EU Reaches Agreement to Force iPhone and AirPods to Adopt USB-C by Fall 2024

[hcherry]

Because they are a company - not a god

They operate in legal jurisdictions with regulations and rules decided upon by the populations themselves.

i.e. They do what they are required to do based upon what the people and their political representation want.

That's the trade off for handsomly profiting off a country and its people.

They don’t profit off of us, they profit because we give them our money in exchange for something we value more than our dollars. You speak as though we were forced to give them our money, which we’re not.

Being in a legal jurisdiction means having general rules to operate under, not having everything you do dictated through law.

That’s wrong to do to a business just as it would be wrong to do to you.

 

[turbineseaplane]

They don’t profit off of us, they profit because we give them our money in exchange for something we value more than our dollars. You speak as though we were forced to give them our money, which we’re not.

Being in a legal jurisdiction means having general rules to operate under, not having everything you do dictated through law.

That’s wrong to do to a business just as it would be wrong to do to you.

We'll call this a "general rule" then

If you don't care for it, the better use of time is to channel that energy through the political system that decides these things.

 

[turbineseaplane]

They don’t profit off of us, they profit because we give them our money in exchange for something we value more than our dollars.

That is literally the definition of "profiting off of you"

Profit ≠ forcing you to buy

If you don't buy, they don't profit
No forcing at all

 

[I7guy]

We'll call this a "general rule" then

If you don't care for it, the better use of time is to channel that energy through the political system that decides these things.

Or don’t release new phones. And have apple, google and Facebook pull out of the EU. There as you are pointing out, multiple avenues.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Will be good to finally see USB C on iPhones.

Sure will

Way past time

 

[arkmannj]

Do the EU regs specify which USB-C protocols/standards need to be adopted? There’s a lot more with USB-C cables than just the connector and it can be confusing/hard for many people.

Also, While they are at it, could they forcibly bring back the 3.5mm headphone port? I know more people that would be happy about that then the charging/data cable standard. (especially with wireless chargers out there)

 

[NotTooLate]

Well you can blame Apple for sticking with Lightning for so long And times change, things evolve. We got rid of (as in they're unpopular now) firewire, micro-usb, DVI, etc. cables and it's all for the better. There may be some minor and temporary inconveniences but USB-C change is only a positive one.

While you typed your comment , did you consider the fact that the ports of the past got replaced with better options by the industry as they developed better things ? and what the EU is doing here will basically be the end of the road for wired ports ? why would anyone design a different port if they wont be allowed to put it in phones for example ? the biggest electronic market , if anything your example is a great example on why letting the industry do its thing is for the better.

Imagine the EU decided what they did with the micro-USB , at the time it was a great port now its in the antique segment , do you think we would have a USBC on phones if the EU decided everyone should have a microUSB ?

 

[Razorpit]

Because they are a company - not a god

They operate in legal jurisdictions with regulations and rules decided upon by the populations themselves.

i.e. They do what they are required to do based upon what the people and their political representation want.

That's the trade off for handsomly profiting off a country and its people.

You forgot to mention the part where Apple is not doing anything illegal.

As long as Apple products are not harming the customers they get to make whatever they want. Customers get to decide whether or not they wish to purchase those products. Shareholders get to decide if they like the direction the company is going and can choose to change things up if they want.

You don't like Apple's products, go buy something else and stop demanding your government gods to force others in to producing products that you want.

 

[laptech]

it wont affect Apple in the slightest because what ever money they will lose not being able to sell their own connector type, they will add the loss to the price of their products because the majority of Apple customers will still buy Apple products what ever slight increase in the cost.

 

[SactoGuy18]

Look, Apple has moved many of their products to USB Type C connectors already. The only significant products still on Lightning are the iPhone, the AirPods models and the charging connector for the wireless keyboard and mouse on the iMac. I expect all of them to switch over to USB Type C charging by the fall of 2023 at latest.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Imagine the EU decided what they did with the micro-USB , at the time it was a great port now its in the antique segment , do you think we would have a USBC on phones if the EU decided everyone should have a microUSB ?

Yes, we would in fact, because USB development is a collaborative and cross entity process
The EU has said that this will be updated/looked at again as things develop.

Users benefit enormously from some form of connectivity standards.

One counterpoint to what you're saying:

Apple has had not restrictions on its port development and hasn't moved on from a now very antiquated USB2 Lightning connector.

There's no "EU to blame" there.
Nothing has stifled Apple port innovation efforts and yet they've done nothing but stand still and collect MFI royalty checks for over a decade.

 

[I7guy]

it wont affect Apple in the slightest because what ever money they will lose not being able to sell their own connector type, they will add the loss to the price of their products because the majority of Apple customers will still buy Apple products what ever slight increase in the cost.

That to some of us is so not the point.

 

[I7guy]

Yes, we would in fact, because USB development is a collaborative and cross entity process
The EU has said that this will be updated/looked at again as things develop.

Users benefit enormously from some form of connectivity standards.

One counterpoint to what you're saying:

Apple has had not restrictions on its port development and hasn't moved on from a now very antiquated USB2 Lightning connector.

There's no "EU to blame" there.
Nothing has stifled Apple port innovation efforts and yet they've done nothing but stand still and collect MFI royalty checks for over a decade.

This took four years to get into legislation. Tech moves way faster than that. Apple is entitled to collect revenue on its ip.

