Apple Confirms the iPhone is Getting USB-C, But Isn't Happy About the Reason Why

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Apple Confirms the iPhone is Getting USB-C, But Isn

"But we really like our proprietary bullshit that is a burden on our users, but allows us to charge license fees!"

Well It wasn't a burden in the past, simply because Apple was ahead of the curve and USB didn't really fit the bill. USB-C has changed things, but one challenge about being legally mandated is the industry is forced into a standard that might be irrelevant in 5 years.

This will likely force Apple and other manufacturers to put more effort into wireless solutions, where they aren't yet limited in their options.

I'd love to see wireless completely eliminated. In a world where we have an energy crisis and are not on 100% renewables, wasting energy by broadcasting it instead of plugging in a charger is inexcusable.

And I keep saying to do away with wireless in the office because people whine they can't get a connection while the network cable is sitting within arm's reach.

Guess when that's going to happen.

What do you mean by "attaching the wireless charger to my phone?" I just set my phone on the charging pad. No wires get plugged in or unplugged on a daily basis. I suppose if you have a phone that doesn't have built-in wireless charging, and you use some wireless charging dongle on it, then, yeah, there's really no point.

It's the moral equivalent of having a transformer coupling the power between your phone and the power source. The in and out windings don't touch galvanically but they are close enough for near fields to interact. It's the same on your 'wireless' charger. There's a coil on the pad coupling to a coil in the back of the phone.

I don't consider than wireless. Less plugging is involved, but it's not wireless in the way your phone communicates with your wifi.

You don't have to actually plug the cable into the phone.

It sounds like a trivial thing, and it is, but it's a bit less trivial when you have to try and plug it in three times because your phone has a micro USB connector.

The losses from wirelessly charging phones are really minimal compared to all our other electric usage. (Now if we're talking about proposed wireless car charging options, then that's another matter.) We have a long history of using electricity for convenience, like powering the IR receiver and related electronics on the TV to pick up the "on" signal from the remote. Ultimately, most of our electric usage is for convenience. I could manually open and close my garage door, but I'm glad I have an electric

The losses from wirelessly charging phones are really minimal compared to all our other electric usage.

They're small but not meaningless.

Let's say 15Wh battery, 300 million smartphone [statista.com]. Qi is about 70% [wirelesspo...ortium.com]

If everyone charges their phone to full every day, that's 4.5GWh, or about 1.3GWh extra if everyone used wireless. Several hours of output for a largish coal plant.

At 385 tons/GWh [eia.gov], that's 500 tons of CO2 a day or about 180 thousand tons a year.

Hopefully I didn't make an embarrassing mistake in units somewhere but I think it should roughly work out.

I'd love to see wireless charging figured out in such a way that I can trust it like I trust the plug in charger. I've tried to adopt wireless but I've woken up a few mornings with a phone that didn't charge overnight, and no reason why.

Conversely, I have a USB-C charging phone that, depending upon which USB-C cable I grab, won't stay in properly. I often would wake the next morning with a phone that didn't charge because, despite looking like it was still plugged in, my cat, my dog, or even my sleeping self had bumped it or the nightstand it was on ever so slightly that the cable became disconnected. I got myself a better Qi charger than the one I had before and I have only had an issue after a night where I may have imbibed too much.

Get the magnetically-attaching cable/adapter pair (approx $10 for 3 of them). The adapter plugs into your phone's socket, and stays there, firmly. Because it's always in there, that port doesn't pick up lint and other grunge. The charging cable simply attaches to the magnet. If bumped slightly, it'll reattach; if bumped strongly, or you have to get up and leave quickly, it just cleanly disconnects. Easy to use in no-look situations too (like in the car).

On the flip side, my USB-C connector always gets so full of crap that cables won't stay plugged in

What the actual fuck do you people do to your USB-C connectors? My 3.5 year old phone's USB-C socket is pristine and works perfectly. The only precaution I take is putting the phone in my pocket upside down so the connector doesn't pick up fluff.

