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Didn't the EU force phone makers to standardize on USB a couple of decades ago? It was an absolute nightmare before that with every brand having completely dif

Didn't the EU force phone makers to standardize on USB a couple of decades ago? It was an absolute nightmare before that with every brand having completely different connector, voltage etc. I'm not sure how Apple got (and are getting) around this.

jhoechtl 7y ago
Yes, and it worked out pretty well for all manufactures sans Apple. Now as we see a shift from Micro-USB to USB-C form factor the whole discussion really is more of customer adoption and fading out of old hardware. The case with Apple is and will be their claim that they are not willing to encumber their power interface for the sake of standardisation when their interfaces are oh so more advanced than those of the others.
- colejohnson66 7y ago
  It’s not them claiming that their interface is more superior. They’re claiming that it’ll be another 30-pin to Lightning shift where everyone gets upset that their cables don’t work anymore.
Mindwipe 7y ago
Apple got them to water it down so manufacturing a Lightning to USB adaptor was sufficient. It appears to the EU have tired of this.
- specialist 7y ago
  I love Lightning more than my first born child. I've been using USB-C now for about 3 months. Expected to hate it. It's pretty terrific. I'm sold. But whatever. Rumors are Apple will transition their mobiles to fully wireless charging. I'm totally on board.
  - simongray 7y ago
    Apple has abandoned wireless charging for now (its unreleased AirPower product). But even Apple has started using USB-C ports to charge their laptops and tablets now, so maybe it's not too farfetched to think that a future iPhone could also migrate to USB-C? Pretty sure the only reason lightning still exists is to maintain compatibility with the existing iPhone hardware ecosystem.
    - shantly 7y ago
      > But even Apple has started using USB-C ports to charge their laptops and tablets now “Even”? I still hadn’t seen a usb-c anything in the wild when Apple switched their MacBooks to it and dropped all other ports.
      - simongray 7y ago
        https://pchiusano.github.io/2014-10-11/defensive-writing.html https://pchiusano.github.io/2014-10-11/defensive-writing.htm...
  - mrep 7y ago
    I despise my pixels usb-c plug because it is so finicky. It's at the point where it takes like 5 attempts to get it to connect to my cars android auto and it frequently disconnects whenever I hit a bump.
    - ProZsolt 7y ago
      It's most likely lint in the phone's connector. You can clean it out with a toothpick or any non-metallic pointy object.
- zaarn 7y ago
  The EU strongly recommended that manufacturers would agree on a single charger standard, no actual regulation was put in place (just a large "or else" invisible attached to those announcements). So now the EU has watched the farce with Apple long enough and it will be forcefully regulated.
donatj 7y ago
I believe Apple included or offered free an adapter.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
gpderetta 7y ago
I think it was more: "the industry is strongly encouraged to self standardize or else". We are on the "or else" stage now. edit: to be fair, a lot of appliances (not just phones) come with USB chargers these days, so it is not too bad.
- gmueckl 7y ago
  The goal should be to have chargers sold separately. Packaging chargers with the devices does nothing to reduce electronics waste.
  - llampx 7y ago
    That's an anti-consumer move guaranteed to add $20-50 to any phone purchase.
    - gmueckl 7y ago
      That's a good thing. It guarantees that chargers are truly exchangeable between devices and cuts down on the number of chargers produced and shipped. Let's face it: how many chargers do you need? How many are left over from devices that you replaced and still working?
    - jacknews 7y ago
      how so? I see it as 'batteries not included' So long ss batteries are standardized, it's not a problem.
    - throwaway9d0291 7y ago
      I think the idea is that it only adds $20-50 to the first phone purchase. You can use that first charger for all later phones. In the end it should work out better for you. You no longer have to buy a charger you don't need with every new phone.
    - notatoad 7y ago
      i've bought two new kindles since amazon stopped shipping a USB Charger with every new kindle, and in that same time period i have not bought any new USB Chargers. you don't need a new charger with every device.
_tkzm 7y ago
eh no. that was like 2 years ago not decades.
- jacknews 7y ago
  2009: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_external_power_supply https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_external_power_supply I'm out few years too, but I think the manufacturers knew this was coming years before, so many switched in the mid 2000s if I remember

jhoechtl 7y ago

Yes, and it worked out pretty well for all manufactures sans Apple. Now as we see a shift from Micro-USB to USB-C form factor the whole discussion really is more of customer adoption and fading out of old hardware. The case with Apple is and will be their claim that they are not willing to encumber their power interface for the sake of standardisation when their interfaces are oh so more advanced than those of the others.

