No, no one always knows best, but in this one case the EU did know, and Apple did not.
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Report: Apple to Stop Selling iPhone 14 and iPhone SE in EU This Month
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No, no one always knows best, but in this one case the EU did know, and Apple did not.
There's so much wrong here I don't know where to begin.
No Apple was not making "billions" in royalties from MFi. If Lightening was such a money grab for them, why did they introduce wireless charging using the Qi standard instead of their own proprietary system? Why did Apple move iPads to USB-C? Why did Apple go all-in on USB-C on the Mac well before any other computer manufacturer?
When they introduced Lightening, Apple said it was their connector for the next decade. And despite being demonstrably better than the connector it was replacing in every way, customers were IRATE. Slow walking a change to a connector that, while maybe better for nerds, has no easily identifiable benefit over the existing cable makes complete sense.
Prime example: my mother in law has not upgraded her phone BECAUSE the new ones are all USB-C and she doesn't want to go out and buy a bunch of new cords everywhere. For normal users the change to USB-C is annoying.
And now with this law most likely we will never see a new connection type as no one will want to deal with the EU. They would have much better off baning micro/mini usb which was the real problem.
Normal users have had USB chargers around for years. Hell, my parents flip phones have USB-C. MacBooks have had them, Nintendo Switch, Bluetooth speakers, all android devices, other gaming consoles and controllers, Chromebooks, Windows Laptops, on and on and on.
I don't or care how much Apple was or wasn't making, we don't need more proprietary hardware. Your mother is the exception.
I don’t know what the argument is here, you would prefer that iPhones were still doing Lightning/USB 2.0?
It’s funny with all these complaints about EU regulation. But I don’t see anyone complaining about the cross compatibility of USB-C and the upgraded wired data transfer speed it offers over USB 2.0/Lightning.
Additionally, Apple has had 10+ years to either upgrade the specs of Lighting or launch a new proprietary ports that outperforms USB-C.
But Apple was too busy selling us USB 2.0 and doing (USB-C) Thunderbolt on Macs and iPads to change iPhone.
Gee, I wonder if there’s perchance, maybe, just maybe, a correlation between iPhones being Apple’s top selling and earning product throughout all of its history by far(!) and its reluctance to ditch Lighting and move to a port that doesn’t earn it any royalties or forces consumers to replace all their smartphone accessories to MFi Lightning accessories if they switch from another smartphone brand to iPhone?
I wonder, I wonder.
A lot of the items you lised I bet had micro usb ports on them especially flip phones, controllers, and speakers.
Of course they did, and printers used to have centronix and my mouse to be serial. So what?
The point is that usb-c has been around for years at this point. To act like it’s a new and rare charger that no one has is disingenuous.
I bet you there are a lot of people put off by the changing of ports simply because people hate change. And at the end of the day, Apple would have changed to USB-C for the iPhone without this law, but not before ten years of use because Steve Jobs said it would be the port for the next decade.
Normal users have one or two devices. They don't have bluetooth speakers, game consoles, multiple computers, etc. We're the exception, not the rule.
I'm glad the iPhone switched to USB-C. It makes my life easier. But just because it makes my life easier doesn't mean we need the government coming in and mandating it. Remember the EU tried to do this to make Micro-USB the connector. If they had succeed there would be no USB-C or Lightening! And now we are literally stuck with USB-C forever! No one has any incentive to design a better connector when you'd have to convince the EU to allow it.
The EU tried to mandate micro-USB in the early 2010s.
It lasted a decade. Released 2012 with the iPhone 5, and the iPhone 15 was released in 2023.
Eleven years.
Additionally, lightning was released by Phil Schiller and he said the phase "next decade". Steve Jobs died a year before it came out.
The only correlation is in your head. The MFi Program made Apple the equivalent of change found in couch cushions. Gruber reported that multiple Apple sources told him it was "a rounding error". They certainly weren't deciding which connector to use or not use because of it.
Apple kept Lightening for as long as it did because it thought Lightening was best for the majority of its customers. Full stop. Now you may disagree that it was better for most customers, or they should have switched sooner, but that was Apple's decision to make. Or should have been rather. It certainly shouldn't have been the EU's.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
Almost 2 years of very passionate posts about wobbly ports & broken tongues because of being forced to change. Where’s all those expensive repairs we were so assured were coming? I haven’t even seen ONE broken tongue.
Lint! Lint! We were assured that USB-C would be a lint magnet… but somehow Lightning wasn’t. I’m still finding lint in pockets. I assumed it would be extinct by now. What happened?
We’re now only a few months shy of the anniversary of the forced change… and I’m yet to read ONE story of crime syndicates emptying EU bank accounts and all sorts of Revelations-level cataclysms. Security disasters were passionately assured. Where is all of it? I doubt the syndicates- now with so much easier access- could be this patient. And why would they?