Anecdotally, many crap-collecting people report that a few seconds with a wooden cocktail stick once in a while keeps their USB-C port charging just fine.

>What the actual fuck do you people do to your USB-C connectors? The phone is in my pocket all day. Lint goes in the hole. The cable packs it down.

>Anecdotally, many crap-collecting people report that a few seconds with a wooden cocktail stick once in a while keeps their USB-C port charging just fine. A cocktail stick is too big to fit. I have used a wire, as big as I can get that will still fit in. Then scrape along the bottom for a few weeks and at some point you catch an edge and a load of packed-in

not happening. the connector is also used by USB 4 v2 which can do up to 120Gbit/s so far... https://www.tomshardware.com/n... [tomshardware.com]

Apple joined the microusb deal between manufacturers, only to ship a converter.

So you can only deal with apple by legislating it since they don't honor even deals they volunteer into.. They made the bed and this is the result since everyone else is using it already.

The weird thing is that they were so quick to start using USB-C on their computers. Youâ(TM)d think theyâ(TM)d want to standardize their connector across their product lines.

Translation: I was ripped off in the past, so it's OK to be ripped off in the future.

Not really, it's more that the cables that come with devices are generally well made, and have lasted far longer than I've kept their original devices around. This standard far predates USB-C, and I'd be willing to bet that I've only gotten rid of one cable in that time.

Not really, it's more that the cables that come with devices are generally well made, and have lasted far longer than I've kept their original devices around.

You're either a tech reviewer who swaps devices quite often, don't have kids, or just use an off brand cable you bought years ago and leave the original Apple branded cables in the box.

I say this because the lightning cables which come with Apple's devices are the flimsiest pieces of overpriced trash where just looking at it wrong will cause it to break; those thin wires coupled with their sharp "strain relief" designed specifically to ensure the cable ends up kinked and broken quickly with even the barest

Not really, it's more that the cables that come with devices are generally well made, and have lasted far longer than I've kept their original devices around.

Are you sure you are talking about Apple lightning cables? Most of mine have shrink-tubing around the end where the casing has split and the cable shielding started to fray. There's a reason there's a market for after market lightning, and it isn't because they only come in white.

That's not the way they typically break. When you're dealing with pinless connectors, one side has to have springs, the other side has to have fingers. The springs, because they move each time you insert and remove the connector, will wear out long before the fingers will. Any competent engineer will tell you this.

Likewise, I imagine Apple's engineers told them this. So what does apple do? Put the springs inside of the port (expensive to fix), and the fingers on the cable (cheap to fix.)

If you've been around iPhones, you've inevitably seen people that have to plug in the lightning cable just right to charge it, or else it just slips right out. If they slightly bump it or even look at it wrong afterwards, it stops charging. That's exactly what happens when the springs are in the port. The port fails...But the cable is still good!

USB-C doesn't have this problem. In fact, the port is far more likely to outlast your non-removable battery.

If you're iPad port broke, don't blame USB-C, blame apple for literally going with the cheapest hardware suppliers they can find. Not just for the port, but basically everything, including buying their memory from Hynix, which people who build their own PCs avoid like the plague because of how infamously shitty they are.

I've never had a lightning port break. Not mine nor anyone in my family. We've had iPhone 2,4,5,6,7,8,x,12,13 between us and iPads back to the 2. I wasn't a 30 pin fan but I guess they were ok for their day but lightning was/is fucking perfect. Unbroken track record of zero problems.

Oh bullshit. I've owned all of one iphone, and while this didn't happen to mine (the battery began getting fat, and got fatter and fatter until it split apart) every now and then I've had people come over to my house with this exact problem when they try to plug it in to the charge port on my kitchen counter.

