EU Agrees To Make Common Charger Mandatory for Apple iPhones and Other Devices (cnbc.com) 230
The European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, is going to force smartphone manufacturers like Apple and other electronics makers to equip their devices with a standard USB-C charging port. From a report: EU lawmakers on Tuesday agreed to a single mobile charging port for mobile phones, tablets and cameras. It means equipment makers will have to comply with the new terms by 2024. "We have a deal on the #CommonCharger!" EU commissioner Thierry Breton said via Twitter. The legislation is designed to cut waste and make life easier for consumers who would theoretically be able to use one charger for multiple devices. It could have a huge impact on Apple, as the company still uses its own Lightning connector to charge iPhones. The company has recently equipped iPads and MacBooks with USB-C ports. Apple did not immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment. However, a spokesperson for the company said last September that the firm stands for "innovation and deeply cares about the customer experience."
This is still one step behind the times. (Score:2)
The current option for charging is wireless charging, why require a charging port?
It's just a little bit pointless, most chargers have USB A or USB C or both it's the cables that differ.
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I've had many devices over the years that have flat contacts for charging. No connectors to break, no huge power loss. That's what should be a standard. Throw in a magnet for alignment and reliable connections in cars and you have something worth making a standard. Now that devices communicate with the chargers there could even be updates with the physical connection being backward compatible.
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That system seems to be pretty common for rechargeable sex toys that are supposed to be waterproof. Two contacts, and a magnet for alignment.
I find it somewhat amusing that the easiest way to find a cutting edge example of charging with low power loss is to buy a good vibrator.
Perhaps one day this cutting-edge technology will be found in phones.
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Because it's at least inconvenient to have to schlep the device to charge your device around with you. Also, wireless power is inefficient.
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That they both result in the same charging speed doesn't tell you anything about the efficiency of the process, at all, unless you also monitored the current of both solutions. Did you do that?
It's actually a moot point because they aren't mandating a connection at all. They are mandating that if you have a plug, that you have a USB-C plug. You don't even have to have only USB-C, you can still have something else.
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No its not. My 20w MagSafe ihpoen charger is just as good as the usb-c-to-lightning cable 20w charger. I have timed it.
Great. Now remember that the phone controls the charging speed, based on the battery's state of charge, which means there's no guarantee that you'll see any difference in charge *time* if there's enough current available.
Now repeat the experiment with your charger plugged into a proper watt meter, starting from the same state of charge, and see how much extra *power* the phone is drawing while it does this. Go ahead. I'll wait.
MagSafe iPhone charging is only about 75% efficient. So you'll use about a th
Customer experience (Score:3)
Apple will courageously require new accessories (Score:2, Insightful)
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Still slightly better than the current situation where you need different peripherals for your iPhone and iPad, because one had lightning and the other has USB C.
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Also, his line about how the "iPhone will refuse to use non-Apple accessories" is pure and unadulterated bullshit that he made up on the spot. I think the only Apple-branded lightning cables I own are the ones that came with my iPhones/iPads. The dime-a-dozen generics I use pretty much everywhere charge the thing just fine, as do the generic wireless chargers. USB-C is a bit tricky, because I have to pay attention to wattage and bandwidth ratings. But, again, I've never had any difficulties with non-App
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Also, his line about how the "iPhone will refuse to use non-Apple accessories" is pure and unadulterated bullshit that he made up on the spot.
I experienced this. I bought a few Lightning to 1/8" jack adapters since Apple had the "courage" to remove my headphone port. They would work for ~30 seconds then give an "unsupported accessory" message. There was no physical reason for the adapters to not work (obviously, since they DID work for 30 seconds) but they hadn't paid Apple to make accessories so didn't have the magic chip that the port is looking for: https://appleinsider.com/artic... [appleinsider.com] I ended up having to buy an "official" adapter from Apple
There is nothing preventing Lighting over USB-C (Score:2)
Lightning only uses 4 wires for data [wikipedia.org] (not mirrored). It would be completely trivial for Apple to create a Lightning alternate mode, and have all iOS devices switch to USB-C connectors. They co
Misleading wrong title (Score:3, Insightful)
No EU did not "Agrees To Make Common Charger Mandatory"
EU agrees to make all mobile chargers use the same connector.
