For those of you who are rejoicing over Apple being forced to do something it doesn’t want to do what will be your response when the EU or some other government mandates something YOU don’t like and don’t want? What if the EU decides to ‘harmonize’ operating systems by mandating Android as the official mobile operating system of its territory. All mobile devices operating in the EU must run Android ‘for the good of the people’. Wouldn’t that be a benefit to citizens? They could buy whichever brand of phone they want and not have to buy or re-download apps. They wouldn’t have to learn how to use a different operating system. They would all get updates at the same time for the same bugs and security patches. One big homogenous family!
Then there’s right-to-repair on the horizon. Anyone who thinks there won’t be government input on how a device is designed and manufactured is whistling past the graveyard. The activists have been clamoring for years for standardization of screws, sealing compounds and methods, component replacement (which would definitely include design changes), and user replaceable batteries.
Once the camel’s nose is under the tent you know what happens after that.
For all you rejoicing over the government mandating seatbelts, just imagine how you’ll feel when the government demands that all cars have six wheels.
It’s coming, you better believe it.
Terrible analogy and a fallacy in logic on your part. Seatbelts and the laws forcing drivers to wear sealbelts has been proven to save lives. In fact many, if not most regulations by the US and EU has been proven to benefit consumers in such ways as lower cost, more choices, child safety, cleaner air, saving lives, reducing waste, increasing privacy, longer lasting products, etc. There is practically zero benefit to the average consumers for government demanding that all cars have 6 wheels. Though I wish there were laws that require autos sold to have 5 wheels, including the spare tire. But there is no law requiring auto manufacturers to include a spare tire with the purchase of a new car or even the space in the car to carry one. (at least not in the US). Now, consumer trucks that carry or tow heavy loads can have six wheels. Either with 2 front wheels and 4 wheels on a single rear axle or double rear axle with 2 wheels each axle.
Here the EU is forcing Apple to use a port on their devices that in no way have any real benefit for the consumers. This is not about requiring the use of a standard USB-C charger in order to reduce E-waste. Apple devices and many other older electronic devices already can use a USB-C charger (for charging), regardless of the port on the device. Limiting the use of a USB-C charger to only devices that have a USB-C port would be counter productive, but yet, this is what the EU is essentially demanding. Not just from Apple but from makers of headphones, keyboards, speakers, mice, laptops, cameras, GPS's, etc.. The fact that a USB-C charger is compatible and backward compatible (with the correct cable) to devices that have lightening, USB- A, USB mini, USB micro and even MagSafe charging ports is one of the design feature of a USB-C charger. Otherwise, they might as well permanently attach a USB-C connector cable to the charger (like the old 5W iPhone lightening charger). That would be as stupid as government demanding all cars have six wheels.
Shut up with the essays, it wasn’t meant to be an analogy it was meant to mock a stupid post.
For those of you who are rejoicing over Apple being forced to do something it doesn’t want to do what will be your response when the EU or some other government mandates something YOU don’t like and don’t want? What if the EU decides to ‘harmonize’ operating systems by mandating Android as the official mobile operating system of its territory. All mobile devices operating in the EU must run Android ‘for the good of the people’. Wouldn’t that be a benefit to citizens? They could buy whichever brand of phone they want and not have to buy or re-download apps. They wouldn’t have to learn how to use a different operating system. They would all get updates at the same time for the same bugs and security patches. One big homogenous family!
Then there’s right-to-repair on the horizon. Anyone who thinks there won’t be government input on how a device is designed and manufactured is whistling past the graveyard. The activists have been clamoring for years for standardization of screws, sealing compounds and methods, component replacement (which would definitely include design changes), and user replaceable batteries.
Once the camel’s nose is under the tent you know what happens after that.
For all you rejoicing over the government mandating seatbelts, just imagine how you’ll feel when the government demands that all cars have six wheels.
It’s coming, you better believe it.