Open stores would certainly destroy phones & lives… and evil developers would jack up the prices of their apps, etc. Where’s all that?
I realize the most passionate fans can’t help themselves but side with whatever is best for Apple in all scenarios- even against fellow consumers… but did the rest of us learn anything? Because there’s always a next time.
“Wolf! Wolf!” cried the boy… but this time the villagers did not come. Or does our village buy whatever Apple spins EVERY time? “Wolf! Wolf!”
Lint! Lint! We were assured that USB-C would be a lint magnet… but somehow Lightning wasn’t. I’m still finding lint in pockets. I assumed it would be extinct by now. What happened?
We’re now only a few months shy of the anniversary of the forced change… and I’m yet to read ONE story of crime syndicates emptying EU bank accounts and all sorts of Revelations-level cataclysms. Security disasters were passionately assured. Where is all of it? I doubt the syndicates- now with so much easier access- could be this patient. And why would they?
Open stores would certainly destroy phones & lives… and evil developers would jack up the prices of their apps, etc. Where’s all that?
I realize the most passionate fans can’t help themselves but side with whatever is best for Apple in all scenarios- even against fellow consumers… but did the rest of us learn anything? Because there’s always a next time.
“Wolf! Wolf!” cried the boy… but this time the villagers did not come. Or does our village buy whatever Apple spins EVERY time? “Wolf! Wolf!”
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No real story here other than "Apple dragged their feet on going to USB-C for YEARS" ... and thus here we are
Correct, those people don’t matter to Apple, otherwise they would lower their prices in the EU.
Apple doesn’t really want low-income customers, and they never have. They consider themselves a premium brand for a premium price.
Funny thing is my current phone is my first USB-C phone. And it is also the first iPhone I’ve had that is completely, utterly, 100% unreliable with wired CarPlay (my car doesn’t have wireless CarPlay unfortunately). My wife and daughter both have a Lightning iPhone…and with both, CarPlay works flawlessly if they connect to my car. My USB-C phone…CarPlay freezes and disconnects multiple times and then finally just refuses to connect to the car. Which is a very inconvenient issue considering the amount of time I spend in my car.
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USB-c to usb-a and has been super reliable for my me in my ‘19 VW using a cheap Amazon-basics cable.
Lucky for you, then. I’ve tried multiple different cables. Apple cables with an Apple adapter. Cables from Amazon. Dirt cheap cables. Not so cheap ones. No luck.
My iPad is actually the ONLY USB-C device I have that has NOT caused me a problem or inconvenience in one way or another. Unfortunately, my experience with USB-C has been nothing other than an annoyance. In no way, in my experience, has it behaved like anything that deserves to be considered a superior connector.
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This is so sad! Apple should have stopped selling iPhones in the EU in protest! Bring back the Lightning connector!
You write about other people ignoring the billions of dollars Apple makes with Lightning, but do you even provide any number?
The accessories category represents only about 10% of their revenue, and you have to take out the Apple Watch, Home products…
So if USB-C is so important, you’re telling me that Apple is risking the success of their most important product for a really minor source of revenue?
A more reasonable theory is that very few people care about the advantages of USB-C, but many are pissed off because their old connectors don’t work. So even if it’s a nice to have for some, they had to be very careful when it comes to transitioning.
I would not be surprised if iPhone 14 and 14 plus is discontinued completely by March in favor of iPhone SE. Apple could try to streamline iPhone lineup in anticipation of iPhone air in September.
Now, my iPhone, iPads and Apple computers are all USB-C only. Still need USB-A for vintage accessories.
My iPhone 13 mini with actual SIM card capability, Apple keyboards with Touch-ID, Magic Trackpad and Apple iPhone/Watch travel chargers are still Lightning connectors equipment and still too new to just scrap over a charge port.
I still have older electronics with other non-Apple connectors so still have to have an inventory of various cables.
At least the CDMA requirement for Verizon specific models is gone so any iPhone purchased outright can work with any carrier...
My iPhone 13 mini with actual SIM card capability, Apple keyboards with Touch-ID, Magic Trackpad and Apple iPhone/Watch travel chargers are still Lightning connectors equipment and still too new to just scrap over a charge port.
I still have older electronics with other non-Apple connectors so still have to have an inventory of various cables.
At least the CDMA requirement for Verizon specific models is gone so any iPhone purchased outright can work with any carrier...
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That is just the regular way these things go: companies develop new things, those things become commonplace and eventually you have to standardize it to prevent vendor lock-in and allow healthier competition. Nobody complains about being eternally stuck with whatever power plug standard they have, even though arguably in many countries they are under-engineered. In the end, the benefits of having one standard is more important than minor design deficiencies, as the alternative is a nightmare.