And please stop adding capitals to each words. This is grammatically and typographically wrong.
Re:Misleading wrong title (Score:4, Insightful)
No EU did not "Agrees To Make Common Charger Mandatory"
EU agrees to make all mobile chargers use the same connector.
And please stop adding capitals to each words. This is grammatically and typographically wrong.
A distinction without a difference, The only difference is that if an undesireable pollutes via using something different, they are verboten.
The very interesting thing is now the superiors of the EU have set precedence in their dictate of connections.
So does this mean that from now on, there is no other mobile charger but USB-C in perpetuity?
Or does it men in their well reasoned knowledge of all things electronic, that the EU will decide what all of the next versions are permitted to exist as?
Seriously, when the micro-meddling that the EU feels compelled to enforce, it becomes completely understandable how your history has played out over the millenia.
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It gets reviewed regularly.
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It gets reviewed regularly.
Fortunately, politicians are experts in technology.
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The politicians didn't choose USB-C, the technical advisors did. Tech companies were consulted.
Re:Misleading wrong title (Score:4, Informative)
The very interesting thing is now the superiors of the EU have set precedence in their dictate of connections.
Literally every country in the world dictates some form of standard required for electrical devices. Note how devices in the EU are shipped complying with Part 15 of the FCC rules despite the FCC not existing over there? Or why that little CE charging brick I have has UL written on it as well (along with a smorgasboard of other icons showing compliance with various standards around the world).
So does this mean that from now on, there is no other mobile charger but USB-C in perpetuity?
It only means that if you don't bother understanding what the rule is or how it works. a) the presence of USB-C does not preclude other charging options, and b) the directive has a periodic re-assessment clause in case a better more suitable charging standard comes out.
Seriously, when the micro-meddling that the EU feels compelled to enforce, it becomes completely understandable how your history has played out over the millenia.
Funny you should mention that. The EU (far less than a millennia old, or even half a century for that matter) was created in part precisely to prevent how history has played out the millennia preceding it, and it has been humanities single most successful peace project at that.
You would do well to lean a bit of history before you attempt to comment on it.
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And please stop adding capitals to each words. This is grammatically and typographically wrong.
missmatch using the Firehose to make her own stories again. Why bother submitting shit if an editho is just gonna do that? And where are my fucking mod points, you slack cunts? I metamod everyday for fucks sake.
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And please stop adding capitals to each words. This is grammatically and typographically wrong.
What? Who told you that? It is absolutely normal and common to capitalize words in headlines. It is literally called "headline case" in addition to "title case".
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>And please stop adding capitals to each words. This is grammatically and typographically wrong.
It's been standard for titles and headlines since long before you were born - I'd suggest tilting at a more tractable windmill.
Ports are not just Chargers (Score:3)
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Boy that sure is a wonderful argument, against some other law than the one being discussed here. No one said Apple (or anyone) could only have USB-C, just that this must be included for charging. They are free to have as many other proprietary ports as they desire.
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So contribute to the spec. (Score:3)
I shouldn't have to go over the reasons why standardization on a single spec or group of specs for charging is
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what's this virtual signalling bullshit about environment and materials for usb-c? you're going to claim some other connector is more environmentally friendly?
If you actually care about the environment, what are you doing owning a smart phone with rechargeable battery? The connectors aint the problem.
waterproof usb-c exist
Stop talking out of your ass and making up things that aren't an argument.
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Apple ships unchanged iPhones for several years (Score:3)
I think that this is going to impact Apple more than most people think.
Apple has at least historically shipped the most recent version of the iPhone plus 2-3 years of older phones (with little to no design changes). This means that complying by 2024 will mean that Apple will either 1. Reduce its offerings in the EU to only the recent ones. Or 2. Be forced to redesign older phones (i.e. the ones being released this year and probably last year's as well). My bet is on #1. They won't redesign the older phones. The 2023 model can be (re)designed with USB-C in mind, but the = 2022 won't.
I see a lot of comments that Apple was intentionally incompatible with USB-C. When they introduced the Lightning connector, USB-C did not exist, so it wasn't an option (and who really liked micro-USB, or whatever - all the previous USB connectors really suck and Apple was right not to use them. USB-C is the first decent USB connector). They also had LOTS of criticism for changing from their 30-pin connector to Lightning (i.e. breaking compatibility with older peripherals). They will get the same for any new shift to USB-C.
