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I am so annoyed about how Apple has handled this. There was a really, really obvious time to do this:

That time was late 2016. Apple was going all in on USB-C on Macs and that's when they removed the headphone jack from the iPhone 7. It was the perfect time to just embrace the connector which could have been the connector for not 10, but maybe 20 or 30 years.

Instead we have this absolutely bizarre hodgepodge of USB-C and Lightning and what is about to become a mountain of useless Lightning adapters which, if they had just gone all-in with USB-C would be useful for years. In Apple's case I find these decisions particularly annoying because they give so much lip service to environmental concerns. "We are going to remove chargers to reduce waste." Great. Wonderful. I was very in favor of this move. USB charging is becoming ubiquitous. But this terrible decision has created a mountain of e-waste.
 
I'm not pro-Lightning. I'm anti-unnecessary government regulation and pro free market.
Often the EUrocrats get stuff right. They've produced very cheap and competitive mobile phone and broadband service through aggressive government intervention, a robust revival of rail service, a restoration of private enterprise to many aspects of mass transit service through restraints on government intervention, and a huge, flourishing free trade area. They tend to take things on a case by case basis in a pragmatic way and try to find the most appropriate balance of private and public for a particular situation or type of product or service.

This USB/Lightning resolution, unfortunately, is a serious mistake, though an understandable one considering the plastic waste issue (it's just that this could well cause MORE waste); and I am convinced it would have been avoided had Apple licensed Lightning for free and properly invested in its development instead of letting it languish at USB2 in most devices. One reliable way to destroy the faith of Eurocrats in a product or service built around a certain standard is to go medievally proprietary on them with regard to that standard and it happened here.
 
Apple likely had reasons for not switching to usb-c. Reasons they probably kept secret. How do they move those plans forward. How do they give us something new, something better, if they are forced to do what everyone else does. Is “think differently” not a thing anymore?
Money, literally licensing money is the only reason. They are making bank on iPhone accessories.

Hence why every other Apple product (MacBooks/iPads/Watch) have now moved to USB-C charging and cables.
 
I don't think the backlash will be quite as severe as the 30-Pin > Lightning transition.

Most audio/video/data transfer happens via various wireless protocols now days as compared to 2011. In addition with a majority of the world using Android devices and a significant majority of iPhone users owning an iPad or MacBook, USB-C cables are very common out in the wild.
Um, where are you getting this? I'd think it'd be the other way around, with a good majority of MacBook/iPad owners also having iPhones. Also that's recent iPads and primarily more recent iPad Pros, which many people may not have. Apple still sells its cheapest iPad model, which I'm sure pulls a good many customers, with a Lightning port.

Also, if most transfers happen via "wireless protocol," then what in God's name is the point of bitching endlessly about USB-whatever speeds? 😆
 
Thanks for waiting as long as bleeping possible to do this Apple. IO speeds and device compatibility with your walled garden Lightning cable is nonsensical here and now. Especially when iPads and MacBook devices have made the switch long ago.

Really appreciated lightning (as compared to the 30 Pin dock setup) back when the iPhone 5 was new, but since then USB-C has been fully ratified and considered a standard for even the most basic / budget Android devices for years now.
But that doesn’t mean you can use the usb-c connection in full speed for file transfer, backup. I’ll just have to find out.
 
EU should have mandated a "unified wireless charging platform" instead for all small electronic devices... if they really cared about the environment.
Enforcing old school usb chargers bundled with cables and plugs is not going to help the environment much...
It is as stupid as banning plastic straws at restaurants when 90% of the goods we buy are packaged in plastic...
Just stupid BS...

In addition, the EU seeks to ensure that wireless charging solutions are interoperable as the technology evolves over time. The directive empowers the European Commission to develop delegated acts by the end of 2024 that force companies to make their custom wireless charging solutions more open and meet interoperability standards, helping consumers to avoid getting locked into proprietary charging solutions while preventing fragmentation and reducing waste. It is not clear if this would include Apple's MagSafe charging system for the ‌iPhone‌ and AirPods since it is based on the Qi wireless charging standard.
 
But are they Apple USB-C ports that have worn out? It seems they've strengthened them over time.
Yes, both my 2016 and 2017 12" retina MacBooks. I no longer have the 2016, and I got the top case replaced on the 2017 earlier this year.

The 12" MacBook has corollaries to an iPhone, because it's the only port (I can't rotate through different female USB-C ports like I do on my MacBook Pros/Airs) and because of the smaller battery (like an iPhone), it needs regular/daily charging.

Single port + regular wired charging = female port will wear out.
 
Yeah, “We’ll have to comply” doesn’t exactly make me super confident about them doing more than the bare minimum requirement. I wouldn’t be shocked if they had a USB-C iPhone with USB 2.0 speeds for the first year.
The included cable surely will only support 2.0 speeds because it’s just a charge cable like what they bundled with iPads. The port itself should support faster transfer speed - they may even put Thunderbolt in it and make it a big selling point instead of just “bowing down” to EU regulations.
 