Terrible analogy and a fallacy in logic on your part. Seatbelts and the laws forcing drivers to wear sealbelts has been proven to save lives. In fact many, if not most regulations by the US and EU has been proven to benefit consumers in such ways as lower cost, more choices, child safety, cleaner air, saving lives, reducing waste, increasing privacy, longer lasting products, etc. There is practically zero benefit to the average consumers for government demanding that all cars have 6 wheels. Though I wish there were laws that require autos sold to have 5 wheels, including the spare tire. But there is no law requiring auto manufacturers to include a spare tire with the purchase of a new car or even the space in the car to carry one. (at least not in the US). Now, consumer trucks that carry or tow heavy loads can have six wheels. Either with 2 front wheels and 4 wheels on a single rear axle or double rear axle with 2 wheels each axle.
Here the EU is forcing Apple to use a port on their devices that in no way have any real benefit for the consumers. This is not about requiring the use of a standard USB-C charger in order to reduce E-waste. Apple devices and many other older electronic devices already can use a USB-C charger (for charging), regardless of the port on the device. Limiting the use of a USB-C charger to only devices that have a USB-C port would be counter productive, but yet, this is what the EU is essentially demanding. Not just from Apple but from makers of headphones, keyboards, speakers, mice, laptops, cameras, GPS's, etc.. The fact that a USB-C charger is compatible and backward compatible (with the correct cable) to devices that have lightening, USB- A, USB mini, USB micro and even MagSafe charging ports is one of the design feature of a USB-C charger. Otherwise, they might as well permanently attach a USB-C connector cable to the charger (like the old 5W iPhone lightening charger). That would be as stupid as government demanding all cars have six wheels.
Shut up with the essays, it wasn’t meant to be an analogy it was meant to mock a stupid post.
Must be our "King's English", because it doesn't come through as that.
For those of you who are rejoicing over Apple being forced to do something it doesn’t want to do what will be your response when the EU or some other government mandates something YOU don’t like and don’t want? What if the EU decides to ‘harmonize’ operating systems by mandating Android as the official mobile operating system of its territory. All mobile devices operating in the EU must run Android ‘for the good of the people’. Wouldn’t that be a benefit to citizens? They could buy whichever brand of phone they want and not have to buy or re-download apps. They wouldn’t have to learn how to use a different operating system. They would all get updates at the same time for the same bugs and security patches. One big homogenous family!
Then there’s right-to-repair on the horizon. Anyone who thinks there won’t be government input on how a device is designed and manufactured is whistling past the graveyard. The activists have been clamoring for years for standardization of screws, sealing compounds and methods, component replacement (which would definitely include design changes), and user replaceable batteries.
Once the camel’s nose is under the tent you know what happens after that.
Nice histrionics. Next time make a post that isn’t full of slippery slope arguments and uses facts and reason instead.
I don't mind USB-C for anything other than iPads or iPhones. Newer iPads already use USB-C, but I'd like to see Apple keep it off the iPhone for as long as possible. I'm good with Lightning.
It wouldn't and couldn't happen, but I'd like to see Apple say FU to the EU — "USB-C?? WE DON'T NEED NO STINKIN' USB-C!" Not gonna happen though. The EU is too big of a market, so if Apple can't get around them, say "hi" to in on the phone.
Why? not trying to start a flame war here but, you have iPads and presumably already have usb-c chargers and cables. You are really so eager to carry one more cable?. I get the point about distaste for bureaucracies dictating terms to private companies. But why would you be opposed to it personally?
What will you say in 5 years when Apple or the industry comes up with a far superior standard but it takes another 5 years for the bureaucracy to get off their collective butts and pass legislation?
The current text does not say 'USB-C forever' and explicitly makes mention of potential future improvements.
However, it is very unlikely that solutions tied to one single company will be approved unless the technology is made freely available to all. It is far more likely that an industry proposal could be up for appraisal though.
The whole point of harmonising the current situation is to reduce/eliminate fragmentation, reduce e-waste, improve interoperability etc. One company going its own way wouldn't help in those efforts.
The technology is under continual review and, as I mentioned further up, the EU even included a reference to a future version of the USB-C specification in the text.
For those of you who are rejoicing over Apple being forced to do something it doesn’t want to do what will be your response when the EU or some other government mandates something YOU don’t like and don’t want? What if the EU decides to ‘harmonize’ operating systems by mandating Android as the official mobile operating system of its territory. All mobile devices operating in the EU must run Android ‘for the good of the people’. Wouldn’t that be a benefit to citizens? They could buy whichever brand of phone they want and not have to buy or re-download apps. They wouldn’t have to learn how to use a different operating system. They would all get updates at the same time for the same bugs and security patches. One big homogenous family!
