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EU Passes Law to Switch iPhone to USB-C by End of 2024
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Why chuck the chargers?
If you are happy with USB-A charging, just use a USB-A to USB-C cable.
Most of my electronics use USB-C save for Apple Watch, which has a C backend. I’d only benefit from not having one more cable. Everyone benefits in stages.
Fair enough. Kind of defeats the purpose of standardizing though.
Apple laptops supports charging via USB-C as well, so no problem.
It's how I charge my MBP most of the time - by plugging it into USB-C / Thunderbolt on monitors.
Can they also please regulate how each cable is labelled? I have no idea what transfer speed and what power delivery an arbitrary USB-C cable has.
That's what I use right now. I got fed up of having a box full of USB-A to USB-A cables of differing lengths and colours (kept around just in case) plus another box of all sorts of USB-A to mini-USB cables plus another box for micro-USB then another for lightning then another for USB-C so I junked the whole lot, bought a selection of different lengths and colours (only black or white) of USB-C cables and a collection of various USB-C to <whatever> adapters to configure my USC cables to how I want them. Micro-USB and Lightning are pretty much the only adapters I use now plus very occasionally mini-USB for old external hard drives. Fairly soon I probably won't ever need use any of my adapters and can use just the cables once all of my current older devices have been replaced with USB-C versions.
I found this approach quite a good way of reducing/rationalising my cable collection and if/when I do need another 5-metre Lightning cable (for instance) I no longer feel I might be wasting money on a soon-to-be-obsolete cable because what I'd actually buy would be a 5-metre USB-C cable and use one of my Lightning adapters.
It will be interesting to see how long the "USB-C is king" era lasts though. Quite a few years I expect.
So the lack of evidence is suddenly evidence?
Apple updates next to everything on its devices as often to get consumers to upgrade, unless it deems the upgrade as a new loss or unnecessary for steady, annual growth. Why on Earth would it be holding back on superior I/O?
You're arguing for a hypothetical that has never leaked and Apple has never mentioned. Only mentions of portless, nothing else.
Also, this is really a non-issue and non-argument as Apple can easily sue the E.U. for billions in lost revenue and win if it can present said innovative I/O in court and explain just how much money its losing by not being allowed to implement it in products. and how consumers interactions with devices are stifled by Apple's hypethetical Super Port™.
Apple can just get to work and present the world with the future of I/Os. But until then we get to enjoy USB-C across all devices.
At least when standardised we might see widespread availability USB-C outlets as wall sockets, in vehicles (not just cars but trains, coaches, aircraft).
And one of the really annoying issues is that many chargers are designed to fit AC wall outlets. Thus making many of them unusable in much of the world. (I know some have exchangeable adaptors but they tend to be special travel models. Not the ones originally supplied with the kit.) Whereas USB-C should work anywhere.
That would be even more inconvenient than lightning. Apple shouldn't aim for inconvenience or technical stagnation, as exemplified by the current lightning port: it's non-standard meaning more kinds of cables to bring along, it's slower for data transfer, and it provides less power - it was good at launch, but it's been holding the iPhone back for many years now.
I use magsafe at home, but when traveling, at work, in the car etc cables are what I have available.
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I have no idea how that refutes what I said. Yes, if you routinely move around Gbs of files on demand, you will benefit from wired connections. I don't think that is a common use case.
For example, if I spent all day shooting a Gb of photos, by the next morning, they'd all be available on my Mac in whatever format I chose to shoot them. (If I allowed them to sync over 5G, they'd probably be available by the time I got home.)
I was extremely conservative. Theoretical speeds are 9.6Gbs for Wifi 6.
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I don’t think I am the minority when I say I’ve been using MagSafe chargers for over a year and relying on wireless cloud updates for longer without issue. It’s a phone, it’s not a computer, what exactly are you trying to transfer on such a regular basis that requires massive bandwidth? Most arguments for port changes are gross exaggerations matching the out of control hype found on social media.
This is how democracy in Europe works. Each MEP of the EP is voted directly by people of their representing country. Don't like the laws? Don't make business here.
Thing is, Apple won't stop their business in here, they will comply. And while most people don't really care about connectors and cables, those who do want one thing: USB-C.
So Apple being made to do something other asked for years, yes, it feels good. I will prepare myself to carry one less dongle (Lighting to USB 3 Camera Adapter), one USB-C cable for literally every device I use daily and much better transfer speeds.
mine aren’t even lasting 2 months, returned 3 lighting cables (3rd party however) and gone back to apple
Apple was part of the group that developed USB-C. It's Apple their innovation.
And the free market is working. People vote with their wallets and the market says USB-C is not needed as iPhone's are one of the best selling smartphones worldwide.
Maybe the EU would pass another directive to that end? There again, they might decide that they don't want the flood of criticism that this USB-C directive seems to have unleashed.
I think that such basic things should have been standard from the beginning.
Exactly on point!
Whats to stop Apple from including a Lightning to USB-C adapter with each Iphone?
nah, all rumours the past couple years have said 15 will move to type c. it takes a long to plan this sort of thing and they would’ve known about this proposal for a while.
15 designs are almost certainly finalised already.
and absolutely not. they won’t ship a different model in EU. this would mean different airpods cases, mouse, keyboard etc just for EU.
doesn’t work like that.
their profitability means they need to sell as many of the same product.
they will switch them all over in next 2 years.
also means they can sell more usb c cables and usb c adaptors.
win win for apple
No. I never said that have a superior port. But we'll never know if they would have developed one (like they did with lightning), because the EU has forced them to accept the decisions of a standards body over their own engineers.
That's all nonsense.
EU has never been great. Unless you enjoy being overly regulated by non-elected politicians.
micro-USB is designed to break. It's dreadful. I welcome it's demise for even the cheapest electronics. Yes, I know usb-c can break too, but the breakage rate is much much lower micro-USB.