But that doesn’t mean you can use the usb-c connection in full speed for file transfer, backup. I’ll just have to find out.
Sure, but why would they cripple it as compared to devices such as the iPad Mini? The mini has some speed issues with that port, but it does support USB-C connections to many devices the iPhone doesn't even with Apple's own adapter cable. That alone is enough for me to upgrade from a supposed "Pro" device with decade old physical IO.
 
Yes, both my 2016 and 2017 12" retina MacBooks. I no longer have the 2016, and I got the top case replaced on the 2017 earlier this year.

The 12" MacBook has corollaries to an iPhone, because it's the only port (I can't rotate through different female USB-C ports like I do on my MacBook Pros/Airs) and because of the smaller battery (like an iPhone), it needs regular/daily charging.

Single port + regular wired charging = female port will wear out.
The 2021 MBP usb-c ports are much better
 
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To anyone who is STILL suggesting Apple should do whatever type of cable they see fit, allow me to introduce you 1980s computer situation, where different company produces computers that are incompatible with everyone else’s, and even the same company produces computers that are incompatible with each other.

If you guys want the world where Apple produces new charging cable every year or 2 years that is only compatible with a handful of devices (say one cable per generation of iPhone), then petition the EU to allow Apple to produce new cable every single year. Heck, even better, make iPhone 14 Por Max incompatible with iPhone 13 Pro Max. I am sure it will be amazing For you guys out there saying USB-C stifle the innovation.
That freaking Sony Ericsson charging cable couldn't even properly attach itself to the phone.

FB5B482F-5141-40FB-B2B3-06C48E801ECB.jpeg
 
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Um, where are you getting this? I'd think it'd be the other way around, with a good majority of MacBook/iPad owners also having iPhones. Also that's recent iPads and primarily more recent iPad Pros, which many people may not have. Apple still sells its cheapest iPad model, which I'm sure pulls a good many customers, with a Lightning port.
If you own a MacBook newer than 2016 and an iPad Pro from the past few years you've already got a USB-C cable to charge with. USB-C cables started appearing in 2014. This is nothing like Lightning cables where there were zero in the world before the transition.
Also, if most transfers happen via "wireless protocol," then what in God's name is the point of bitching endlessly about USB-whatever speeds? 😆
Because while majority of people are transferring data wirelessly, forcing professionals using your "pro" phones to move huge ProRes files via wireless is just plain cruel. Wired will always be better when moving huge amounts of data.
 
The reality is we don't. That's why what the EU did is bad in the long term. Government regulation like this stifles innovation and progress. Eventually a new and improved connector / cable will come along, only now it will take longer since it will require the blessing of our government overlords.

I really disagree. USB-C is the connector type. The underlying protocols can change. Proposed Thunderbolt 5 will operate over USB-C. The connector type was designed with the future in mind. Will it work forever? No. Probably not. Will it be good enough for mobile devices for at least a couple decades? Yeah, probably. Considering iPhones are still apparently just fine with transfer speeds at USB 2.0 levels (released over 22 years ago), I think a connector type capable in the near future of driving a couple 8K monitors is... gonna be fine for at least another 20.

Heck, Apple could implement their own transfer protocols under USB-C if they so choose. They just can't license out the connector—and it's so bonkers that they do anyway, seeing as they went all in on USB-C on their laptops in 2016! If it's good enough for a MacBook Pro, it should be more than good enough for a bloody phone.

Another added bonus, is that the easiest way to get the law updated will be a consortium of tech companies—that means designing a new likely open standard first rather than someone just going crazy with a proprietary connector. But seriously, this is a problem for like... me being retirement age.
 
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.
I forgot how until last week every android phone sold in Europe used micro USB.

Oh wait, that prior legislation and this legislation are completely different.
 
Wait until Apple releases its electric car. It is a thunderbolt/lighting cable to charge it. say WHY NOT USB C.....
 
The included cable surely will only support 2.0 speeds because it’s just a charge cable like what they bundled with iPads. The port itself should support faster transfer speed - they may even put Thunderbolt in it and make it a big selling point instead of just “bowing down” to EU regulations.
People often forget how Wild Wild West the USB-C cable arena is. Many slow / poor IO issues can be linked to what cable you are using. Took me a while to learn this, it is actually worse (in the USB-C space) than HDMI cables in some cases.
 
If it's good enough for a MacBook Pro, it should be more than good enough for a bloody phone.
Different use cases. Most people would use the Lightning connector more often than plugging in a USB-C charger for a MacBook (equals more wear), and Mac customers expect high speed data/video transfer from the ports, Lightning is not great at that. iPhone customers don't typically have those same expectations.

In fact, Apple essentially acknowledged that USB-C for charging is not ideal for MacBooks (due to wear and potential damage), hence the re-introduction of MagSafe.
 
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