The EU Wants All Phones to Work With Interoperable Chargers, Here’s What That Means for Apple's Lightning Port

[twkd]

Not to be rude my friend, but perhaps you should be kinder with your equipment.

I have literally never had a usb-c connection come loose, at all. and that is true for my earbuds, 3 cell phones (pixel, note9, s8) and any of my data transfer cables.

I honestly see no reason to not mandate the same method of entry for data migration // charging. I can respect that youre worried about missing out on the "next big thing" but that isn't exactly a realistic fear -- you will have up to 5 years of warning, just as you did for usb-c itself -- motherboards swapped to supporting them MANY years ago, with common sense, industry projection, and magic 8-balls all pointing towards them being adopted into and dominating the mobile device ecosystem.

also, apples innovation generally results in them dragging their heels and admitting after many years of wasting customers money, that they will decide to adopt the current mainstream tech.

I imagine I'll be posting this exact same thing in two years pertaining to their idea of swapping to a new processor type again, because it went so well that first time -_-

 

[magbarn]

It'll only get better and it's universal. Going to a friend's house and they don't have your type of charger isn't the end of the world. Gas stations have them for pennies.

I'd almost guarantee this "push" to have the government (and not standards organizations) choose a "winner" in the connector world is by companies wanting their standard to be the law of the land and we shouldn't grant companies or governments that type of power.

How are you going to cheat physics? Wireless induction charging will always be much less efficient than direct wired charging. All that heat given off on my MagSafe charger is wasted electricity.

 

[chucker23n1]

It'll only get better and it's universal.

It'll get better, yes, but its ceiling will always be below wired charging. The inefficiencies introduced by induction are inevitable.

 

[I7guy]

[...]

also, apples innovation generally results in them dragging their heels and admitting after many years of wasting customers money, that they will decide to adopt the current mainstream tech.

[...]

What does this mean? Are you referring to innovation such as touch id and 64 bit? How is the money of customers being wasted? Does this refer to usb-a vs usb-c (in which usb-c is a waste on iphones, imo)

 

[chucker23n1]

also, apples innovation generally results in them dragging their heels and admitting after many years of wasting customers money, that they will decide to adopt the current mainstream tech.

Suuuuuure. That's why iPhones now run Android and Eddy Cue recommends to use Spotify.

I imagine I'll be posting this exact same thing in two years pertaining to their idea of swapping to a new processor type again, because it went so well that first time -_-

It did. The move from 68k to PowerPC boosted performance, the move from PowerPC to Intel improved energy draw, and the move from Intel to ARM does both.

 

[lederermc]

Apple's argument is both reasonable and unreasonable at the same time.

They are absolutely correct in that forcing one standard will stifle innovation. Can you imagine if we were all stuck with micro USB in 2020 waiting for the EU to approve a better standard? While USB-C is pretty flexible, do we think it will be cutting edge 10 years from now? They should be able to control their own product.

Their other argument (waste) is idiotic. Apple changes connectors all the time. What happened when they moved from 30-pin to Lightning? From magsafe to USB-C? From lightning to USB-C (iPad Pro)? From every style port to USB-C (macbooks). Each time they move volume buttons or change the shape/size of an iPhone or iPad.

So when someone upgrades, the case/charger/accessories/smart keyboards/dongles move to the next owner (if sold/traded in), get lost in a junk drawer somewhere, get recycled, or end up in a landfill. This process doesn't change if the EU forces a new standard.

Edit - this is one of many junk drawers of cables and dongles that no longer fit or do not work well with (like 5W chargers) current generation Apple products.

Moving to a port/cable that is in common with the Laptop is the final solution... hopefully.

 

[lederermc]

Finally, I can get a headphone that works with both the Laptop and iPhone, with no need for a ***** dongle?