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will mean that Apple will either 1. Reduce its offerings in the EU to only the recent ones. Or 2. Be forced to redesign older phones
It will mean neither. The rules only impact new devices released after the directive comes into effect. It would have been faster for you to google this than write your post.
Literally the text from the first Google result of "EU common charger"
After the summer recess, Parliament and Council will have to formally approve the agreement before it is published in the EU Official Journal. It will enter into force 20 days after publication and its provisions will start to apply after 24 months. The new rules woul
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will mean that Apple will either 1. Reduce its offerings in the EU to only the recent ones. Or 2. Be forced to redesign older phones
It will mean neither. The rules only impact new devices released after the directive comes into effect. It would have been faster for you to google this than write your post.
Literally the text from the first Google result of "EU common charger" After the summer recess, Parliament and Council will have to formally approve the agreement before it is published in the EU Official Journal. It will enter into force 20 days after publication and its provisions will start to apply after 24 months. The new rules would not apply to products placed on the market before the date of application.
In theory then, depending on the dates, no iPhones before 2025 will need use USB-C.
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I see a lot of comments that Apple was intentionally incompatible with USB-C. When they introduced the Lightning connector, USB-C did not exist, so it wasn't an option (and who really liked micro-USB, or whatever - all the previous USB connectors really suck and Apple was right not to use them. USB-C is the first decent USB connector). They also had LOTS of criticism for changing from their 30-pin connector to Lightning (i.e. breaking compatibility with older peripherals). They will get the same for any new shift to USB-C.
The EU have been working on a common charging port for a decade now. Apple knew that this was coming, and they had all the time in the world to do something in anticipation of this regulation that was unavoidable.
"customer experience" (Score:2)
Adapter (Score:2)
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Unless you never have bought a smartphone before you should have a shitload of chargers at home.
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The real issue is that now Apples installed iOS device user base suddenly has incompatible charging cables for their next device - this ruling actually causes the problem its trying to solve.
I have Lightning cables in several rooms, and can charge all my iOS devices via them - my next iOS device after this ruling is implemented means I now have a different cable for one device vs my other devices. And I have to buy all new cables to replace my existing setups.
Yeah, definitely a step forward....
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The real issue is that now Apples installed iOS device user base suddenly has incompatible charging cables for their next device - this ruling actually causes the problem its trying to solve.
The EU has been working on standardizing chargers for a decade. There is nothing sudden about it.
The writing was on the wall and Apple had lots of time to slowly make a shift.
They even started by including USB-C on iPads and Macbooks.
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I have Lightning cables in several rooms, and can charge all my iOS devices via them - my next iOS device after this ruling is implemented means I now have a different cable for one device vs my other devices. And I have to buy all new cables to replace my existing setups.
Apple can implement a Type C to Lightning adapter if they want to. It wouldn't even be difficult, because the Type C connector and specification are both designed to make such things possible. That won't work for docks, but you only mentioned cables. Docks without a cable have always been a bad idea though, because they always wind up at best limited by some devices having ports on the end, and some having them on the side — or worse, having a proprietary connector.
Re:will be super consumers (Score:5, Insightful)
I rather have everything on C so I don't have to worry which device uses what cable type and having the connector wear out over time.
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Ditto. I have a few USB chargers with built-in cords rather than -A ports, but only a few, and they're mostly my oldest and slowest. And new USB cords only cost a few bucks, much less than the whole charger.
Still a lot of old cord waste, and I'd prefer to see the requirements recommend USB-C, while requiring that *or* the backwards-compatible -micro ports recommended last time. But there's no excuse for using proprietary connectors to do the same thing.
Heck - I'm not sure if the "fast charging only with
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The macbook has multiple usb-c ports, one for input and up to 3 for output to charge other devices. I doubt your macbook is under high load all the time.
The whole point of standardising is that you will no longer need to keep a collection of different chargers and cables for occasional use, you will only need as many as you intend to use simultaneously. Plus if you happen to travel somewhere and forget your charger, the chance of someone else having one is much higher.
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1) right I have bricks of varying mA capacity with just about every usb-B connector imaginable, all of which will be useless for a new USB-C iphone...