Anyway, the idea that governments should mandate technology like this is ridiculous. Who is hurt by lightning cables? If I simply must have usb-c I can get a droid. At last check an iPhone is not a human right nor does the cables apple uses somehow abuse people or force anyone to do anything. People choose apple. I'm not a fan boi. I've owned several androids over the years and occasionally use a family member's. I just don't like the UI/UX. It's a personal feeling thing. It just feels wrong while iOS feels right (mostly).

It's not just iPhones idiot, it's basically all portable consumer electronics. Laptops, headphones, you name it. They're just tired of everything having different ports because it creates so much waste. Apple is still living in the age where every different phone manufacturer had to have their own stupid charger. When most manufacturers moved over to Android they largely standardized on micro-usb, which while not great was a lot less annoying than that stupid 30 pin adapter, before going to type-c. Meanwhile apple kept doing the proprietary shit and they're the last hold out.

I think this will limit future technology growth and experiments. The government should not pick winners and losers like this. The market will handle it just fine.

You think wrong because it won't do any such thing. The law allows the industry as a whole to pick new form factors going forward if they're needed, they just can't do proprietary shit anymore. Besides, given the content of your other posts, you seem to have a fundamental misunderstanding of what USB-C is. It's just a physical specification, you can send signaling through it however the hell you want. Apple is free to send analog audio through some of the pins or whatever other pointless crap they want.

What next? Apple is forced to use Google's sms technology? Why?

Since when is SMS Google's? It's a GSM standard. Google also doesn't own RCS, which you're likely thinking of; that too is a GSM standard which your carrier probably already supports.

All you're really doing is regurgitating apple's stupid taking points. First, think for yourself, then learn about what you're talking about before opening your dumb mouth.

Not really, it's more that the cables that come with devices are generally well made...

Generally yes, but not when it comes to Apple's lightning cables which, as the name suggests, last only slightly longer than lightning does.

No bud, there is nothing defensible about the lightning connector

- it makes poor contact, lightning headphones suck, when the audio pops out every so often because the phone end of the cable jiggled. - accessories (eg HDMI cables) don't output full resolution - USB speed is super slow.

The only reason Apple stuck with it as long as it did was because the 30-pin connector was mechanically inferior, and USB-C was not yet a thing. It was inevitable that they would be forced to switch to USB-C, and really should have way back with the iPhone 6S and SE when they started putting USB-C on Macs.

No bud, there is nothing defensible about the lightning connector - it makes poor contact, lightning headphones suck, when the audio pops out every so often because the phone end of the cable jiggled. - accessories (eg HDMI cables) don't output full resolution - USB speed is super slow. The only reason Apple stuck with it as long as it did was because the 30-pin connector was mechanically inferior, and USB-C was not yet a thing. It was inevitable that they would be forced to switch to USB-C, and really should have way back with the iPhone 6S and SE when they started putting USB-C on Macs.

No bud, there is nothing defensible about the lightning connector

Off, USB-C was a complete mess back then. That was when you had pretty high odds of frying something if you didn't use the cables and charger that came with a device. It took a few years for USB-C to get mostly working.

I'm in the same boat. Lightning is easier to clean pocket lint out of than USB-C, thinner than USB-C, and some of my phones have had thousands of insertion cycles with Lightning, and it still holds well enough. For me, Lightning's biggest limitations are transfer speed.

Overall, Lightning has served the Apple ecosystem well, but USB-C isn't a terrible change. Apple has been phasing in USB-C anyway on iPads anyway, as well as it being the means of power for laptops, next to MagSafe.

Looking back, we are FAR better off than how we were before the EU mentioned standardization. Anyone remember every vendor having a separate physical connector, with different voltages, pinouts, and polarities? No need to hunt down a specific charger for a specific model and brand. Just buy an Anker charger, a decent cord from a reputable place (doesn't have to be Apple specifically), and call it done.

Yeah, any port is prone to pocket lint, which is why I abandoned them entirely.

