Brussels wants Apple to change iPhone charging system by 2024
Sounds like a great idea (not).
Imagine where Europe will be when an alternative improved system comes out .. but in Europe the law would say that you have to stick with USB-C.
The law of unintended consequences.
@JohnPhilpin i seem to remember people in the EU advocating the iPhone change to usb-mini in the past…imagine if every phone was stuck on that!
@ChrisJWilson new news … Thankyou … lessons never learned … what you get when bureaucrats are in charge.
@JohnPhilpin @ChrisJWilson Doesn’t the EU shift from mini to USB-C sort of suggest that the standard would shift too, so it’s across the industry rather than across all time? Given the ubiquity of USB-C I really don’t see the issue, other than Apple losing Lightning connector licensing fees on third-party accessories.
@jamescousins @JohnPhilpin I really don't know why Apple is resisting USB-C/thunderbolt on the iPhone and I'd love to see them shift over (Especially with iPad on USB-C/thunderbolt) plus it seems like the USB-C/Thunderbolt connector may have a longer future as there are those different standards, but if the EU insist on sticking to one standard, what if a better one comes along later? Perhaps there wouldn't be an issue with all the phone companies petitioning the EU to change the regulation/forming some sort of agreement, but EU processes aren't renown for their speed.
@ChrisJWilson @JohnPhilpin But that's quite an easy thing to address legislatively, you just allow someone else to decide the relevant standard, e.g. whatever USB-IF (and Apple are on the board) determine as the appropriate connector for that class of device. Given the EU have changed their proposals, and they've been pushing this for over ten years, they are clearly aware of this issue. It isn't just bureaucracy for the sake of it.
I really do think Apple are opposing it because they can license proprietary connections and generate a good revenue stream. I think the 'stifles innovation' argument is hard to defend, since most of the evidence suggests that standards and interoperability tend to increase innovation. And Apple were well ahead of the EU on other aspects, like not bundling chargers, where they highlighted their green credentials (but didn't reduce prices)!
I say all this as a huge Apple fan-boy, by the way.
@jamescousins I suppose I look at this from a weird perspective. But to me the world has a limited amount of intellect to invest and spending on this kind of standard is wasteful. The world has much larger problems to solve.
@ronguest Actually, I think that’s a great way of looking at it (assuming you are arguing for standards). It’s incredible to think of all the things we have now compared to ten years ago because of open standards. Removing that bit of friction, that requires time and money to overcome, frees up a lot of capacity. And when you think about the size of the iPhone market, it’s not negligible.
@jamescousins I am not in favor of the EU proposal. What I would be OK with is saying that for a device there must be at least one charging method based on an open standard. E.g. a proprietary wireless charging method would be fine as long as there was also something like a USB method. Could be vice-versa.
@ronguest Not really sure how that’s different from the EU proposal. They don’t care about MagSafe, for example, just as long as USB-C is there. Actually, it might be that is Apple’s objection: they are looking to go MagSafe and wireless connection only.
@jamescousins Yes the EU proposal will stifle innovation. In an area like telecom interconnect standards are hugely beneficial making the resistance to innovation justified. I don't think that applies to charging. Just imagine how long it would take the EU to approve a USB-C replacement when one is ready. Not being in the EU I am not in favor of letting them get in the way. But I accept of course others have a different perspective.
@gruber writes;
‘It’s long been my guess that iPhone is never going to support USB-C. I think it’s Apple’s intention to go straight from Lightning to wireless/inductive, with no “port”. Portless is the future for all devices. Yet the product design geniuses at the European Commission want to mandate all devices have one specific port in 2024 and indefinitely thereafter — a port that by that time will already be 10 years old.”
Which says what I want to say far more eloquently than I could - so why write my own?
Don’t get me wrong I would be more than happy to have one standard to use across my apple devices, but given that the world governments can’t even agree on electrical voltage or even a mains plug - I seriously do not want them messing around in this space.
// @ChrisJWilson @ronguest @hjertnes @jamescousins
His comment re 🍎Watch - that is 100% wireless for data and power is also true.
@JohnPhilpin I support the idea that everything should use a standard port. But instead of mandating a specific port they should aim at any port interface standardized by a standards body.