You're in the minority by a large margin. Probably 99% of chargers (batteries or AC) on the market have USB-A connectors so that they will be compatible with whatever device you own.
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
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I, like many users here, went through a 10 year fetish of installing power outlets with built-in USB ports. I'm now officially disillusioned. The problem isn't that every new phone has a newer "quickcharge" standard... it's that phones with newer standards inevitably refuse to fall back to any older one, so unless you replace all the outlets every time a newer standard gets introduced, you're back to being stuck with slow charging again. Even worse, the outlets THEMSELVES almost never support older standard
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The OP picked a pretty expensive one as an example. Twin switched sockets without any USB sockets are going for about £4 on Amazon, whereas those with USB-A go for about £15 - meaning that the premium is 3.75x.
As USB-C becomes more ubiquitous, I'd expect twin switched USB-C sockets to eventually get down to the same price as
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You do not want to cheap out on USB chargers or cables now that the wattage has gotten up to useful levels.
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You honestly expect people to replace a $2 outlet with an USB equipped one at $30? It's cheaper, more convenient and probably safer to stick with a usb wall wart.
Except unless you want that wallwart to burn your house down it will also cost $30. But go ahead, buy your shit from Aliexpress. We'll send you thoughts and prayers afterwards.
Incidentally this is news for nerds, not news for luddites. If you're still using every single USB brick that came with every device maybe you should question your own archaic and wasteful practices. USB charging is a standard for a reason.
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Why? There's nothing from stopping them from doing that now.
I'm by no means a "road warrior" type, but I
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If by this point you don't have a USB-C cable then.. Uh.. I have no idea what to say to that...
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USB-C cables don't necessarily fall out of trees. Most of my devices have had A-to-C cables, but most of the good chargers have C connectors, and while I can pick up A-to-C cables at Grocery Outlet, C-to-C cables are much scarcer. My PC will do USB-PD, but not on any of the type A ports, only on its single type C...
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You mean like Apple and Samsung were doing for a while in some areas? EU's decisions are so powerful, they can influence the past?
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That's what people said about the first time the EU did away with special snowflake phone chargers and everything went to USB. This is just an update for the original effort. But we must be dealing with a mass hallucination here because the detractors also claimed the EU's first effort would result in never ever updating the standard even in our children's-children's-children's time.
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This is going to backfire in a spectacular way for consumers. It will be an excuse for every last manufacture of electronic anything to not provide a charger/powersupply.
That's part of the design of this rule. To avoid proliferation of power supplies when people already have 73 of the things in the house.
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One the one hand we have Apple who slashdot loves to hate irrationally for some reason.
I dislike Apple for a variety of reasons, including that I was an Apple user for years and know first-hand what that's like, in comparison to using other systems.
On the other we have big government telling private industry what to do.
There is no such thing as private industry. Not only does every large corporation insinuate itself into the governmental process, but they all depend on public resources.
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Some people out here thinking squirrels and birds out there forming C Corps and LLC's.
Private industry and property are creations of the state and operate at the discretion of the state.
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Private industry has, for the most part, standardized on USB-C as the choice for charging new devices. There's one sole exception:
Apple.
This is very much the EU telling Apple "we asked you to play nicely, everyone else managed to figure this else, now we're going to force the issue."
I very much expect Apple is going to respond in the most childish way possible and just remove the charging port from their phones in favor of wireless charging with their proprietary "MagSafe" wireless chargers. Gotta keep that
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Private industry has, for the most part, standardized on USB-C as the choice for charging new devices. There's one sole exception:
Apple.
This is very much the EU telling Apple "we asked you to play nicely, everyone else managed to figure this else, now we're going to force the issue."
I very much expect Apple is going to respond in the most childish way possible and just remove the charging port from their phones in favor of wireless charging with their proprietary "MagSafe" wireless chargers. Gotta keep that peripheral device licensing money flowing, after all.
MagSafe is just Qi with a magnet to keep the device optimally aligned. Nothing prevents companies from selling Qi-based chargers without paying Apple a penny. Heck, they could probably get away with putting a magnet in the right spot, so long as they don't call it MagSafe.