One of the benefits of USB-C (or -micro and -mini for that matter) is a wide range of inexpensive magsafe-esque magnetic breakaway cables. Install a little barely-protruding nib into your devices, and lint-filled ports are a thing of the past, in addition to be able to plug in your device by just waving it near the end of the cable, and the rest of the magnetic-breakaway benefits.

Apparently there's some real junk out three, so do you research, but mine have delivered full speed charging, and at least fast enough speeds on the few times I've moved a lot of data that way that I've not felt the need to see how they compare to normal ones.

Might be a problem with USB headphones though, unless they uses a standard USB cable. Even then, I'd guess most magnetic breakaways probably offer a flakier connection than you'd like for analog signals. I've always insisted on a real headphone jack though, so I couldn't really tell you.

>The flimsy part, which is the actual male part with is in the open, whereas it's hidden inside a receptacle for USB-C.

I'd much rather have to replace a "flimsy" Lightning cord that got broken, than a USB-C connector or an entire phone because it broke. That's what's nice about Lightning is that the connector doesn't have the terminals on a protrusion that can break.

Yeah. Not an Apple fan and only have L connectors because of family iPhone users.

Between the two, the Lightning connector is easily the more robust and is easier to clean. I wish it was the standard but Apple killed any chance of that from the get go. Standardization on USB-C is the end result of Apple's own BS.

Destined to be the BetaMax of data/power connectors.

It's stupid to mandate a connector type on the phone. Mainly because it locks all future tech to one specific point in time. The same logic that the EU is using could have been applied in 1989 to mandate everyone use rs232 or parallel ports.

Except that it doesn't because the EU legislation has periodic reviews built in to update the standard as new shit comes out. Any other false nonsense you want to trot out?

Of all companies Apple has the most stellar track record of removing legacy connectors early and then innovating the newest standards. They okayed a role in usb-c too so if they think lightning is better then I'm inclined to trust it's not out of ignorance they prefer it.

Except that Apple has jettisoned Lightning from every product EXCEPT the iPhone. They were one of the first to embrace USB-PD charging on laptops, and now tablets, and the absolute last on phones. If Lightning is so awesome, why did they dump it on iPad already?

There are so many iphones and iPads out there tgat these connectors are everywhere and cheap.

Except that Apple has already taken it off the iPad. And just because ther

The reason why they are having to replace their connector is that they designed the entire connection standard (connector and signaling) around being anticompetitive, and they were held to account for it.

Maybe next time, as a member of the USB Implementer's Forum, they will bring their new connector design to the USB-IF as a standard, instead of deliberately patent-encumbering it in a way that harms not only their own users, but everyone else too. If they were members of the USB-IF in good faith, this is what they would have done in the first place, and we would all be using their connector now (and without the DRM chip.)

bingo. I would have preferred if the law had a bit more teeth and simply said that any physical charger used must be royalty free open specification with no undocumented interfaces or commands.

Then they can continue to "trust" their engineers as they see fit.

They also brought this upon themselves. The EU has been discussing this issue for a couple of years now, and in that time there has only ever been one phone company that hasn't embraced USB-C. If Apple had, for example, transitioned this year's iPhones to USB-C then the EU probably wouldn't be bothering with legislating.

I also don't really see what big advantage Apple has from using lighting now. All their accessories are wireless, so the port is pretty much just used for charging and CarPlay (and even thos

> So what is the point of dragging their feet on this issue?

Presumably, the fact that they have for decades been able to get away with selling $5 cables for $30, while collecting fat license payments from everyone who wants to sell a compatible cable or other accessory.

Why would they want to abandon that cash stream if not legally forced to?

And USB-C does let you send whatever you want, but it also established what you MUST do in order to be certified USB-C compatible. Including a lot of charging behavi

Truth. There is a really easy FTFY for the article summary:

and trust its engineers rather than be forced into adopting hardware standards by lawmakers

FTFY ...preferred to go its own way rather than adopting hardware standards by choice

If they were members of the USB-IF in good faith, this is what they would have done in the first place, and we would all be using their connector now (and without the DRM chip.)

