cable/ charger/ protocol combination that currently exists.
I'm in a situation right now where a device has a power in USB C connector that doesn't work with any of these
1. 35w Anker power brick and it's included cable
2. A 65w Apple power brick and it's included cable
3. A Thunderbolt 3 Amazon basics cable connected to a M1 iMac

Usually this device is powered off a proprietary Power over Ethernet > USB C adapter, but is supposed to work with all "standard" USB C power supplies.

Just another nail in the coffin making USB C less universal than any other version of USB that has existed up to this point.
 
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So why is the EU doing this? To make peoples life better? So say I bought a new iPhone with a USB-C connector. I already have a bunch of lighting cables, and use them on my AirPods charging case, iPad, Apple Pencil, and an adapter for 1/8 headphone, Apple magic mouse. So now I need one more cable for the new phone. Now my wife also has an iPhone and device, and she updates her phone maybe ever 7 or 8 years. So for me, this would be the government mandating something that I don't want, and makes more life more expensive and bothersome. Thank you Big Brother!
 
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macsound1 said:
Usually this device is powered off a proprietary Power over Ethernet > USB C adapter, but is supposed to work with all "standard" USB C power supplies.

Just another nail in the coffin making USB C less universal than any other version of USB that has existed up to this point.
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Not necessarily the fault of the USB designers, Implementers Forum or Spec though.

If I had to guess, I‘d suppose your device may be noncompliant to the spec and not work with e-marked cables, similarly to early batches/revisions of the Raspberry Pi 4:

https://www.tomshardware.com/news/raspberry-pi-4-usb-c-update
https://hackaday.com/2019/07/16/exploring-the-raspberry-pi-4-usb-c-issue-in-depth/
 
PrecisionGem said:
So now I need one more cable for the new phone.
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Chances are you have/use (or soon will) a USB-C powered device rather sooner than later.

Could be any iPad from Apple‘s current lineup.

And this regulation ensures that Apple won‘t force another new proprietary „Lightning 2“ connector upon you in future products.
 
danny842003 said:
Yet here we are with lightening still on our phones.
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And? Is that some kind of human rights violation I was unaware of? Are thousands of people dying every year because of the lightning connector?

I didn't say Apple was perfect, but they have a track record of knowing what they're doing when it comes to technology. The EU does not.
 
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inkswamp said:
And? Is that some kind of human rights violation I was unaware of? Are thousands of people dying every year because of the lightning connector?

I didn't say Apple was perfect, but they have a track record of knowing what they're doing when it comes to technology. The EU does not.
Click to expand...

What are you talking about?
 
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PrecisionGem said:
So why is the EU doing this? To make peoples life better? So say I bought a new iPhone with a USB-C connector. I already have a bunch of lighting cables, and use them on my AirPods charging case, iPad, Apple Pencil, and an adapter for 1/8 headphone, Apple magic mouse. So now I need one more cable for the new phone. Now my wife also has an iPhone and device, and she updates her phone maybe ever 7 or 8 years. So for me, this would be the government mandating something that I don't want, and makes more life more expensive and bothersome. Thank you Big Brother!
Click to expand...

The idea is that it removes all the issues you are complaining about. Yes not tomorrow but going forward they won’t exist.
 
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DownUnderDan said:
You can. On the other hand the EU can tell you they don't want your power cord used in their market. That is their right too.
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Then it should ONLY impact their market. But it probably won’t. The EU wants what they want for their market but the rest of us get stuck with it. Looking at you, cookie banners on every. Freaking. Site.

They absolutely have the right to control what they want used in their market. Have at it. But for those of us outside their market…leave us the heck alone.

Now of course, if Apple does USB-C specifically for the EU market (much like they already have a different phone…eSim only…for the US) then ok, end of conversation!

Plus, while the EU is on some standard-setting power trip, can they do themselves a favor and give THEMSELVES a standard? Their countries don’t all use the same wall outlets. One plug to rule them all, right EU? Get on it.
 
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Didn't the EU several years back try to get Apple to switch to that crapy connector that Android phones use? I think all of this is an effort to punish Apple. They have done this with other American companies. Look what they have done to the motorcycle company Harley Davidson. 56% duty on the bike, basically totally pricing it out of the market. Maybe the US should do the same type of thing to BMW and Mercedes.

Why not let the market take care of it's self. If the Europeans don't like the connector on the iPhone, don't buy it.
 
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ZebraDude said:
If I remember correctly Lightning connectors that have USB 3 speeds have pins on both sides.
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Yes, Lightning receptacles that have USB 3.0 (now USB 3.2 Gen 1) speeds have eight pins on both sides.


The picture of a damaged port (unfortunately to the owner) reveals 16 pins total.

www.apple.com

Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter

Transfer photos and videos to your iPad Pro with Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter. Buy now with fast, free shipping.
www.apple.com

‘The 12.9-inch iPad Pro (1st and 2nd generation) and 10.5-inch iPad Pro transfers data at USB 3 speeds, while the 9.7-inch iPad Pro uses USB 2.’
 
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iOS Geek said:
Then it should ONLY impact their market. But it probably won’t. The EU wants what they want for their market but the rest of us get stuck with it. Looking at you, cookie banners on every. Freaking. Site.

They absolutely have the right to control what they want used in their market. Have at it. But for those of us outside their market…leave us the heck alone.
Click to expand...

I’m not sure why people keep peddling this nonsense, it’s not on every website.
It’s on every website that deals with the EU, if websites don’t deal with the EU they don’t bother with it.
 
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