Then there’s right-to-repair on the horizon. Anyone who thinks there won’t be government input on how a device is designed and manufactured is whistling past the graveyard. The activists have been clamoring for years for standardization of screws, sealing compounds and methods, component replacement (which would definitely include design changes), and user replaceable batteries.
Once the camel’s nose is under the tent you know what happens after that.
For all you rejoicing over the government mandating seatbelts, just imagine how you’ll feel when the government demands that all cars have six wheels.
It’s coming, you better believe it.
Terrible analogy and a fallacy in logic on your part. Seatbelts and the laws forcing drivers to wear sealbelts has been proven to save lives. In fact many, if not most regulations by the US and EU has been proven to benefit consumers in such ways as lower cost, more choices, child safety, cleaner air, saving lives, reducing waste, increasing privacy, longer lasting products, etc. There is practically zero benefit to the average consumers for government demanding that all cars have 6 wheels. Though I wish there were laws that require autos sold to have 5 wheels, including the spare tire. But there is no law requiring auto manufacturers to include a spare tire with the purchase of a new car or even the space in the car to carry one. (at least not in the US). Now, consumer trucks that carry or tow heavy loads can have six wheels. Either with 2 front wheels and 4 wheels on a single rear axle or double rear axle with 2 wheels each axle.
Here the EU is forcing Apple to use a port on their devices that in no way have any real benefit for the consumers. This is not about requiring the use of a standard USB-C charger in order to reduce E-waste. Apple devices and many other older electronic devices already can use a USB-C charger (for charging), regardless of the port on the device. Limiting the use of a USB-C charger to only devices that have a USB-C port would be counter productive, but yet, this is what the EU is essentially demanding. Not just from Apple but from makers of headphones, keyboards, speakers, mice, laptops, cameras, GPS's, etc.. The fact that a USB-C charger is compatible and backward compatible (with the correct cable) to devices that have lightening, USB- A, USB mini, USB micro and even MagSafe charging ports is one of the design feature of a USB-C charger. Otherwise, they might as well permanently attach a USB-C connector cable to the charger (like the old 5W iPhone lightening charger). That would be as stupid as government demanding all cars have six wheels.
Shut up with the essays, it wasn’t meant to be an analogy it was meant to mock a stupid post.
Must be our "King's English", because it doesn't come through as that.
I get it, you know that I’m British. Stop being such a weirdo and bringing it up all the time.
I won’t upgrade to an iPhone with USB-C. I have 10+ lightning cables and this will result in furthering man made climate change by forcing millions of people like me to go buy all new cables and charging blocks since most of mine are the old usb square blocks and old ipad blocks as well.
Yes you will. I've heard this trope about every change every company has ever made. Myself, I traded in my buggy whip for an ignition key 50 years ago. And my 4-speed for a 10 speed automatic 4 years ago. And my Apple SCSI, ADC, RS-232, FireWire, Mini DisplayPort, Mini DVI, Mini VGA, and 2.5 mm Mini audio jack.
Don’t tell me what I will or won’t do. You are clueless in this situation. I will simply wait until it goes port less. I can easily hold onto a iPhone 14 for 5+ years if need be. Quit thinking so much of yourself
I won’t upgrade to an iPhone with USB-C. I have 10+ lightning cables and this will result in furthering man made climate change by forcing millions of people like me to go buy all new cables and charging blocks since most of mine are the old usb square blocks and old ipad blocks as well.
Yes you will. I've heard this trope about every change every company has ever made. Myself, I traded in my buggy whip for an ignition key 50 years ago. And my 4-speed for a 10 speed automatic 4 years ago. And my Apple SCSI, ADC, RS-232, FireWire, Mini DisplayPort, Mini DVI, Mini VGA, and 2.5 mm Mini audio jack.
Don’t tell me what I will or won’t do. You are clueless in this situation. I will simply wait until it goes port less. I can easily hold onto a iPhone 14 for 5+ years if need be. Quit thinking so much of yourself
Why would you wait for it to go portless? It can do inductive charging now if you are so allergic to USB-C cables.
