EU about to finalize law that would require Apple to use USB-C on iPhones

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
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in iPhone
Europe's ongoing debate and litigation over making USB-C the required standard charging port for all smartphones may be finalized on June 7, 2022.




The EU has previously been reported to be nearing agreement, following its proposals evolving for more than a decade. Now the final decision may be made as soon as June 6, 2022.

According to Reuters, lawmakers and representatives from EU counties are now due to meet on that date. It's the second such meeting on the topic, and unnamed sources say that there is a strong push to get the decision done.

As well as requiring a USB-C charging port on smartphones, however, the latest version of the proposal extends this to laptops. Lawmakers now also want to create an agreed standard for wireless charging.

Both of these issues could delay the decision. Extending the USB-C charging point to laptops, for instance is likely to affect Samsung. The European Commission wants a longer lead-time than some members do for all-wireless charging standards.

Apple has not specifically commented on the June 7 meeting, but it has previously argued strongly that forcing the adoption of USB-C could create more e-waste.

Separately, it's been rumored that 2023's iPhone 15 will adopt USB-C.

If mandated, the law would replace the existing micro-USB mandate. It's not clear what will happen if a future version of USB replaces the USB-C connector with another form factor.

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 45
    afkpuzafkpuz Posts: 6member
    What a stupid waste of time for government. Having many different types of charges on cell phones is annoying, but it’s such a small dumb thing. Instead of working important problems, government is using its immense power to solve a tiny annoyance. 

    mac_dogStrangeDaysviclauyycwatto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 45
    Fred257Fred257 Posts: 237member
    As far as I’m concerned Apple doesn’t need to continue to offer products to any Europeans. Dictating product design by using government is communism. And I’m speaking as someone who is a liberal Democrat. Throw them off the bus!! Just like we did with Russia!!!
    mac_dogwatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 45
    rob53rob53 Posts: 3,251member
    When will the EU force the USA to use their type of electrical outlets and 220V instead of 120V? They think what they want is the best of everything but what phones and laptops do they produce? None? One or two? 
    dewmewatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 45
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    rob53 said:
    When will the EU force the USA to use their type of electrical outlets and 220V instead of 120V?
    When has the EU ever forced the USA to do anything?
    fred1baconstang
  • Reply 5 of 45
    herbert68herbert68 Posts: 2unconfirmed, member
    This request/law really is a backward initiative. What if USB-C ports will be obsolete in the (near) future, as something much better will be invented? Will the EU issue a new law then? Really? We have no bigger problems to resolve?
    edited June 2022 StrangeDaysbaconstangwatto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 45
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    herbert68 said:
    This request/law really is a backward initiative. What if USB-C ports will be obsolete in the (near) future, as something much better will be invented? Will the EU issue a new law then? Really? We have no bigger problems to resolve?
    We're not yet so broken a world that we can't work on more than one problem at a time.
    fred1MrBunside
  • Reply 7 of 45
    rob53rob53 Posts: 3,251member
    crowley said:
    rob53 said:
    When will the EU force the USA to use their type of electrical outlets and 220V instead of 120V?
    When has the EU ever forced the USA to do anything?
    Sarcasm? If not what is this article about if not the EU again telling an American company how to build things. Telling Apple what to do is telling a USA company what to do. 
    ericthehalfbeewatto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 45
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 7,668member
    Fred257 said:
    As far as I’m concerned Apple doesn’t need to continue to offer products to any Europeans. Dictating product design by using government is communism. And I’m speaking as someone who is a liberal Democrat. Throw them off the bus!! Just like we did with Russia!!!
    Product design has been 'dictated' the world over by government in the form of standards and regulations.

    Your sunglasses for driving can help you distinguish the colour meanings on traffic lights for a reason. The designer couldn't plunk any old lens in those glasses.

    This proposal exists because industry and its designers haven't done enough to resolve current issues. 
    edited June 2022 muthuk_vanalingamfred1darkvaderbaconstang
  • Reply 9 of 45
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 7,668member
    AFAIK this proposal was never limited to mobile phones.

    Other devices were earmarked for inclusion from the get go. Laptops are just another category. There have been some exclusions to the requirements too but I believe they cover smaller products like wearables. 
  • Reply 10 of 45
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 7,668member
    afkpuz said:
    What a stupid waste of time for government. Having many different types of charges on cell phones is annoying, but it’s such a small dumb thing. Instead of working important problems, government is using its immense power to solve a tiny annoyance. 

    Did you miss WEEE and RoHS? They represented massive change in industry and had an impact worldwide. 