Actually, that's exactly what they did and we arguably are using their non-DRM connector (with all sorts of asterisks and caveats on that statement, of course).

Take a look at the list of engineers who contributed to the USB-C connector spec [docdroid.net]. Of the 36 companies listed, Apple provided the fourth most (behind Intel, Japan Aviation Electronics, and Tyco Electronics, but ahead of Google, Microsoft, Dell, Samsung, Nokia, Lenovo, AMD, and the other usual players), so even though their involvement has largely flown under the radar, they already did exactly what you suggest they should have done, and they were doing it nearly a decade ago for exactly the standard we're talking about.

And in terms of them putting their designs forward as a standard instead of keeping them proprietary, there's been a persistent rumor over the years that it was Apple who furnished the initial design for USB-C [9to5mac.com] because they wanted an interoperable standard that was better than what was available at the time. Again, take that claim with a massive heaping of salt, but there have been several things over the years that point towards Apple having a larger role in the development of the standard than anyone has publicly acknowledged so far, some of which that article talks about.

More broadly, you're acting as if Lightning has always been harmful to everyone, but that isn't the case either. Perhaps you can't remember how it was back then, but Lightning was launched over a decade ago and initially provided Apple with a significant competitive advantage thanks to how much easier and more robust it was than micro-USB (or the hodgepodge of even worse USB flavors that were in common use at the time). Other than some folks grumbling about needing to switch from the previous 30-pin connector, user satisfaction with Lightning was incredibly high for about half a decade, which put pressure on the industry to deliver something that was as good or better, which helped drive the adoption of USB-C among manufacturers who needed an answer. That said, Lightning is limited in its charging and launched with USB 2 speeds at a time when USB 3.1 was already being defined, so Apple had to know from the get-go that it was never a long-term play.

Unfortunately, Apple decided to milk Lightning far longer than they should have. The days when Lightning provided a competitive advantage are long-since behind them, USB-C is now an established standard in this space, and Apple's refusal to adopt it for the iPhone (and a wide variety of accessories) has been harming their end users for a few years now.

the iPhone should be portless. It should charge and transfer data wirelessly. The USB port is probably going to require a bump. I would rather have no po

so, you do realize they'll just remove the plug and have you charge via a wireless charging pad (that won't come with the phone and you'll pay extra for)?

None of their sheep complained when they bravely removed the headphone plug so why not?

For your headphones, of course.

and then in places with real customer rights will fine them or force them to include them. Now maybe an idea is that you can decline it and get an discount. As long they are clear an up front about it.

If they mean what they're saying about "trusting engineers" to put the best product out there, then they won't kill it completely. Wired charging is considerably faster, and the chargers are cheaper. They're more efficient all around.

If they do go all wireless (and jack up wireless charger prices), however, we'll know the truth.

so, you do realize they'll just remove the plug and have you charge via a wireless charging pad (that won't come with the phone and you'll pay extra for)?

Because that's exactly what they did with the iPad Pro (USB-C), the latest generation iPad Air (USB-C), and the latest generation base iPad (USB-C), eh?

The technical superiority claims and threatened tantrums didn't prevent everything but the iPhone from going to USB-C. I won't worry about those arguments now either.

USB-C can carry plain old audio, it's up to your manufacturer to support it or not. Some do, some don't. An active cable with a codec in it is not very expensive any more, but I share your distaste for potentially needing one. Manufacturers often obscure which approach they are using. They can of course implement both on the same device.

USB-C [wikipedia.org] is capable of carrying quite a bit, some docking stations I know use it to connect the computer with the docking station, i.e. carrying the whole I/O you usually have in such a setup, from multi-monitor to multi-input.

So the cables and the standards certainly are capable of it, whether Apple is willing to do it is another cuppa java.