The degree of histrionics and gnashing of teeth in this thread is astounding. Apple has already switched to USB C in iPads and I saw not a single person saying "damned communist Apple made me use USB C!" or "No way in Hell I'm getting an iPad with a USB C port! I'll just keep it until they make it portliest!" I get the impression that had Apple switched the iPhone to USB C ports on it's own people would have been gushing about how much better USB C is than lightning.
Honestly, other than the inconvenience of eventually getting some new cables, precisely how does this harm anyone? I'm not talking about some hypothetical future harm in 10 years, I'm talking about actual harm.
I don't mind USB-C for anything other than iPads or iPhones. Newer iPads already use USB-C, but I'd like to see Apple keep it off the iPhone for as long as possible. I'm good with Lightning.
It wouldn't and couldn't happen, but I'd like to see Apple say FU to the EU — "USB-C?? WE DON'T NEED NO STINKIN' USB-C!" Not gonna happen though. The EU is too big of a market, so if Apple can't get around them, say "hi" to in on the phone.
Why? not trying to start a flame war here but, you have iPads and presumably already have usb-c chargers and cables. You are really so eager to carry one more cable?. I get the point about distaste for bureaucracies dictating terms to private companies. But why would you be opposed to it personally?
What will you say in 5 years when Apple or the industry comes up with a far superior standard but it takes another 5 years for the bureaucracy to get off their collective butts and pass legislation?
I didn't say I am fan of "bureaucracies dictating terms to private companies" Just that I am glad not having manage one more cable. Personally though I believe apple was going to do it on its own (timeline) given that the wireless charging hasn't made the necessary progress to completely replace the wired variety. Before anybody asks that's based on the fact that all mac's and all ipad's now are already on usb-c
I won’t upgrade to an iPhone with USB-C. I have 10+ lightning cables and this will result in furthering man made climate change by forcing millions of people like me to go buy all new cables and charging blocks since most of mine are the old usb square blocks and old ipad blocks as well.
Yes you will. I've heard this trope about every change every company has ever made. Myself, I traded in my buggy whip for an ignition key 50 years ago. And my 4-speed for a 10 speed automatic 4 years ago. And my Apple SCSI, ADC, RS-232, FireWire, Mini DisplayPort, Mini DVI, Mini VGA, and 2.5 mm Mini audio jack.
Don’t tell me what I will or won’t do. You are clueless in this situation. I will simply wait until it goes port less. I can easily hold onto a iPhone 14 for 5+ years if need be. Quit thinking so much of yourself
Why would you wait for it to go portless? It can do inductive charging now if you are so allergic to USB-C cables.
It looks to be highly likely that within the next 5 years the iPhone will be portless. I just upgraded my iPhone XS and the only issue was reduced battery life. So short of me losing my phone I won’t upgrade until it’s portless. Nothing to do with usb-c, I was messing around on my first post but then some guy made a douchey reply so I explained he was wrong and he still can’t accept that for some reason
It's amazing how McCarthyism can still raise its perverse stink, seven decades and more than two generations later.
Do you see USA telling BMW to make cars like GM?
Maybe you like communism?
That's probably the dumbest thing I'm going to read all day, I think.
Do you mean like US regulators have been telling German manufacturers to build cars for many decades?
European version:
US version, with required double headlights and the ugly bumper-car bumpers completely ruining the gorgeous lines and the lightness of the design:
Fuckin' Commies, those Americans.
That's a poor example to compare to the EU forcing Apple to use the USB-C port on their devices, for the perceived benefit of reducing E-waste from chargers.
First of all […lots of interesting, but ultimately irrelevant — to the actual argument I was making — information snipped…]
But I do agree that the Euro Mercedes were much more "sleeker" looking than the US models of the same year.
That's a whole lot of words for "Yes, I agree that US regulations force European car manufacturers to build to their specifications and have been doing so for many decades." ;-)
The poor example was in the bullshit comment I was responding to, which simply and falsely claimed that this didn't happen.
Also, the R 107 was built from 1971 to 1989, so whatever happened in 1980 was already a decade into production.
I DO appreciate the informative content of your comment, mind. It's just missing the actual point of mine.
What if someone invents a better connector next year? Or: who would be motivated to think of something better?
It is deeply inappropriate for governments to get this granularly invasive in industrial product design. Moronic is the better way to describe it.