    This proposal is part of a suite of proposals. You should be looking at it from a wider perspective. 
    darkvaderbaconstang
  • Reply 11 of 45
    DoctorQDoctorQ Posts: 51member
    I think a lot of this is an inferiority complex on the part of politicians who fear the tech industry has better ideas than them. They need to take a couple of classes in programming and see for themselves how *easy* it is to implement the crap they want. That goes for both sides of the pond.

    watto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 45
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 7,668member
    herbert68 said:
    This request/law really is a backward initiative. What if USB-C ports will be obsolete in the (near) future, as something much better will be invented? Will the EU issue a new law then? Really? We have no bigger problems to resolve?
    The notion of innovation, new technologies and advancement of the possible future directive have been set out from the very beginning. And specifically so. Please read the impact assessments and proposals. 
    darkvader
  • Reply 13 of 45
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    rob53 said:
    crowley said:
    rob53 said:
    When will the EU force the USA to use their type of electrical outlets and 220V instead of 120V?
    When has the EU ever forced the USA to do anything?
    Sarcasm? If not what is this article about if not the EU again telling an American company how to build things. Telling Apple what to do is telling a USA company what to do. 
    The EU aren't telling Apple how to build things, they're telling them that their phones need to have USB-C if they're to be sold in the EU.  Just a regulation, to add to many, many others.  Apple also need their chargers to work with a 230V outlet if they're to be sold in the EU.  That doesn't stop Apple from selling 110V chargers in the USA, or anywhere else in the world that uses a voltage variant.

    Apple the company selling things in the EU is a very different prospect from the USA the country choosing what it does within its own borders.  The EU have no interest in the USA's domestic outlets, or any of the USA's domestic affairs really. 
    edited June 2022 sphericmuthuk_vanalingamfred1grandact73
  • Reply 14 of 45
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    DoctorQ said:
    I think a lot of this is an inferiority complex on the part of politicians who fear the tech industry has better ideas than them. They need to take a couple of classes in programming and see for themselves how *easy* it is to implement the crap they want. That goes for both sides of the pond.
    How would programming classes give any insight into the electrical engineering required to use USB-C for charging?
  • Reply 15 of 45
    sphericspheric Posts: 2,560member
    rob53 said:
    crowley said:
    rob53 said:
    When will the EU force the USA to use their type of electrical outlets and 220V instead of 120V?
    When has the EU ever forced the USA to do anything?
    Sarcasm? If not what is this article about if not the EU again telling an American company how to build things. Telling Apple what to do is telling a USA company what to do. 
    Newsflash: America has been building modified versions of its cars to conform with European regulations for almost a century. It's rumoured that some individual countries even make them completely rearrange the cockpit and put the steering on the right (fuckin' Nazis, probably amirite?)! 
    Weirdly, European car makers change their car designs for the North American market, as well (ugly monster bumpers and double-eyed headlights on the Mercedes SL 560, I'm looking at YOU). Must have been those dictators in Washington, right? :wink: 

    Different regions have different regulations. You want to sell your product, you conform to regulations. If you don't want to do that, you get out of the market. EU sales are about 1/3 of Apple's revenue, IIRC. What do you think is going to happen? 


    NB: I don't think this is a good idea — if they'd had their way years ago when they first tried it, we'd all be stuck with Micro-USB now still. I assume we'll probably look at USB-C the same way a decade from now. 
    anantksundarammuthuk_vanalingamgrandact73
  • Reply 16 of 45
    anantksundaramanantksundaram Posts: 20,404member
    Apple will just throw in a USBC-Lightning dongle in the package and get on with life...
    grandact73StrangeDaysbaconstangwatto_cobraJFC_PA
  • Reply 17 of 45
    jidojido Posts: 125member
    It may increase E-waste in households that don’t have non-Apple portable devices or laptops. But still want to use a new iPhone. 
    I don’t think that is a real concern? 
    It’s much more an issue that iPhone cables work only with iPhones and (some) iPads, not with other brand phones. That is a source of E-waste. 
  • Reply 18 of 45
    sphericspheric Posts: 2,560member
    jido said:
    It may increase E-waste in households that don’t have non-Apple portable devices or laptops. But still want to use a new iPhone. 
    I don’t think that is a real concern? 
    It’s much more an issue that iPhone cables work only with iPhones and (some) iPads, not with other brand phones. That is a source of E-waste. 
    Errrrr… that is EXACTLY what this law intends to solve…? By standardising the connector on the device to USB-C, it ensures that all cables work with all brands of phones… 
  • Reply 19 of 45
    fred1fred1 Posts: 1,112member
    Yes, an impossible situation. Oh wait, just include an adaptor with iPhones sold in the EU. 
    baconstangwatto_cobra
  • Reply 20 of 45
    MrBunsideMrBunside Posts: 56member
    Plot twist - Apple makes the iPhone thicker to accommodate USB-C, eliminating the camera bump and providing space for a larger battery
    darkvaderfred1muthuk_vanalingam
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