I understand the logic to try and curb electronic waste but the EU should try to make a real impact by banning cheap 'disposable' phones that use Android OS and force manufactures to provide security and software updates to all phones - like Apple does. According to Recon Analytics the average lifespan of Android phones is about 21 months compared to the average lifespan of an Apple device at just over four years. Given that Android has such a huge market share, that is a LOT of e-Waste.
That and ban power bricks in all devices. Mandate USB-c source-end for all battery-powered devices smartphones or otherwise.
Encourage building standards on the back of that to provide USB-c as part of standard power delivery in offices, houses.
Seriously other telecommunication equipment providers are far worse for waste. DSL/Wifi points I'm looking at you with your dongle tangle of annoyingness.
Apple will, of course, do what is necessary to comply with the EU regulations coming. It’s just sad that it has come to this, a bunch of clueless bureaucrats deciding what’s in the best interests of their subjects. And believe me, it won’t stop with chargers. There’s a reason not much technology innovation comes out of Europe.
While I share your concern of 'overbearing attitude' and 'slippery slope', I do look forward to day when I can have one charger for all my phones laptops and tablets...
I’ll just point out the EU has been much better at maintaining their middle class than the US.
Tell that to the Greeks, Portuguese, Spanish, Italians, etc, who’ve seen their economies wrecked because of the Euro. Or to the French where there’s been weekly protests for over a year by the yellow jackets and where the longest running strike since 1968 is still ongoing...
I think the first step for everyone in the smartphone space is to provide two basic options out of the box. One with a power charger and one without. Obviously with the second option showing the correct discount.
I’ll just point out the EU has been much better at maintaining their middle class than the US.
Tell that to the Greeks, Portuguese, Spanish, Italians, etc, who’ve seen their economies wrecked because of the Euro. Or to the French where there’s been weekly protests for over a year by the yellow jackets and where the longest running strike since 1968 is still ongoing...
How did you reach that conclusion?
Pensions need to change because we are living longer and populations are stagnating. The French are notorious ar protesting and with reason on some issues and without on others. No one in Spain is clamouring for the return of the peseta. The euro is established and well liked. The problems is Greece were largely of their own making although there were errors elsewhere. The Portuguese are doing fine right now.
Apple will, of course, do what is necessary to comply with the EU regulations coming. It’s just sad that it has come to this, a bunch of clueless bureaucrats deciding what’s in the best interests of their subjects. And believe me, it won’t stop with chargers. There’s a reason not much technology innovation comes out of Europe.
While I share your concern of 'overbearing attitude' and 'slippery slope', I do look forward to day when I can have one charger for all my phones laptops and tablets...
"One size fits all" is a terrible principle. The 16-inch MacBook Pro comes with a 96 watt adapter, which is $79 in the US. The iPhone 8 comes with a 5 watt adapter, which is $19 in the US. I would hate to be required to purchase such a large and expensive adapter with my phone just so it can also serve as a laptop power supply. Also note that a properly designed power supply will be the most energy efficient when used as close as possible to its rated capacity.
While I don't know what your mix of phones, laptops, and tablets you have now but it's likely that you could use a single charger for all of them if coupled with the proper end or cord adapters.
I think the push for this is because Apple has demonstrated that it can be done with the iPad Pro using usb-c and the iPhone 11 Pro which ships with a charging brick that is usb-c.
Apple will probably just ship another adapter for now since a usb-c iPhone isn’t on the radar yet.
I guess one question to discuss is what makes Lightening better than USB-C. Does Lightening do something or provide something USB-C cannot?
Lightning's connector itself is a bit more durable than the jacketed USB data and power connector, and easier to extract from a device if it shears off.
USB-C can carry more data and power faster than Lightning can. How relevant this is to mobile varies, user to user.
Currently USB-C can carry more data and power faster than Lightning, what I don't understand is why Apple didn't bother to update Lightning to modern standards. I know what Apple's response would be, 'we have no requirements for more power and faster communications' but had they, the Lightning form factor could have been the industry standard. The current USB-C connector is far inferior factoring in durability and the positive locking method.