While I fundamentally believe that the government should absolutely get involved when things go south, I share your concern about what happens three years from now when a better connector shows up.
It does give me pause that last year alone, chargers obsoleted by new phones apparently accounted for ELEVEN TONS of garbage in the EU.
Depending on whether you meant TONS (2000 pounds) or TONNES (1000kg, ~2200 pounds) then it's either 0.0000429187561 pounds per person or 0.00002145937805 kilograms (~0.02 grams) per person.
Thanks for making me go back and checking this.
It's eleven THOUSAND tonnes (the difference between the metric and the mediaeval units is close enough to make ballpark figures interchangeable) through unused/obsoleted chargers per year in the EU, though that figure is not limited to phone chargers.
Estimates are that this legislature will reduce e-waste by about 1000 tonnes per year within the EU. Since this will likely drive standardisation globally, and not just within the EU, the effects will be considerable — if just a drop in the ocean of total waste.
Does the new EU law apply only to sold device or does it also apply to leased devices? Maybe Apple could simply lease all new iPhones in the EU to skirt the law.
AFAIK, every device or car that is leased is first sold to the company that's doing the actual leasing.
That may be a subsidiary of the manufacturer, but it's a financial service company that owns the machine.
I won’t upgrade to an iPhone with USB-C. I have 10+ lightning cables and this will result in furthering man made climate change by forcing millions of people like me to go buy all new cables and charging blocks since most of mine are the old usb square blocks and old ipad blocks as well.
Yes you will. I've heard this trope about every change every company has ever made. Myself, I traded in my buggy whip for an ignition key 50 years ago. And my 4-speed for a 10 speed automatic 4 years ago. And my Apple SCSI, ADC, RS-232, FireWire, Mini DisplayPort, Mini DVI, Mini VGA, and 2.5 mm Mini audio jack.
Don’t tell me what I will or won’t do. You are clueless in this situation. I will simply wait until it goes port less. I can easily hold onto a iPhone 14 for 5+ years if need be. Quit thinking so much of yourself
Well, thanks for adapting your buying behaviour towards reducing waste and proving the effectiveness of this legislature!
What if someone invents a better connector next year? Or: who would be motivated to think of something better?
It is deeply inappropriate for governments to get this granularly invasive in industrial product design. Moronic is the better way to describe it.
While I fundamentally believe that the government should absolutely get involved when things go south, I share your concern about what happens three years from now when a better connector shows up.
It does give me pause that last year alone, chargers obsoleted by new phones apparently accounted for ELEVEN TONS of garbage in the EU.
Depending on whether you meant TONS (2000 pounds) or TONNES (1000kg, ~2200 pounds) then it's either 0.0000429187561 pounds per person or 0.00002145937805 kilograms (~0.02 grams) per person.
Thanks for making me go back and checking this.
It's eleven THOUSAND tonnes (the difference between the metric and the mediaeval units is close enough to make ballpark figures interchangeable) through unused/obsoleted chargers per year in the EU, though that figure is not limited to phone chargers.
Estimates are that this legislature will reduce e-waste by about 1000 tonnes per year within the EU. Since this will likely drive standardisation globally, and not just within the EU, the effects will be considerable — if just a drop in the ocean of total waste.
That's still a very small number. Maybe it is 11 million tonnes?
If it is 11,000 tonnes, and using FileMakerFeller's numbers, that's 20 grams per person. 20 grams! There's about 5x more grams of sugar in a can of soda, and people go through a lot of that on a daily basis. People probably go through 20 grams of plastic per day. I think I get 20 grams of plastic in the letters I get. Not talking about fake plastic credit cards. I'm talking about the clear plastic "window" of letters that I get in the mail. Like a month's worth of those might be 20 grams.
The EU really should drop the e-waste rationale. They should go all-in on the usability angle. It will be more convenient to have one type of charging port for the hundreds of low-power gadgets in a house. I'd love nothing more to get rid of outlet power bricks. External drives, toothbrushes, landline phones, anything with low Watt rechargeable battery or low Watt power consumption. Those power bricks probably drive more e-waste than Apple's Lightning connector because they force people to buy more power strips.
11,000 tonnes is not a small number, no matter how you try to bend and divide the figure.
