4 ms·

I think it’s more likely that Apple will drop the port completely and move to a wireless-charger only approach.

by Aaargh20318 5y ago

Reason077 5y ago
That doesn’t really solve the problem, though. In fact it makes it worse if you have to curry around a wireless charger that is more bulky than the cable it replaces!
- Aaargh20318 5y ago
  The proposed law is not about convenience for the user but about reducing waste. Also, you don’t need to carry around a wireless charger, you leave the charger at home and charge your phone overnight.
  - chairmanwow1 5y ago
    As a constant traveler, I consistently need to charge up while on flights, airports, random coffee shops, bars etc
  - Reason077 5y ago
    That's the theory with all charging, isn't it? But I'm talking about while travelling or all those unexpected circumstances when you find yourself needing a charge when you're not at home. One night recently, I managed to get locked out of my flat, after midnight, with nothing but my phone in my pocket. On about 15% charge! Thankfully that was enough to book a hotel and buy a lightning cable (and a toothbrush) at a 24-hour convenience store using Apple Pay, enabling me to recharge the phone on the hotel's USB charging sockets. If I'd needed to find a wireless charger I would have been totally screwed! I suppose wireless chargers will become similarly ubiquitous if they're the only way to charge phones. If you can expect to find wireless charging in every hotel room and every train seat then it's not a problem. But I suspect that's a long way off.
    - swebs 5y ago
      >If you can expect to find wireless charging in every hotel room and every train seat then it's not a problem. But I suspect that's a long way off. I have seen them in many commuter trains and most coffee shops, like Starbucks. They're surprisingly common if you know to look out for the symbol.
      - Reason077 5y ago
        I remember a few Starbucks in London introduced wireless chargers years ago (maybe around 2017 or so?). They've long since disappeared now though. Many UK trains have full 230V outlets under the seats now so you can charge your laptop, not just your phone!
  - lagadu 5y ago
    So you never travel? I travel a significant amount of times, sometimes for work, mostly for leisure. Nowadays I carry one single 65w USB-C charger, it charges: my work laptop (if travelling for work), my personal laptop, my phone, my book, my NC headphones for the airplane, my TWS earbuds. I only own two chargeable items that it doesn't charge: my watch (which I charge with the reverse wireless charging my phone does so I still don't need to carry a charger) and my car (lost cause, obviously usb-c will never replace CCS).
    - Aaargh20318 5y ago
      > So you never travel? No. Why would I ?
      - lagadu 5y ago
        Wow, well you do you. I forgot, I have another chargeable item that I occasionally carry: a portable speaker. It charges via USB-c.
  - Kuraj 5y ago
    That's extremely shortsighted. You never run out of battery before coming home? _On an iPhone_?
    - Aaargh20318 5y ago
      No, that has never happened to me. How much time do you spend away from home that this becomes a problem ?
mojzu 5y ago
Could they do this given current or near-future technology? My understanding is wireless charging is ~30% less efficient then using a cable, and degrades the battery more. I'm not sure it'd be much of an environmental win to have to use more energy/replace batteries more often (although perhaps Apple would see it as replacing lightning revenue with battery replacement revenue)
- kataklasm 5y ago
  You think Apple cares about environmentalism? If anything, Apple is the king of green-washing and being anti-environment. Just take a peek at the gargantuan amount of e-waste Apple is producing year after year with their device-repair policies (= "buy a new one, we can't repair it, sorry. oh and third party repair are terrorists that steal your data and money. just buy a new one, willya?"). Apple cares about one thing only, and that is market capitalization and profits.
lagadu 5y ago
And miss out on selling all those accessories? Doubtful.
- Aaargh20318 5y ago
  You old accessories no longer work, so they can sell you all new MagSafe ones.

I think it’s more likely that Apple will drop the port completely and move to a wireless-charger only approach.

That doesn’t really solve the problem, though. In fact it makes it worse if you have to curry around a wireless charger that is more bulky than the cable it replaces!

Aaargh20318 5y ago
The proposed law is not about convenience for the user but about reducing waste. Also, you don’t need to carry around a wireless charger, you leave the charger at home and charge your phone overnight.
- chairmanwow1 5y ago
  As a constant traveler, I consistently need to charge up while on flights, airports, random coffee shops, bars etc
- Reason077 5y ago
  That's the theory with all charging, isn't it? But I'm talking about while travelling or all those unexpected circumstances when you find yourself needing a charge when you're not at home. One night recently, I managed to get locked out of my flat, after midnight, with nothing but my phone in my pocket. On about 15% charge! Thankfully that was enough to book a hotel and buy a lightning cable (and a toothbrush) at a 24-hour convenience store using Apple Pay, enabling me to recharge the phone on the hotel's USB charging sockets. If I'd needed to find a wireless charger I would have been totally screwed! I suppose wireless chargers will become similarly ubiquitous if they're the only way to charge phones. If you can expect to find wireless charging in every hotel room and every train seat then it's not a problem. But I suspect that's a long way off.
  - swebs 5y ago
    >If you can expect to find wireless charging in every hotel room and every train seat then it's not a problem. But I suspect that's a long way off. I have seen them in many commuter trains and most coffee shops, like Starbucks. They're surprisingly common if you know to look out for the symbol.
    - Reason077 5y ago
      I remember a few Starbucks in London introduced wireless chargers years ago (maybe around 2017 or so?). They've long since disappeared now though. Many UK trains have full 230V outlets under the seats now so you can charge your laptop, not just your phone!
- lagadu 5y ago
  So you never travel? I travel a significant amount of times, sometimes for work, mostly for leisure. Nowadays I carry one single 65w USB-C charger, it charges: my work laptop (if travelling for work), my personal laptop, my phone, my book, my NC headphones for the airplane, my TWS earbuds. I only own two chargeable items that it doesn't charge: my watch (which I charge with the reverse wireless charging my phone does so I still don't need to carry a charger) and my car (lost cause, obviously usb-c will never replace CCS).
  - Aaargh20318 5y ago
    > So you never travel? No. Why would I ?
    - lagadu 5y ago
      Wow, well you do you. I forgot, I have another chargeable item that I occasionally carry: a portable speaker. It charges via USB-c.
- Kuraj 5y ago
  That's extremely shortsighted. You never run out of battery before coming home? _On an iPhone_?
  - Aaargh20318 5y ago
    No, that has never happened to me. How much time do you spend away from home that this becomes a problem ?

mojzu 5y ago

Could they do this given current or near-future technology? My understanding is wireless charging is ~30% less efficient then using a cable, and degrades the battery more. I'm not sure it'd be much of an environmental win to have to use more energy/replace batteries more often (although perhaps Apple would see it as replacing lightning revenue with battery replacement revenue)

kataklasm 5y ago
You think Apple cares about environmentalism? If anything, Apple is the king of green-washing and being anti-environment. Just take a peek at the gargantuan amount of e-waste Apple is producing year after year with their device-repair policies (= "buy a new one, we can't repair it, sorry. oh and third party repair are terrorists that steal your data and money. just buy a new one, willya?"). Apple cares about one thing only, and that is market capitalization and profits.

lagadu 5y ago

And miss out on selling all those accessories? Doubtful.

Aaargh20318 5y ago
You old accessories no longer work, so they can sell you all new MagSafe ones.