EU is a joke of course, its second biggest member just left. This is a simple problem, with a simple solution: chargers should be universal, not only in voltage (110/220) but also support intelligent charging and have a (for example) USB-C female connector. Added bonus is that computers, most people have, can already charge such devices, even without buying a separate charger. Problem(s) solved. In practice this is already happening, because Chinese device makers include a (male) USB connector to (whatever) device connector, but exclude the transformator (to save cost). So, effectively, the industry, in its race to the bottom (prices) regulates itself. Time to unplug the EU too.
1. If Apple has to make any modifications or provide additional adaptors to comply with these asshat EU rules, then Apple should raise prices even more on all Apple devices made for the EU region to compensate for this asshat rule. We can call it the asshat tax.
2. I have a whole bunch of old chargers, vintage electronics and plugs lying around that I do not use anymore. The next time that I travel to the EU which will probably be sometime this summer, I will dump them all in my suitcase and bring them with me and dispose of them in the EU, contributing to their landfills.
3. Apple will exist for longer than the EU, as I believe that they will be history and collapse eventually, while Apple will still continue to exist and thrive.
4. In the future, the EU will be spoken about and remembered in the same terms as other failed European experiments and anti-democratic institutions such as the third reich. The EU is merely an extension of that.
So Apple customers should have to pay higher prices because of a decision made by the EU? Essentially EU Apple customers are asshats according to your logic. Let us know how the suitcase dumping goes.. should be interesting..SMH.
This is what happens when people want more government -- they get more government...
The amount of government is somewhat irrelevant, it the effectiveness of that that governance in relation to the desired outcomes that matters. There are endless examples of how the lack of regulation can be detrimental, just look at Boeing and the most recent helicopter crash. The trick is to find a good balance of regulations and government services to facilitate the health and wellbeing private sector. Less, more, big, small, really mean nothing but they certain make good campaign slogans for people with small minds who can only see the world in simplistic black & white terms, when in fact it's grey seething with complexity in a way that make any fixed ideology problematic and incomplete.
Your two examples of ‘lack of regulation’ are nothing of the sort. In both cases regulation and over-site were present. But they were either ignored or the over-site and regulation simply failed.
Far more important than the standard USB C plug is what it means for third party accessories. By requiring USB C, the EU is telling Apple that they can't charge a fee to manufacturers who want to sell standards compliant accessories for all phones including iPhones. This is a massive win for consumers. No more "this device was not designed for iPhone" pop ups when you plug in a power/audio adapter for your car.
Far more important than the standard USB C plug is what it means for third party accessories. By requiring USB C, the EU is telling Apple that they can't charge a fee to manufacturers who want to sell standards compliant accessories for all phones including iPhones. This is a massive win for consumers. No more "this device was not designed for iPhone" pop ups when you plug in a power/audio adapter for your car.
I guess one question to discuss is what makes Lightening better than USB-C. Does Lightening do something or provide something USB-C cannot?
Lightning's connector itself is a bit more durable than the jacketed USB data and power connector, and easier to extract from a device if it shears off.
USB-C can carry more data and power faster than Lightning can. How relevant this is to mobile varies, user to user.
According to Apple's submission, the lightning jack in the phone is also smaller leaving more room for battery and other components. This might explain why they are willing to use USB-C on iPad Pros but not on iPhones.
"For example, not only is the USB Type-C connector larger than the Lightning connector on the outside, thus restricting how slim devices can be, it also takes up more space inside the device which impacts the space left for other components, such as the size of the battery. Overall, the USB Type-C solution takes up 69 per cent more space of a device than the Lightning solution. This has a significant impact on the design, slimness and internal hardware capacity of the devices."
One of the big advantages of the Lightning connector is that it is a single, monolithic piece, as opposed to the USB C connector which is a coaxial connector with a ‘tongue’ in the female port. This makes it harder to clean debris out of the port. The lightning connector also has a better indentation got positively securing the plug.
As far as data capacity is concerned, I don’t think that matters much for smart phones. For iPads it definitely could.
Iooking at the two, I have a hard time believing there is a significant difference in the amount of space they take up.
You feel like this is a false statement?
Overall, the USB Type-C solution takes up 69 per cent more space of a
device than the Lightning solution. This has a significant impact on the
design, slimness and internal hardware capacity of the devices."