So no, the end of Lightning likely means that most of those licensing fees dry up. That's why they're dragging their heels. Of course, nothing prevents them from milking it for a while longer (maybe two years or so) by including *both*
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I suspect wireless-only charging would still violate the law. Assuming the law is being presented accurately and the wording actually requires phones and other electronics to have a USB-C charging port, it definitely would.
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Apple came out with lightning because micro usb was a terrible flimsy design and unidirectional. What was it, 4-5 years later we finally got usb-c?
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Apple came out with lightning because micro usb was a terrible flimsy design and unidirectional. What was it, 4-5 years later we finally got usb-c?
USB-C was finalized in August 2014, Lightning was introduced on September 12, 2012. One could argue about when USB-C stuff started to arrive, that would be tedious IMO. Apple is a member of the USB Implementer's Forum which produced the various USB standards, and Apple has a seat on the USB-IF board of directors (occupied by Dave Conroy, Apple Engineering Fellow, Mac Systems Product Architect Hardware Engineering, etc.) A group consisting of AMD, Hewlett Packard, Intel, and Microsoft brought the idea for th
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I don't see how a government can mandate this, it's not a safety or health issue, it's a freaking charger.
Waste is a health issue. But it's also an economic issue. Governments have interest in both. Don't be daft. Corporations are public fictions created by governments and governments have the right to regulate corporate activity.
If you want to be upset by overreaching regulation get upset at people not being able to repair vehicles in their own driveways, or the lack of right to repair (which Apple has lobbied against) or something else that creates waste, not something that reduces it. You're asking us what c
Re:JeopardyTheme.mp3 (Score:5, Insightful)
Because if the government doesn't do it, manufacturers won't do so on their own.
It's more profitable for manufacturers to create proprietary chargers and sell them for a high price. For consumers and the environment it's bad. One manufacturer can't buck the trend easily as it will result in reduced profits for them, but if all manufacturers have to do so at the same time due to government requirements it creates a level playing field which everyone has to comply with.
Re:Compatibility (Score:5, Insightful)
Generic adaptors will not fast charge my iPhone.
YOUR iPhone, no they won't, because Apple has used proprietary standards meant explicitly to fuck you over for their profit benefit. A future iPhone, yes they will, because it will be required to support the USB-C standard, and it supports fast charging.
It is unclear what Apple users get out of defending Apple's fuckery besides the feeling that they made a good decision when they gave Apple money. That enables you to keep making shitty decisions while feeling good about it, and the end result is your denialism leads you to do dumb shit.
Giving Apple money has been a shit idea ever since the first Macintosh came out with its lack of expansion and the need for a special tool to open it, which was explicitly intended to keep you out of your own machine. (This changed in the Macintosh II era, but by then there were other excellent reasons to avoid the Macintosh.) They have always been user-hostile, and disguised that in user-friendliness that stifled when you tried to do anything they didn't envision.
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I have no love for Apple. Outside of work, I don't use any Apple products at all.
But I don't like the idea of this type of regulation because it does genuinely make it difficult for companies to innovate. You have to take to the bad with the good, laws can't fix everything and they often have unintended consequences. Yes, Apple and other companies engage in fuckery all the time. But maybe there is a better way to charge phones than USB-C. If I'm a manufacturer, why would I pour money into R&D when the l
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It's pretty hard to get more power than the USB standard requires into a phone, given that USB-C can deliver 240W. Try to charge a phone battery at that rate and you'll set it on fire — hell, most laptops literally can't draw that much power while running at maximum speed and charging the battery. Most laptop power supplies top out well under half of that. Only desktop replacements will typically have anything more.
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right there. you made yourself look like an asshole
Says the guy who came out of left field and called me a cunt? I was going to let this thread fall but I do want to just chime in here and say that's hilarious. I may well in fact be an asshole, but do try to understand that you've proven conclusively that you're not an improvement. So what are you trying to prove, anyway?
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Nah based on your posting history; anyone abusing you on this site, raises their status in my book
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If it makes me a 'cunt' to speak out against Apple's anti-consumer behavior, then I guess I'm a big furry cunt. Which makes sense, since I was born in the seventies. I remember a time when it was American as apple pie or bombing people for profit to question corporate motives.
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this has absolutely nothing to do with Apple, but at least you admit it. thats progress.
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Apple iPhone 8 and up will fast-charge from a USB-C charger if the charger supports the standard USB Power Delivery protocol.