Relative to the non-compostable landfill waste produced by 500m people in the EU, it's a small number. A plastic bag weighs about 2 grams. 1 plastic bag per person in the EU is 1000 tonnes. That's a plastic bag. Now think about how many plastic bags we go through per day. Shopping bags, storage bags, product bags etc. Things like blister packs in packaging, packing bubbles, and etc. Potato chip bags? Plastic (well polyethylene blah blah blah). 2 grams per bag. We compost and what is picked up by the trash service is basically plastic! So maybe 500 grams of it per week. Per week, for our household of 6. So, that's about 100x more per year than this 11k tonne estimate.
I am curious what assumptions are used in 11k tonne estimate. An iPhone Lightning cable is 20 grams. Apple sells about 300m devices with Lightning cables per year. That's 6000 tonnes. That's worldwide. Not just the EU. So, they are assuming it will be 2 years worth of Lightning cables?
But. No e-waste will be actually be saved if Apple ships a USBC-to-USBC cable with every device. Same thing with other OEMs. The only way e-waste will be reduced is if Apple and other companies don't have charging cables in the box. I think Apple will eventually decide to do this. Interesting security implications. Will be curious if the public will it acceptable not to have cables in the box though. The failure rate is a lot higher than charging bricks, so people may favor having them in the box.
Having a common charging port for all 100 W or less devices is something I would like to see. The convenience will be very nice. The installed base of USBC chargers and cables probably isn't ubiquitous enough just yet. Eventually.
11,000 tonnes is not a small number, no matter how you try to bend and divide the figure.
Relative to the non-compostable landfill waste produced by 500m people in the EU, it's a small number. A plastic bag weighs about 2 grams. 1 plastic bag per person in the EU is 1000 tonnes. That's a plastic bag. Now think about how many plastic bags we go through per day. Shopping bags, storage bags, product bags etc. Things like blister packs in packaging, packing bubbles, and etc. Potato chip bags? Plastic (well polyethylene blah blah blah). 2 grams per bag. We compost and what is picked up by the trash service is basically plastic! So maybe 500 grams of it per week. Per week, for our household of 6. So, that's about 100x more per year than this 11k tonne estimate.
There are initiatives to reduce the amount of plastic bags and packaging too. I don't think anyone anywhere is claiming that this law will solve the problem of all waste in landfill, no law could.
11,000 tonnes is not a small number, no matter how you try to bend and divide the figure.
Relative to the non-compostable landfill waste produced by 500m people in the EU, it's a small number. A plastic bag weighs about 2 grams. 1 plastic bag per person in the EU is 1000 tonnes. That's a plastic bag. Now think about how many plastic bags we go through per day. Shopping bags, storage bags, product bags etc. Things like blister packs in packaging, packing bubbles, and etc. Potato chip bags? Plastic (well polyethylene blah blah blah). 2 grams per bag. We compost and what is picked up by the trash service is basically plastic! So maybe 500 grams of it per week. Per week, for our household of 6. So, that's about 100x more per year than this 11k tonne estimate.
I am curious what assumptions are used in 11k tonne estimate. An iPhone Lightning cable is 20 grams. Apple sells about 300m devices with Lightning cables per year. That's 6000 tonnes. That's worldwide. Not just the EU. So, they are assuming it will be 2 years worth of Lightning cables?
But. No e-waste will be actually be saved if Apple ships a USBC-to-USBC cable with every device. Same thing with other OEMs. The only way e-waste will be reduced is if Apple and other companies don't have charging cables in the box. I think Apple will eventually decide to do this. Interesting security implications. Will be curious if the public will it acceptable not to have cables in the box though. The failure rate is a lot higher than charging bricks, so people may favor having them in the box.
Having a common charging port for all 100 W or less devices is something I would like to see. The convenience will be very nice. The installed base of USBC chargers and cables probably isn't ubiquitous enough just yet. Eventually.
As I've mentioned previously, this law should not be taken alone. It falls under different EU umbrella frameworks, one of which is environmental.
This is from an EU document:
"The first study also found that the consumption of raw materials to produce charging devices has environmental impacts as well as impacts in terms of generating e-waste at the end of product life. It estimated that mobile phone charging devices were responsible for around 11000 t of e-waste in 2018 and the associated life-cycle emissions were around 600 ktCO2e. Those amounts are expected to increase in the coming years, driven mainly by the trend towards heavier fast chargers."
