mfryd

avon b7 said:

mfryd said:

avon b7 said:

mfryd said:

avon b7 said:

mfryd said:

chutzpah said:

...

The intention of the directive is not the same as the wording of the directive.  There is nothing to stop Apple creating a "better than USB-C" wired charging solution and using it, even in the EU, as long as they abide by the specific wording of the directive for phones that they sell within the EU.  That is, all phones sold that charge via a wire must feature the common charging port, currently identified as USB-C.

And they are under no current obligation to share anything.  

In other words, Apple is free to innovate and develop a better connector, as long as it is USB-C.

This reminds me of the old days when AT&T had a monopoly on telephone service in the USA.  You could have whatever color telephone you wanted, as long as it was black.

Sometimes the best innovations come from technology that is a dramatic break from current practice.

Prior to the iPhone, the goal to improve smart phones was to make a better mechanical keyboard.  If the government had imposed a standard requiring certain sizing of these mechanical keyboards, we wouldn't have the modern smartphone with its virtual keyboards.

Prior to USB, we had RS-232 serial connections on computers.  Some devices used DB-25 connectors, some DB-9 connectors, and some various other connectors.  If the government had mandated one of these to impose a common connector for serial communications, we would not have USB (Universal Serial Bus) at all.

Now, I am not commenting on whether or not requiring USB-C is overall a good thing or a bad thing.  I am just pointing out that such a requirement has both good and bad effects. 

More than good or bad, it's more case of one aspect outweighing another. 

Prior to this directive, the EU tried (and with great patience) to cajole the industry into solving a serious problem. That of multiple different chargers, most of which were not interoperable. This was lock-in in the purest sense. The result of that was a MoU (not legislation) which saw the industry move to USB. Guess who didn't? 

A decade later, and as a result of not seeing the result it was aiming for, the EU brought the common charger directive to the table which, by the way, tackles a multitude of devices (not just phones). 

There have been all kinds of consultation and impact studies. 

No one proposal solved all the possible problems so that was never ever the goal. 

The current directive aims to resolve a specific set of problems. Not all of them. 

No, innovation will not be stifled. Innovation will be channeled through specific standards. The decisions behind the current directive even make direct mention of future possible improvements.

Even though wireless charging was specifically left out of the directive, Apple has woken up to the realities of what might happen and worked to integrate Magsafe into a standard. 

These directives are therefore likely to have worldwide repercussions and that is a good thing. 

As an aside, it was Apple that refused move on from a 10 year old 5W charger and dumped millions of them on users for more than a decade. That's a very long time in technology. 

The EU directive seems to be geared more towards cables than chargers.   Current iPhones are already compatible with standard USB-C PD Chargers.  iPhones generally don't come with a charger, only a cable that allows charging via a standard USB-C charger.

I don't know about you, but my experience is that cables wear out much more quickly than chargers.  I tend to keep cables for longer, and replace chargers when more efficient ones become available.  When I move to a new phone, it generally time to replace the charging cable anyway.   I don't see this new regulation as reducing waste at all.

The EU regulation requires Apple to use a common USB-C cable as the wear item that gets routinely replaced.  Let's not pretend that this about chargers, it's about cables and marketing.  The EU doesn't like that Apple is free to innovate as to the connector used on their phone.


I suspect that if you glued a lighting to USB-C cable into your existing iPhone, it would meet the new EU rules, as it would then use a standard USB-C connector for charging.

 "I don't see this new regulation as reducing waste at all."

The impact assessments show that it will. 

I have a multitude of different chargers for different devices at home and none of them are fully interchangeable. 

Yes, cables are another element in the charging process and current lightning cables add to the fragmentation problem that the EU directive is aiming to tackle. 

Apple iPhones already use standard USB-C chargers.  You can use the same charger for both iPhone and Android phones, the only difference is the cable.

In fact, you can even use the USB-C chargers that come with a MacBook to charge an iPhone.  Some configurations of MacBook come with a dual port USB-C charger, allowing you to charge both you MacBook and phone at the same time.

Again, let's not pretend that this regulation is about the chargers.  It's about not letting Apple use a proprietary cable.    A three pack of 6 foot MiFi certified USB-C to Lighting cables is around $12 on Amazon.

Cables are a wear item.  They get routinely replaced whether the phone has a USB-C or lighting connector.

In what way do you see this rule reducing waste?  It doesn't affect the chargers that IPhone use.  All it does is says that if someone is switching from Android to Apple, they can now continue to use the worn out Android charging cable, instead of using the new cable that came bundled with their phone.

It is absolutely about chargers and cables. It is about reducing fragmentation, reducing e-waste and also trying to take the confusion out of connectors. 

The directive will also herald new labeling efforts. 

It isn't about going after Apple. It's about the entire industry of small electronic devices. 

Alex1N said:

I am in that boat already with my iPhone 12 Pro Max - the Lightning socket in the phone has failed completely, as in dead as a doornail, no charging or data. The only way to charge it is with the magnetic puck, which has, of course, its own USB-C connector and charger.

Using the USB-C pick is fine by me, the only skin that I really have in the iPhone Lightning game now is - or rather, was - CarPlay, but with the defunct Lightning socket I no longer have CarPlay access, which is annoying (a failed USB-C connector would result in the same CarPlay situation, natürlich).