Unfortunately, there are some chargers with USB-C connector that don't support USB-PD: not just cheap chargers but also some older cellphone chargers that will fast-charge other brands' phones.
Phones with later versions of Qualcomm Quickcharge (under many names) also support USB-PD, so a USB-PD charger with USB-C should be all you need.
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Apple iPhone 8 and up will fast-charge from a USB-C charger if the charger supports the standard USB Power Delivery protocol.
Unfortunately, there are some chargers with USB-C connector that don't support USB-PD: not just cheap chargers but also some older cellphone chargers that will fast-charge other brands' phones.
Phones with later versions of Qualcomm Quickcharge (under many names) also support USB-PD, so a USB-PD charger with USB-C should be all you need.
Should be, but per the spec and EU requirements there is nothing that prevents Apple from implementing handshaking, per the spec, and requiring a certified cable for high speed charging; especially if they want to go to higher charging rates and ensue cables are designed for that rate. I haven't seen which PD spec they require PD1 @ 100 W or the higher that go to what, 240? If the former then ou could still wind up with cable incompatibility beyond just data transfer ones.
Re:Big problem (Score:5, Interesting)
I fully expect the next or after next iteration of the iphone to be magsafe only. There is no reason to have charger ports anymore. Requiring any charger port, or that it has a charger port is going to prevent innovation.
I mean... not having a usb port on your phone is kinda shite. Just because *you* don't want or need it doesn't mean others don't want or need a physical port. I tether to my laptop all the time to copy pictures and other stuff to my NAS. With that said, we need more standards. There's no damn reason for the lightning connector anymore besides Apple polishing their ego. Just like Tesla should be forced to use CCS in the US.
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With that said, we need more standards. There's no damn reason for the lightning connector anymore besides Apple polishing their ego.
Not more standards [xkcd.com] but more *standardization* around fewer (open) standards -- eg: USB-C rather than USB-C and Lightning. (Not criticizing you, just clarifying your sentiment.)
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Imagine if somebody could invent a little widget you shove in a USB-C socket that fits flush with the case and has little magnetic connectors on the outside of it.
But I'm a lunatic for thinking of things like that.
Re:Big problem (Score:5, Informative)
> Requiring any charger port
https://ec.europa.eu/docsroom/... [europa.eu]
"Hand-held mobile phones, tablets, digital cameras, headphones, headsets, handheld videogame consoles and portable speakers, in so far as they are ***capable of being recharged via WIRED charging***, shall:"
It's not requiring a charger port.
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Wait, fucking Apple reused the magsafe name for wireless phone charging alignment? What a bag of fucks. For those who don't know it originally meant WIRED quick charging with contact pads instead of pins in sockets. Now it refers to alignment of WIRELESS charging technology? It's like Apple is now going out of its way to confuse people. Who thought this chucklefuckery up?
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It's both now. The latest Apple laptops dropped USB-C charging and brought back a new MagSafe design that's like the old MagSafe design except requires buying all new chargers yet again.
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Of course they did, because Apple.
People loved the original magsafe port to pieces, I know because of all the zillions of people who complained when they ditched it. So it doesn't seem like there was any need to come out with a revised edition, except for profit.
Apple willfully fucks over their customers at the slightest opportunity. It is mind-boggling that they love it so much. Even when you explain to them that something they dislike is directly Apple's fault, and not normal either, they double down and
Re: Big problem (Score:2)
MagSafe is optional. It provides more power than the USB-C PD spec (and classic MagSafe), if you want it or want MagSafe.
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MagSafe is optional. It provides more power than the USB-C PD spec (and classic MagSafe), if you want it or want MagSafe.
To clarify, that's MagSafe 3 (Mac) you're talking about, not MagSafe (iPhone) or MagSafe (Watch), neither of which provides more power than USB-PD. And the only reason it provides more power than USB-PD is because Apple didn't implement the latest version of the USB-PD specification on the MacBook Pro.
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Magsafe makes a hell of a lot of sense on laptops and its a tragedy that patents/etc stopped them being the standard on all laptops.
Ask any pc laptop repair guy, the #1 thing that kills laptops is people kicking the power chord. At best it pulls the laptop off the table and hopefully it lands in a way that doesnt shatter the screen, at worst , it pulls the power socket off the motherboard with the unnatural high torque stress rendering the laptop effectively a boat anchor.