I guess one question to discuss is what makes Lightening better than USB-C. Does Lightening do something or provide something USB-C cannot?
Lightning's connector itself is a bit more durable than the jacketed USB data and power connector, and easier to extract from a device if it shears off.
USB-C can carry more data and power faster than Lightning can. How relevant this is to mobile varies, user to user.
According to Apple's submission, the lightning jack in the phone is also smaller leaving more room for battery and other components. This might explain why they are willing to use USB-C on iPad Pros but not on iPhones.
"For example, not only is the USB Type-C connector larger than the Lightning connector on the outside, thus restricting how slim devices can be, it also takes up more space inside the device which impacts the space left for other components, such as the size of the battery. Overall, the USB Type-C solution takes up 69 per cent more space of a device than the Lightning solution. This has a significant impact on the design, slimness and internal hardware capacity of the devices."
One of the big advantages of the Lightning connector is that it is a single, monolithic piece, as opposed to the USB C connector which is a coaxial connector with a ‘tongue’ in the female port. This makes it harder to clean debris out of the port. The lightning connector also has a better indentation got positively securing the plug.
As far as data capacity is concerned, I don’t think that matters much for smart phones. For iPads it definitely could.
Iooking at the two, I have a hard time believing there is a significant difference in the amount of space they take up.
Hopefully all debris is cleaned out before you put your tongue in the female port.
My pragmatic (and certainly uninformed, feel free to pick apart) suggestion to reduce e-waste would be this:
Mandate that all power bricks intended for charing mobile devices have minimum wattage and a removable USB cable.
I really don't understand the need to regulate the port on the device's end of things. Just regulate the brick. That would be enough, no? No more chargers thrown away, unless they break. Plug-in a cable from any vendor's device and charge... It's what I basically do now with my Apple USB bricks.
Johny Ive don't work there any more, so they can safely depart from the rule that the next product must always be slimmer.
Actually there are constant complaints in blogs and forums that functionality is offered on the altar of slimness. I'd rather have a somewhat thicker phone if it means it can easier universally connect to other devices like external disks etc. etc at full speed. It might even gain a bit more battery capacity or better cooling as a side effect.
Comments
I don’t agree this the EU on this one. I’ve been very impressed with Lighting cables. I don’t mind standardization as long as it’s superior.
Pensions need to change because we are living longer and populations are stagnating. The French are notorious ar protesting and with reason on some issues and without on others. No one in Spain is clamouring for the return of the peseta. The euro is established and well liked. The problems is Greece were largely of their own making although there were errors elsewhere. The Portuguese are doing fine right now.
While I don't know what your mix of phones, laptops, and tablets you have now but it's likely that you could use a single charger for all of them if coupled with the proper end or cord adapters.
I don't know whether there are UK or European equivalents.
This is a simple problem, with a simple solution: chargers should be universal, not only in voltage (110/220) but also support intelligent charging and have a (for example) USB-C female connector. Added bonus is that computers, most people have, can already charge such devices, even without buying a separate charger.
Problem(s) solved.
In practice this is already happening, because Chinese device makers include a (male) USB connector to (whatever) device connector, but exclude the transformator (to save cost).
So, effectively, the industry, in its race to the bottom (prices) regulates itself.
Time to unplug the EU too.
So Apple customers should have to pay higher prices because of a decision made by the EU? Essentially EU Apple customers are asshats according to your logic. Let us know how the suitcase dumping goes.. should be interesting..SMH.
Mandate that all power bricks intended for charing mobile devices have minimum wattage and a removable USB cable.
I really don't understand the need to regulate the port on the device's end of things. Just regulate the brick. That would be enough, no? No more chargers thrown away, unless they break. Plug-in a cable from any vendor's device and charge... It's what I basically do now with my Apple USB bricks.
Johny Ive don't work there any more, so they can safely depart from the rule that the next product must always be slimmer.
Actually there are constant complaints in blogs and forums that functionality is offered on the altar of slimness. I'd rather have a somewhat thicker phone if it means it can easier universally connect to other devices like external disks etc. etc at full speed. It might even gain a bit more battery capacity or better cooling as a side effect.