6 ms·

> What would the EU do in this case? Fine Apple for not following its regulation, of course. Classic EU.

by TomMarius 8y ago

swift532 8y ago
If you want to express how oppressive the EU is, it might be better to use "late modern EU".
- rbanffy 8y ago
  I would suggest he goes for "socialist EU".
  - swift532 8y ago
    I was just joking because before his edit he had "classical EU" instead of "classic EU".
    - TomMarius 8y ago
      Sorry I didn't update the page and didn't see your comment. I'd add an edit notice, but I thought nobody has noticed. :X
      - swift532 8y ago
        You would've gotten away with it, if it weren't for the meddling me! :)
sjwright 8y ago
If I were Apple, I'd just not pay the fine and let the EU try to ban the iPhone from being sold. And then I'd ignore the ban until they tried to enforce it, at which point I'd just stop selling them. It would cause an absolute uproar. No iPhones because the EU doesn't like the Lightning port? The argument won't stand a moment's scrutiny and within a week, individual governments will be so averse to the controversy that the EU would be forced to fold.
- yoz-y 8y ago
  Microsoft tried the "let's not pay" strategy once and failed. And Windows was arguably more strategic than iPhone. EU is a huge market for Apple they can't just ignore it. If they are compelled to comply then they could make a EU version of the iPhone with USB-C connector. It would require a bit of re-engineering and re-tooling, but nothing Apple couldn't handle. However I suppose that if this ever happens there will be a lot of grey market export. Personally with USB-C I don't really mind one way or another.
  - sjwright 8y ago
    Microsoft didn't have a plausible argument on their end; that EU action could be easily spun as pro-consumer. I don't think the EU spin would work so well here. Windows might be more "strategic" than iPhone, but unlike Windows the iPhone is a product consumers actually want. It won't fly to tell their citizens they can't have it because it uses a plug everyone already has ten spare cables for.
    - genericid 8y ago
      Everyone already has ten proprietary lightning cables? That's news to me.
      - rbanffy 8y ago
        I have at least 6. And we had 3 iPhones in this house.
        genericid 8y ago
        6,999,999 to go.
    - yoz-y 8y ago
      Many people would prefer to have USB-C cables on their phone. I guess the majority don't care, many would like USB-C and those who prefer lightning are in minority. The transition from lightning to USB-C would also probably be simpler than from 30-pin to lightning. In the long run people will have more spare usb-c cables than lightning ones as well.
dasmoth 8y ago
It'll be interesting to see how clear-cut this is. Do the rules actually require the socket, or do they say that if the socket is present it needs to be a certain type. (Even in the former case, there'd be a much stronger "stifling innovation" case if you're proposing a fully-wireless device rather than just a slightly thinner incompatible socket).

> What would the EU do in this case? Fine Apple for not following its regulation, of course. Classic EU.

swift532 8y ago

If you want to express how oppressive the EU is, it might be better to use "late modern EU".

rbanffy 8y ago
I would suggest he goes for "socialist EU".
- swift532 8y ago
  I was just joking because before his edit he had "classical EU" instead of "classic EU".
  - TomMarius 8y ago
    Sorry I didn't update the page and didn't see your comment. I'd add an edit notice, but I thought nobody has noticed. :X
    - swift532 8y ago
      You would've gotten away with it, if it weren't for the meddling me! :)

sjwright 8y ago

If I were Apple, I'd just not pay the fine and let the EU try to ban the iPhone from being sold. And then I'd ignore the ban until they tried to enforce it, at which point I'd just stop selling them. It would cause an absolute uproar. No iPhones because the EU doesn't like the Lightning port? The argument won't stand a moment's scrutiny and within a week, individual governments will be so averse to the controversy that the EU would be forced to fold.

yoz-y 8y ago
Microsoft tried the "let's not pay" strategy once and failed. And Windows was arguably more strategic than iPhone. EU is a huge market for Apple they can't just ignore it. If they are compelled to comply then they could make a EU version of the iPhone with USB-C connector. It would require a bit of re-engineering and re-tooling, but nothing Apple couldn't handle. However I suppose that if this ever happens there will be a lot of grey market export. Personally with USB-C I don't really mind one way or another.
- sjwright 8y ago
  Microsoft didn't have a plausible argument on their end; that EU action could be easily spun as pro-consumer. I don't think the EU spin would work so well here. Windows might be more "strategic" than iPhone, but unlike Windows the iPhone is a product consumers actually want. It won't fly to tell their citizens they can't have it because it uses a plug everyone already has ten spare cables for.
  - genericid 8y ago
    Everyone already has ten proprietary lightning cables? That's news to me.
    - rbanffy 8y ago
      I have at least 6. And we had 3 iPhones in this house.
      - genericid 8y ago
        6,999,999 to go.
  - yoz-y 8y ago
    Many people would prefer to have USB-C cables on their phone. I guess the majority don't care, many would like USB-C and those who prefer lightning are in minority. The transition from lightning to USB-C would also probably be simpler than from 30-pin to lightning. In the long run people will have more spare usb-c cables than lightning ones as well.

dasmoth 8y ago

It'll be interesting to see how clear-cut this is. Do the rules actually require the socket, or do they say that if the socket is present it needs to be a certain type. (Even in the former case, there'd be a much stronger "stifling innovation" case if you're proposing a fully-wireless device rather than just a slightly thinner incompatible socket).