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The EU Wants All Phones to Work With Interoperable Chargers, Here’s What That Means for Apple's Lightning Port
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In the Long run it does, in the future user don’t have to throw away lighting cable if they switch an android or throw away usb-c cable if they switch to iPhone.
I can imagine if legislation like this was passed in the 80s shyt would suck today.
Yep. We’d be using those big RS-232 or centronics connectors.
Apple just needs to move everything to USB-C, simple as that, regardless of what the EU does, USB-C would make life so much better/easier for everyone. I just hope the next iPhone is finally USB-C.
Oh goody. Let’s move to connectors that get loose over time so you wake up in the morning and your **** ain’t charged.
That’s what’s happening to my iPhone right now so don’t see how that makes a difference. I have no choice but to charge wireless now because my lightning port is no longer reliable.
When will Apple finally surrender? I have iPads and MacBooks but hey no, I can’t use the same cable to charge my iPhone, the very same cable that virtually every other smartphone uses to charge.
Lightining is a freaking useless pain in the a**, just call it quits and welcome to 2020!
Lightining is a freaking useless pain in the a**, just call it quits and welcome to 2020!
Maybe they have something better up their sleeve and would better be implemented down their exciting pipeline (sorry, Tim Cook joke) and now to comply with government we get stuck behind with USB-C?
Ive never had a problem with lightening ports and use iphones, ipads, 7th ipod nano along with wife and friends. Never heard of that.
Did you happen to check to see if you have any dust or lint in there?
The original regulation started in an era when (a) most manufacturers used different ports on their phones or even used different voltage and (b) more importantly, all chargers had fixed cables. If there ever was reason for regulation it would have been to require the charger and the cable to be two separate items and using a standard port on the charger.
Now that standard port on the charger is in the process of switching from USB-A to USB-C. Which currently means, even without Lightning I have both USB-C and USB-A charging bricks as well as USB-A to USB-C, USB-A to micro USB, USB-C to micro USB, USB-C to USB-C cables, plus a couple of USB-A to proprietary port (Fitbit, Jaybird). Without Lightning that is six cables, the existence of Lightning adds two more cables (from USB A and from USB C) to that.
Apple already has USB-C on the MacBooks and iPad Pros. Just make it standard on the iPhone and base iPad. Over time the lighting powered devices will be retired. And we can all go to carrying USB-C cables.
Personally I have an iPad pro, MBP 16, and S10+. All USB-C. And I can charge them from any USB-C charger over 30W I carry with the same cable. They all have different voltage and amperage and USB-C chargers, cables, and devices communicate to come up with the best (fastest) voltage and amp combination supported.
Personally I have an iPad pro, MBP 16, and S10+. All USB-C. And I can charge them from any USB-C charger over 30W I carry with the same cable. They all have different voltage and amperage and USB-C chargers, cables, and devices communicate to come up with the best (fastest) voltage and amp combination supported.
If such a thing were to happen, the EU would change its directives. It's not as if their directives stay stuck in a time trap forever. Times change; standards change. I wouldn't be against a common standard in principle, so long as it's a good one. Micro-USB, for example, is a very bad connector indeed, and I'm so glad we've not been forced into using that.
It takes the E.U. *years* to decide *anything.* They’ve been dicking around on this very issue for about a decade. They aren’t going to snap their fingers and move to the next thing.
Tell you what - how about Europe first gets its **** together and decides on a damned standard *wall outlet* before it sticks its nose where it doesn’t belong and worries about phone ports.
What’s the difference between regularting what chargers one can use vs. just dictating what phones people should be allowed to buy? Or computer? Or tablet? Or smart device? Or anything?
Typical mush millenial: ”But they’re eliminating e-waste! Isn’t that great!”
Typical mush millenial: ”But they’re eliminating e-waste! Isn’t that great!”
"By standardizing chargers, it hopes to lower prices and increase quality, therefore reducing the presence of counterfeit chargers and increasing user safety."
There are many benefits that come with standardisation, but this is not one of them. You could argue that if fakers only need one idea to copy, you've just made their lives easier. If everyone in Europe started using a common charger next year, Chinese fakers would be ramping up production already.
There are many benefits that come with standardisation, but this is not one of them. You could argue that if fakers only need one idea to copy, you've just made their lives easier. If everyone in Europe started using a common charger next year, Chinese fakers would be ramping up production already.
There are still tons of products that come with a USB A plug at one end of their charging cable. Until all those have switched to USB-C, I need to rock both USB A and USB C charging bricks (I know, I could buy a charging brick with both ports but I already have so many charging bricks with either USB-C or USB-A, that I feel not using them would be creating unnecessary waste).
Seriously...let the market decide on this. Government has no business mandating what consumers can decide for themselves. This most likely will raise the cost of the iPhone in EU countries, as Apple will be forced to make a special version for those markets. Usually when heavy handed government regulation gets involved, prices tend to go up for the consumer.
I'm not sure where you get that from, but the physical size is almost identical, and having owned numerous USB Type-C and lightning products, I've experienced more issue with the lightning products.
I want to applaud macrumors for writing and publishing such an in depth and well researched article. Thank you.
It's literally nothing to do with you. The EU has no jurisdiction over Chicago, Illinois.
“Almost identical?”
No it’s not. USB-C is far thicker.
“Lightning may also be more durable than USB-C. With Lightning, the connecting tabs are on the cable itself. USB-C has connecting tabs on the port. Since these tabs are possible points of failure, Lightning ports are more durable. If you happen to break the tabs on a Lightning cable, it’s easily remedied by replacing the cable. If they break on a USB-C port, the port on the device must be replaced. This is a huge difference in durability.”
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Except when they make up dumb rules that affect everyone else because it is econimically unviable to use completely different connectors in different countries?