Users benefit from standards with power plugs of still there are many. Users may benefit enormously with better connectors as they determine it, not the government.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Users benefit from standards with power plugs of still there are many.

Please elaborate

Users may benefit enormously with better connectors as they determine it, not the government.

How are the users going to do that?

 

[arkmannj]

Does the EU law apply to more than phones?

such as
Tablets
headphones
rechargeable mouse / keyboard
controllers & remotes
wireless / portable speakers
storage devices
etc…

 

[Unregistered 4U]

The EU should force Android to run iOS Applications.

 

[Analog Kid]

You forgot to mention the part where Apple is not doing anything illegal.

As long as Apple products are not harming the customers they get to make whatever they want. Customers get to decide whether or not they wish to purchase those products. Shareholders get to decide if they like the direction the company is going and can choose to change things up if they want.

You don't like Apple's products, go buy something else and stop demanding your government gods to force others in to producing products that you want.

Replying here in full agreement, and only to reinforce.

Having alternatives in the market should not only be legal, but alternatives are necessary to a functional market.

Ballots are how we vote for political preferences, money is how we vote for product preferences. If there aren’t alternatives, how is the “system” supposed to know which is the best option? There is no way some group of bureaucrats is going to figure that out.

I'm not a laissez faire type. I believe government regulation is necessary in certain parts of the economy for a variety of reasons. The one place I firmly believe a free market is better suited than any other conceivable approach is discretionary consumer goods. If you want to know what the best products are to devote capital resources to then let people tell you by seeing where they're willing to spend their money.

Which products should we build? The ones people want to buy. I don't understand why that's hard for people to wrap their heads around.

 

[turbineseaplane]

The one place I firmly believe a free market is better suited than any other conceivable approach is discretionary consumer goods.

There are no totally free markets

Markets are a completely human invention and concept and the entire premise requires rules and regulations

 

[Prabas]

While you typed your comment , did you consider the fact that the ports of the past got replaced with better options by the industry as they developed better things ? and what the EU is doing here will basically be the end of the road for wired ports ? why would anyone design a different port if they wont be allowed to put it in phones for example ? the biggest electronic market , if anything your example is a great example on why letting the industry do its thing is for the better.

Imagine the EU decided what they did with the micro-USB , at the time it was a great port now its in the antique segment , do you think we would have a USBC on phones if the EU decided everyone should have a microUSB ?

It's not about limiting new options, it's about forcing companies to catch up to the rest.

As I and plenty of others have said here before: if companies reach the limits of USB-C and design a new port, then all of them agree to it, they'll be able to switch to that new port.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

if companies reach the limits of USB-C and design a new port, then all of them agree to it, they'll be able to switch to that new port.

So, an enterprising up-and-coming company that comes up with a device where a NEW port is required… will be able to sell it immediately in other regions and will have to wait for the EU regulators in the EU.

Actually, no, they can just include an adapter, I guess.

 

[Analog Kid]

It's not about limiting new options, it's about forcing companies to catch up to the rest.

As I and plenty of others have said here before: if companies reach the limits of USB-C and design a new port, then all of them agree to it, they'll be able to switch to that new port.

Maybe you got distracted between your first sentence and your second one. I'm sure you realize requiring all competitors to agree to one common port defines "limiting new options".


If a multinational consortia of competing consumer product companies come together and agree to exactly one common port design and then work with a pan-national government to draft, sponsor, lobby and pass legislation, we get to have new technology.

It's really a shame the Soviet Union collapsed. You'd have loved it.

 

[I7guy]

There are no totally free markets

Markets are a completely human invention and concept and the entire premise requires rules and regulations

This is a "captain obvious" type of response. It should be clear that consumer mass produced discretionary products have to adhere to all regulations, prior art, licenses and the like. But within that a company is free to decide if their product is round or square; uses a power brick or straight 120v; uses oled or led of the quality they choose; if there are external connectors using the external connectors of their choice etc.

These choices, as I said above, unless they are safety regulated, should be free for the market to choose whether they want it or not -- not mandated by the government.

I don't think the conversation is an "unfettered...free from regulation....free market".

 

[lartola]

It's really a shame the Soviet Union collapsed. You'd have loved it.

Oh don’t be an extremist. The fact that someone dislikes some tuings about capitalism doesn’t automatically make that person a communist. The world isn’t black or white; there are some shades of gray out there.

 

[Analog Kid]

Oh don’t be an extremist. The fact that someone dislikes some tuings about capitalism doesn’t automatically make that person a communist. The world isn’t black or white; there are some shades of gray out there.

You say “communist” like it’s a bad thing.

Anyway, that’s not what I’m saying. My point was that they’d have felt at home with the layers of bureaucracy involved in the Soviet system where even the smallest details were managed by a state agency for the supposed benefit of the proletariat.

Besides, the EU plan to “force companies to catch up” is going to take 7 years to achieve, not 5. To be fair, I’m sure they didn’t see covid coming.

 

[ggibson913]

Well is there any other way to press for a change from a company that’s been hurting its customers for a decade and won’t budge?

Hurt? How? By having to carry a lightning cable? If consumers were that hurt by lightening they would be purchasing Android phones instead. Having to carry a USB-C to Lightening is AT MOST a minor inconvenience. Plus you still need the USB-A end around for quite a long time to come or millions of Car Play/ Android Auto users are going to be out of luck.