colejohnson66 7y ago
It’s not them claiming that their interface is more superior. They’re claiming that it’ll be another 30-pin to Lightning shift where everyone gets upset that their cables don’t work anymore.

Mindwipe 7y ago

Apple got them to water it down so manufacturing a Lightning to USB adaptor was sufficient. It appears to the EU have tired of this.

specialist 7y ago
I love Lightning more than my first born child. I've been using USB-C now for about 3 months. Expected to hate it. It's pretty terrific. I'm sold. But whatever. Rumors are Apple will transition their mobiles to fully wireless charging. I'm totally on board.
- simongray 7y ago
  Apple has abandoned wireless charging for now (its unreleased AirPower product). But even Apple has started using USB-C ports to charge their laptops and tablets now, so maybe it's not too farfetched to think that a future iPhone could also migrate to USB-C? Pretty sure the only reason lightning still exists is to maintain compatibility with the existing iPhone hardware ecosystem.
  - shantly 7y ago
    > But even Apple has started using USB-C ports to charge their laptops and tablets now “Even”? I still hadn’t seen a usb-c anything in the wild when Apple switched their MacBooks to it and dropped all other ports.
    - simongray 7y ago
      https://pchiusano.github.io/2014-10-11/defensive-writing.html https://pchiusano.github.io/2014-10-11/defensive-writing.htm...
- mrep 7y ago
  I despise my pixels usb-c plug because it is so finicky. It's at the point where it takes like 5 attempts to get it to connect to my cars android auto and it frequently disconnects whenever I hit a bump.
  - ProZsolt 7y ago
    It's most likely lint in the phone's connector. You can clean it out with a toothpick or any non-metallic pointy object.
zaarn 7y ago
The EU strongly recommended that manufacturers would agree on a single charger standard, no actual regulation was put in place (just a large "or else" invisible attached to those announcements). So now the EU has watched the farce with Apple long enough and it will be forcefully regulated.

donatj 7y ago

I believe Apple included or offered free an adapter.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

gpderetta 7y ago

I think it was more: "the industry is strongly encouraged to self standardize or else". We are on the "or else" stage now. edit: to be fair, a lot of appliances (not just phones) come with USB chargers these days, so it is not too bad.

gmueckl 7y ago
The goal should be to have chargers sold separately. Packaging chargers with the devices does nothing to reduce electronics waste.
- llampx 7y ago
  That's an anti-consumer move guaranteed to add $20-50 to any phone purchase.
  - gmueckl 7y ago
    That's a good thing. It guarantees that chargers are truly exchangeable between devices and cuts down on the number of chargers produced and shipped. Let's face it: how many chargers do you need? How many are left over from devices that you replaced and still working?
  - jacknews 7y ago
    how so? I see it as 'batteries not included' So long ss batteries are standardized, it's not a problem.
  - throwaway9d0291 7y ago
    I think the idea is that it only adds $20-50 to the first phone purchase. You can use that first charger for all later phones. In the end it should work out better for you. You no longer have to buy a charger you don't need with every new phone.
  - notatoad 7y ago
    i've bought two new kindles since amazon stopped shipping a USB Charger with every new kindle, and in that same time period i have not bought any new USB Chargers. you don't need a new charger with every device.

_tkzm 7y ago

eh no. that was like 2 years ago not decades.

jacknews 7y ago
2009: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_external_power_supply https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_external_power_supply I'm out few years too, but I think the manufacturers knew this was coming years before, so many switched in the mid 2000s if I remember