I use a headphone adaptor to plug the iphone into the car, so far as I know it is just analog audio. Does usbC carry plain old audio or will I now need a "smart cable" ?

You already have a "smart cable". The iPhone lightning-to-headphone adapter has an digital-to-analog converter inside. Lightning is a digital-only connector. You may be thinking of the 30-pin iPod/early-iPhone docking connector which had both analog and digital signals.

I expect it is. Lighting has the male part on the cable end. USB-C has it on the device end.* You can snap the male bit off a lightning cable, then you have to buy a new cable. If you snap the delicate bit off a USB-C port, you've got to get out the screwdrivers and reflow station. The male member is also more delicate on USB-C, although it does have the advantage that it can just be a bit of PCB rather than an actual metal doohickey. Another disadvantage is that the clearance in the USB-C port is a lot les

No sane engineer would think many of those decisions were a good idea but they have to do what they're told by marketing and the bean counters.

That kinda puts the lie to Joswiak's contention that Apple "preferred to go its own way and trust its engineers", doesn't it?

Guess which dept hes president of. No way those shits would ever admit they're wrong, just backstab the engineers instead, much simpler.

I greatly prefer Lightning to even USB-C. The connector itself is sturdier

What? If Apple cables are known for anything, it's their ridiculous fragility. There was even a class action [topclassactions.com].

Not just the poor build quality, it's just badly designed. Blackening (from arcing) and corrosion being incredibly common.

I am hoping Apple keeps Lightning going outside the EU

Why? USB-C is objectively superior to lightening. Consumers will undoubtedly be better off with USB-C.

The world will someday have a more advanced connector while europeans are yokels stuck with usb-c.

The actual text of the mandate explicitly covers this scenario, but no one reads it and/or ignores it to spread FUD.

Or they just don't trust that the review will result in changes. "No, it's fine" takes a lot less work than "Yeah, actually, USB-K would be an improvement, so we're going to transition to that over 2 years".

Consider how long it took to change those.

I further agree on larger principle that basically government needs to stay out of the fucking marketplace unless someone's actually harmed. If Apple wants to put some boutique power cord on their devices that changes with every iteration and people are DUMB enough (or the hardware is that good) that they buy into it, more power to them. (intended).

OTOH, the idea that deeply left-leaning, pro-government dilettantes of Apple are being compelled by some vastly impersonal bureaucracy to conform to the rules over which they can't just drown the legislators in lobbying $$ to make it go their way (unlike the US)?...well, I have to admit a slight tumescence.

I agree that lawmakers - generally staggeringly ignorant about tech

Good news, lawmakers had nothing to do with the decision. Very few in the EU do, they offload that to the EC who sub commission it to actual field experts, who then write a recommendation which the EU then rubberstamp. It was engineers and industry who chose the standard, not lawmakers.

Also it's reviewed every 5 years, which even in the world of USB is fast enough to keep up with the latest trends.

I agree that lawmakers - generally staggeringly ignorant about tech, and even when they're not the wheels of legislation grind far too slowly to accommodate technical advancement - shouldn't be in any position to mandate technology. I further agree on larger principle that basically government needs to stay out of the fucking marketplace unless someone's actually harmed. If Apple wants to put some boutique power cord on their devices that changes with every iteration and people are DUMB enough (or the hardware is that good) that they buy into it, more power to them. (intended). OTOH, the idea that deeply left-leaning, pro-government dilettantes of Apple are being compelled by some vastly impersonal bureaucracy to conform to the rules over which they can't just drown the legislators in lobbying $$ to make it go their way (unlike the US)?...well, I have to admit a slight tumescence.

Government is a tool, not a religion. You clearly have a right-leaning political beliefs, but I find the irrational hatred of government to be puzzling. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Why not be rational and want it applied when it is effective and not when it isn't. Apple has been acting outside the interest of their customers and the marketplace for years. No one WANTS lightning. It's inferior in every way. It was good when it was released, but has been obsolete for a long time. Fast

"Apple has been acting outside the interest of their customers and the marketplace for years. " Then why not let them and their customers decide that? Seriously? Personally I think it's a little creepy-culty, but that doesn't justify lawmakers literally taking choice out of the hands of consumers FOR NO ESSENTIAL PURPOSE.

