Apple Reportedly Planning to Limit iPhone 15's USB-C Port in the Same Way as Lightning

[Cubsfan]

I suspect everyone is overreacting. If I can make a prediction, charging will be unaffected, and the actual cable type won't matter.

However, I will guess that this is more about authentication between the phone and the device on the other end of the cable. If you want to plug in, say, an external keyboard or something, the keyboard will need to be MiFi certified.

So this will satisfy both the letter and the intent of the EU law.

Edit: Cable type won't matter other than the already stupid array of USBC compatible cables. Mostly that this won't require a 'certified' Apple cable.

 

[Krazy_Peanut]

lol?! WHO actually still uses a wire to transfer files nowadays?!

 

[BuddyRich]

I highly doubt this.

I mean, they've been selling Apple USBC cables with the iPad for awhile now, presumably without an IC, so if someone can't use that same Apple USBC cable with an iPhone, they will no doubt hear about it...

Im also not sure they can call it a USBC port if its not operable with other USBC accessories, that would depend on the USBC standards body.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

I just don’t get it. What’s the point of limiting when it’s been out for years on the iPad just fine? Is Apple trying to make this an exclusive feature?

 

[Anaxarxes]

MFi program generates revenue stream and guards accessory compatibility. Makes sense for a company to guard that.

USBC enforcement is for unifying charging and reduce waste, not making all accessories compatible with each other.

I still think Apple developing portless and USBC phones. If portless phone meets all the internal requirements, they will skip USBC entirely.

 

[jlc1978]

I can't see the EU liking this approach if true

Maybe, but their new directive allows this. It only defines connector and minimal power requirements. The USB-C spec specifically allows, and is designed for, custom configurations.

I guess Apple doesn't want to get rid of all that sweet sweet cash from MFI licensing fees.

I doubt MiFi fees are more than a rounding error. The benefit is in assurance of compatibility.

Well, you know, it would be trivial for the EU to not allow this. And Apple, of course, would need to comply.

They'd have to change the directive, which would be non-trivial given the EU's processes.

It's only a rumor for now, let's not jump too quickly into social chaos mode. Apple would just pay whatever silly fine the EU issues, it's all a money grab scheme for them.

Apple would not be in violation of EU rules. Standard cables would still work, just not have capablities beyond teh EU requirements.

This article will turn out to be false... the whole point of the change is to comply with the EU law. And the point of the EU law, is to use your old cables and chargers... not have to go and buy new ones.

Apple could implement MiFi on USBC and still be in full complaince and old cables work just fine. MiFi could be used for determine max data transfer speed, which is not part of the directive. Or it could allow for faster charging than the EU spec requires.

Yeah, I don't buy this. This would render all current Apple USB-C cables useless with the iPhone 15. And it's also against the new EU legislation. (Any USB-C cable must work)

It would not necessarily violate the new regulation. Old cables would work for charging and PD (provided they meet the cable specs) since the iPhone would support them. Advanced capabilities, which is allowed by the EU, could be built in that needed a certified cable. The EU defined a port and minimum capabilities; while allowing for custom configurations that meet those requirements while providing additional capability.

Will Apple do this? Who knows for sure? However, as has been pointed out over and over, the new EU regulation does not ensure there will be one universal USB-C cable to rule all. It doesn't even ensure a device will have a USB-C port, and specifically states one is not required.

 

[mjschabow]

It’s this kind of stuff that makes me question why I chose to give Apple money.

 

[ian87w]

Whatever USB3/4/Thunderbolt3 port Apple uses already has its own standard, and for higher data and power transmission, a chip is already required. So nothing new here. It’s for power and data transfer rate stability.

 

[iOS Geek]

I don’t think the EU would approve this. It adds additional waste instead of removing some

The switch to USB-C also adds additional waste (temporary as it may be, it’s still going to be more) once people can’t use their lightning cables anymore. So I doubt “waste” will be a factor in this particular issue. When mentioning “waste” people seem to forget how many lightning cables are going to become waste when this goes into effect. Especially because most people can’t be bothered to recycle already as it is. Those same people aren’t going to recycle cables if they can’t even be bothered to recycle bottles, paper, and cans.

