Will the European Union make USB-C mandatory on Apple devices?

[pRICE cUBE]

I am not sure if this delves into the kind of things that might get this moved to the other side. It poses an interesting question if a regulatory body can ask for this kind of thing.

https://petapixel.com/2021/09/23/apple-u...l-devices/


The European Commission, which is the executive arm of the European Union (EU), has announced plans to force electronics manufacturers, from smartphones to handheld video game consoles, to use USB-C in an effort to reduce waste, and Apple is not happy about it.

The Commission says that after working with the industry to have it willingly bring the number of charging cables down from 30 to just three within the last decade, it was unable to reduce that number further through a voluntary approach.

The European Commission, which is the executive arm of the European Union (EU), has announced plans to force electronics manufacturers, from smartphones to handheld video game consoles, to use USB-C in an effort to reduce waste, and Apple is not happy about it.

The Commission says that after working with the industry to have it willingly bring the number of charging cables down from 30 to just three within the last decade, it was unable to reduce that number further through a voluntary approach.

[C(-)ris]

I wonder what the chances of Apple pulling out of the market over this are?

Personally, I don't think any government has any business telling someone how to design something if there isn't a safety concern. Industries or companies can decide what they want their ports to look like.

[space-time]

they have (had?) a micro-USB mandate, and Apple does sell (or include for free?) a micro-USB to Lightning adapter in Europe. I have one of those.

I imagine they could do a similar USB-C to Lightning adapter to comply with these laws.

[N-OS X-tasy!]

I think the real question is: Can they make Apple do this?

[Gareth]

It's both Apple-like, and Un-Apple-like to keep Lightning around. Apple-like because it's their own proprietary port. (I assume they still get some sort of licensing fee?).

Un-Apple-like because it causes unnecessary complications. After the iPad Pro's went USB-C, I thought it would trickle down into the other iPads and iPhones eventually. It would be simpler if everything was USB-C, but instead, you've got some devices using USB-C and some using Lightning, it makes no sense!

[Gareth]

space-time wrote:
they have (had?) a micro-USB mandate, and Apple does sell (or include for free?) a micro-USB to Lightning adapter in Europe. I have one of those.

I imagine they could do a similar USB-C to Lightning adapter to comply with these laws.

Or, god-forbid, they could have 2 ports on the iPhone (Lighting and USB-C)! Gasp!

[freeradical]

They should mandate the 3.5mm audio jack.

[cbelt3]

freeradical wrote:
They should mandate the 3.5mm audio jack.

And my Floppies !!!!

nah.. old interfaces are gone... wireless is the plan. Your iOS device will be a glass and titanium enclosure with only membranes for speaker and microphone. All connectivity will be wireless.

[macphanatic]

And how will they address the issue when someone develops a better solution than USB-C?

People may complain about lightning ports/cables, however it's a much better solution than anything used before it came to be. No fumbling to confirm orientation, easy to insert, and no center piece in the port to break off or get misaligned. Until USB-C was released, the USB ecosystem was a hot mess with all different types of connectors.

[numbered]

macphanatic wrote:
And how will they address the issue when someone develops a better solution than USB-C?

This is the heart of the issue. Regulations happen all the time for different reasons, but they are slow to change. If they had truly forced USB micro we would not be at USB-C. The issue now is that so many things are living in the USB-C format (eg Thunderbolt) this seems to raise all kinds of potential challenges.

That said, I think it is great that the wall wart era is over. I cannot remember the last time I got a device that was not looking for USB 5v.