sunman42

stompy said:

AppleInsider said:

The agreement's goal is to reduce electronic waste in the system since smartphone owners could use one cable to charge multiple devices. 

... will the E.U. force manufacturers to sell devices WITHOUT charging cables? If not, I guess the reduced waste is for aftermarket cables?

    The article states that phones will have to be sold without chargers, and notes that Apple has been doing so for the last couple of iPhone cycles.

bshank said:

What is not mentioned is how many small and medium sized businesses make MFi products. Apple supports these businesses by having such a certification program that gives people “choice”, something I thought the EU was all about. So much for fake anti-trust and anti-competitive narrative. The EU will be doing damage to those small businesses that make the majority of their profit off the MFi program, some being European. That’s another reason Apple hasn’t changed from Lightning I would assume, so they don’t pull the rug out from other companies that depend on selling certified Apple accessories. But I guess Margarethe Vestager and her cohort will feel like they are powerful or some crap, while subverting the EU and EC’s own stated goals. Seems equally short sighted as decrying violent tyrants like Vladimir Putin while creating an energy policy that depends on that dictator. 

The EU is for a choice of European-made goods. When it comes to South Korean or US companies’ products, not quite so much.

riverko said:

And what about hair trimmers, tooth brushes, powebanks…
don’t forget we have apple keyboards, mouse, airpods that all are on lightning too… so still extra cable or some dongle…

If we take the Eurocrats at their word, their intention is the reduction is ware electronics. Since the total number of Apple devices you mention (other than AirPods, which are included in the regulation) is ~ 1/100th of the number of iPhones sold every year, I believe they constitute noise.

lkrupp said:

Welp, I guess we should start the death spiral clock, eh? Can’t wait to be told this is actually bad news by the usual crowd here, and why can’t Apple pay its retail workers $100K per week. You know, the usual backhanded slap-in-the-face kind of bullshit. /s

Madbum said:

Why? I would just fire the trouble makers or cut their hours or shift to commission pay as I am sure none of the unionizers are any good