 

[MrRom92]

I have no problem with this whatsoever. The market will quickly adapt. Can you even find lightning cables right now that aren’t MFi certified? Maybe if you’re shopping at the 99¢ store. From day one any cable from a reputable manufacturer will not be a problem, I can guarantee it.

And since nobody will want to market a cable that isn’t MFi certified, Apple stands to make a bit on the cables sold to Android device users as well. Pretty brilliant racket they’ve got there.

 

[dotnet]

a user who claims to be an integrated circuit expert with 25 years of experience working on Intel's Pentium processors.

You do not grasp the true meaning of homeostasis until you’ve worked on the Intel Pentium for 25 years.

 

[JosephAW]

Just make sure Apple that it has the same speed as USB 2 like your other devices.

 

[magicschoolbus]

lol nah they will just upsell you and call it a feature for the pro model

 

[diddl14]

Lot’s of negative impressions here but personally think this is good thing. Continuing to have the option to get certified accessories is better than to have to dig trough all kinds of counterfeit or generally bad designed hardware. If Apple continues to keep up high quality certification then at least there is an incentive for buying at a premium price. Clearly blocking anything not certified would be less cool but assume not even Apple would at this point do that. They might however restrict warranty when non certified accessories were used which is ok. No need for Apple to take the burden of replacing an expensive phone destroyed a cheap counterfeit charger.

 

[LV426]

I really hope this isn’t true. Why go to so much expense to engineer an inferior product?

If it prevents users attaching potentially lethal chargers to their Apple devices, I'm ok with that. All the cheap knock off cables in the world are not worth one single life.

 

[azentropy]

My bet is they are going to use it to further differentiate between Pro and non-Pro models.

 

[szw-mapple fan]

According to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the USB-C port on the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus will remain limited to USB 2.0 speeds – the same as Lightning. Only the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max models will apparently get faster charging speeds. As a result, the only major difference between Lightning and USB-C on the standard iPhone 15 models could simply be the physical shape of the connector.

Do you mean transfer speeds? Otherwise this sentence wouldn't make much sense since USB versions don't necessarily change charging speeds.

 

[Curry119]

I'm just happy to read there will actually be a port. Not everyone has wireless charging in their cars yet.

 

[szw-mapple fan]

lol?! WHO actually still uses a wire to transfer files nowadays?!

I bet you've never tried transferring large ProRes files that are tens of GB large over AirDrop.

 

[prime17569]

I don't understand why Apple would add an MFi chip to USB-C. They didn't do it when the 2018 iPad Pro came out, and they certainly didn't do it for the 10th-generation iPad, so why do it now, and only for the regular iPhones? It sounds like a scummy move.

I could see them limiting transfer speeds on the regular iPhone as they did with the 10th-generation iPad.

 

[I7guy]

Apple sticking it to the world or the EU?

 

[Matthew.H]

They might however restrict warranty when non certified accessories were used which is ok. No need for Apple to take the burden of replacing an expensive phone destroyed a cheap counterfeit charger.

That would be pretty much impossible for Apple to prove. If a customer was using a cheap charger and it broke their phone, Apple would need to completely prove that the customers charger was at fault to legally deny warranty service. To do that they would need to see the charger that was being used and ultimately the customer could just lie and bring in a genuine charger and cable and say they were using those when the phone broke.

 

[richard4339]

The EU will certainly love Apple basically skirting the requirements making the reasoning for them useless. I’m guessing Apple will get smacked over this if true.

 

[JapanApple]

um............wait see. OMG the BS is running a muck here these days

 

[StellarVixen]

The EU will certainly love Apple basically skirting the requirements making the reasoning for them useless. I’m guessing Apple will get smacked over this if true.

EU's requirement is USB-C, and that is what they're gonna get.

I am sure Apple's lawyers read everything and found out there is nothing that prohibits this what they are supposedly going to do.