E-waste has been in the sights of the EU for many years but so have plastics. One of the latest moves was on single use plastics. However, the waste aspect is an end of life issue. It took raw material extraction (with environmental costs) to produce it. That has to be factored in too.
There are many angles to the problem but moves to tackle it are accumulative. One number for one item or class of items taken alone doesn't mean much. It has to be taken in a wider context.
Comments
Must be our "King's English", because it doesn't come through as that.
However, it is very unlikely that solutions tied to one single company will be approved unless the technology is made freely available to all. It is far more likely that an industry proposal could be up for appraisal though.
The whole point of harmonising the current situation is to reduce/eliminate fragmentation, reduce e-waste, improve interoperability etc. One company going its own way wouldn't help in those efforts.
The technology is under continual review and, as I mentioned further up, the EU even included a reference to a future version of the USB-C specification in the text.
Honestly, other than the inconvenience of eventually getting some new cables, precisely how does this harm anyone? I'm not talking about some hypothetical future harm in 10 years, I'm talking about actual harm.
I didn't say I am fan of "bureaucracies dictating terms to private companies" Just that I am glad not having manage one more cable. Personally though I believe apple was going to do it on its own (timeline) given that the wireless charging hasn't made the necessary progress to completely replace the wired variety. Before anybody asks that's based on the fact that all mac's and all ipad's now are already on usb-c
The poor example was in the bullshit comment I was responding to, which simply and falsely claimed that this didn't happen.
That may be a subsidiary of the manufacturer, but it's a financial service company that owns the machine.
If it is 11,000 tonnes, and using FileMakerFeller's numbers, that's 20 grams per person. 20 grams! There's about 5x more grams of sugar in a can of soda, and people go through a lot of that on a daily basis. People probably go through 20 grams of plastic per day. I think I get 20 grams of plastic in the letters I get. Not talking about fake plastic credit cards. I'm talking about the clear plastic "window" of letters that I get in the mail. Like a month's worth of those might be 20 grams.
The EU really should drop the e-waste rationale. They should go all-in on the usability angle. It will be more convenient to have one type of charging port for the hundreds of low-power gadgets in a house. I'd love nothing more to get rid of outlet power bricks. External drives, toothbrushes, landline phones, anything with low Watt rechargeable battery or low Watt power consumption. Those power bricks probably drive more e-waste than Apple's Lightning connector because they force people to buy more power strips.
I am curious what assumptions are used in 11k tonne estimate. An iPhone Lightning cable is 20 grams. Apple sells about 300m devices with Lightning cables per year. That's 6000 tonnes. That's worldwide. Not just the EU. So, they are assuming it will be 2 years worth of Lightning cables?
But. No e-waste will be actually be saved if Apple ships a USBC-to-USBC cable with every device. Same thing with other OEMs. The only way e-waste will be reduced is if Apple and other companies don't have charging cables in the box. I think Apple will eventually decide to do this. Interesting security implications. Will be curious if the public will it acceptable not to have cables in the box though. The failure rate is a lot higher than charging bricks, so people may favor having them in the box.
Having a common charging port for all 100 W or less devices is something I would like to see. The convenience will be very nice. The installed base of USBC chargers and cables probably isn't ubiquitous enough just yet. Eventually.
And again, 11,000 tonnes.
This is from an EU document:
"The first study also found that the consumption of raw materials to produce charging devices has environmental impacts as well as impacts in terms of generating e-waste at the end of product life. It estimated that mobile phone charging devices were responsible for around 11000 t of e-waste in 2018 and the associated life-cycle emissions were around 600 ktCO2e. Those amounts are expected to increase in the coming years, driven mainly by the trend towards heavier fast chargers."
E-waste has been in the sights of the EU for many years but so have plastics. One of the latest moves was on single use plastics. However, the waste aspect is an end of life issue. It took raw material extraction (with environmental costs) to produce it. That has to be factored in too.
There are many angles to the problem but moves to tackle it are accumulative. One number for one item or class of items taken alone doesn't mean much. It has to be taken in a wider context.