I despise Apple, btw. I haven't owned an Apple product since I was given an ipod nano decades ago. Just in case you mistook me for some Jobs-worshipping fanboi.

It results in a lot of waste, and entire sectors being purposely left out of the modern age.

Sometimes sectors become dated, and need to fade away

Like they aren't already calculating the sales from Lighting to USB adapters and cables they'll be selling.

a) Engineers aren't the reason the iPhone still had a lightning connector. After all all of their "professional devices", including multiple versions of the iPad have already switched before the law was even voted on. b) If Apple is so unhappy then why are they including USB-C on devices not covered by the law? The law says only devices *released* after autumn 2024 need to have USB-C, yet they've already confirmed it for the iPhone 15 which means they are voluntarily switching to USB-C an entire model earlier than required.

Doesn't sound like an unhappy corporate citizen to me.

On the contrary, the fact that their other (thicker) devices used USB-C actually suggests that engineering was the reason they kept lightning for the iPhone.

b) If Apple is so unhappy then why are they including USB-C on devices not covered by the law? The law says only devices *released* after autumn 2024 need to have USB-C, yet they've already confirmed it for the iPhone 15 which means they are voluntarily switching to USB-C an entire model earlier than required. Doesn't sound like an unhappy corporate citizen to me.

Doesn't sound like an unhappy corporate citizen to me.

Well if you have to make the switch anyway then there's not a lot of point delaying it.

If I was an Apple user I think I'd prefer them use USB-C rather than lightning for the phones. But I don't like the idea of the government mandating the connector.

Do you think $995 for apple to fix my stuffed lightning port on an ipad pro was pro consumer, of course its board soldered in via a stupidly difficult to repair ribbon that needs a microscope to change, they charge a flat fee for all repairs to ipad pro gen1.

The special Apple plug was always about lock-in and licensing. 99.9999% of people using a lightning cable had USB-A on the other end. So what other reason was there for this? They were luck they were early/first to market with iPods and iPhones and got away with it this long.

Clearly the people complaining about this don't remember The Dark Ages (the 1990s and early 2000s) when every phone manufacturer had their very own proprietary charging cable. Often the cables weren't even compatible between different models from the same manufacturer. It was purely a cash grab, they weren't afraid to charge a stiff premium for replacement chargers that you could only buy from them. Usually third-parties did manage to reverse engineer the charger and sell knock-offs, but you still needed

God forbid they use their position to do the bare minimum to make life better for people and for the planet.

If they truly have a superior design, why not submit it to and contribute to the USB standard? Be a morally upstanding corporate citizen and help to make things better for everybody, including having less of an impact on the environment.

Sure, they are not obligated to, but it sure would be nice of them. If we regulated companies like Apple do so forcibly, then the world would be a slightly better plac

... if they like it that much. Just put both connectors on the phone and let users decide.

Of, forgot it's Apple, letting users decide is not part of their plans.

I'd imagine that Apple won't take this as an opportunity to increase the speeds of the port on their phone to USB 3.0. They'll probably leave the transfer rates at USB 2.0 because doing otherwise would force them to admit that the "new" port (that everyone else in the industry has been using for 3 years) is actually an upgrade over Lightning.

What makes you think Apple gives a flying fuck about the spec? Nobody can enforce this after the fact and nobody is smart enough to stop them in advance.

The EU can certainly "enforce this after the fact". If Apple calls it a USB-C port but it's not in compliance with official USB-C specs, then the EU has every justification to say that Apple has violated the law and to enforce penalties.

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Apple Confirms the iPhone is Getting USB-C, But Isn't Happy About the Reason Why - Slashdot