Thats where magsafe is great. The c
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Magsafe makes a hell of a lot of sense on laptops and its a tragedy that patents/etc stopped them being the standard on all laptops.
Yes, magsafe-for-laptops is probably Apple's single best innovation, even if it is only an obvious improvement over magnetic cords for waffle irons. Frankly, I'm not trying to shit on their magsafe-for-phones either, only that they called it magsafe, when it's a fundamentally different product.
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To be fair having the power connector on the mainboard isn't a great idea in the first place and Apple didn't put it on the mainboard even with magsafe.
Re:Big problem (Score:5, Funny)
Ask any pc laptop repair guy, the #1 thing that kills laptops is people kicking the power chord.
I love power chords but they're usually reserved for rock musicians.
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Of course they did, because Apple.
People loved the original magsafe port to pieces, I know because of all the zillions of people who complained when they ditched it.
Yep. It's literally the only thing I've ever really liked about Apple products.
I have no idea why they ditched it, except... "change for profit's sake".
Re:Big problem (Score:5, Informative)
Nah, new MBPs can charge either off of USB-C or off the new magsafe connector, which is now a removable cord that connects to the power adapter via USB-C.
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It's both now. The latest Apple laptops dropped USB-C charging and brought back a new MagSafe design that's like the old MagSafe design except requires buying all new chargers yet again.
Actually, the new Apple Laptops support both MagSafe and USB-C PD Charging.
Re: (Score:2)
It's like Apple is now going out of its way to confuse people.
Reminds me of this "Bad Janet" rant [facebook.com] in The Good Place [wikipedia.org], episode "A Chip Driver Mystery" [fandom.com] (S4:E6):
And I know literally everything that every one of them has ever done.
Do you know what's happening right now on Earth?
Wars, murder, women in $400 yoga pants are refusing to vaccinate their children.
Vindictive nerds at Apple are changing the charging cable shape again.
Re: (Score:2)
The wireless charging feature is a standard, you can put your iphone on any standard wireless charger and it works. Magsafe on the phones is just an extension to the standard to keep the device aligned, it's not required.
Re:Big problem (Score:5, Interesting)
I fully expect the next or after next iteration of the iphone to be magsafe only. There is no reason to have charger ports anymore. Requiring any charger port, or that it has a charger port is going to prevent innovation.
Removing physical connectivity is not innovative. It is foolish, and makes the devices permanently less useful.
Let me tell you what I use old phones for. There's a network protocol called NDI for transmitting high-quality video. It cannot be (usably) sent over a wireless network. But you can very easily connect an iPhone or iPod Touch (running iOS 10 or later) via a Lightning to Ethernet adapter. With that, your phone can become a usable network camera.
Remove the wired USB contacts, and that would no longer be possible. Wi-Fi's peak latency is measured in large fractions of a second, which makes it completely unsuitable for real-time wireless video (not to mention the random dropouts, even when just a few feet from the Wi-Fi base station, even when you're well out of range of any other Wi-Fi signals).
Other people use iOS devices for audio recording. Wireless connections are, once again, fundamentally unsuitable for audio recording, because it is impossible to bring the latency down to the point where monitoring is feasible, short of dedicated audio-specific wireless hardware (read "not Bluetooth").
Still others use iOS devices for ingesting photos or video off of SD cards or similar. The difference between a dedicated wired link (~100 megabytes per second) and a USB-link (up to 4 gigabytes per second with SD-Express) is... well, huge. Even bog-standard UHS-II is about 3x as fast.
And in an era when people's carbon footprint affects the future of the planet, removing wired charging would be the ultimate sign that Apple doesn't care about the environment at all anymore. Wireless inductive charging (the iPhone version of "MagSsafe") is only about 75% efficient, and other charging standards are even worse [medium.com]. And all that extra power turns into heat, so not only are you wasting energy, you'e also heating your battery up to the point where it is degrading much more quickly, which means more e-waste.
And so on.
So sure, if you want to make iOS devices a LOT less useful for high-end users, create a lot more e-waste, require building more power plants (many of which will burn fossil fuels), and generally make the iPhone seem completely out of touch with common sense, drop the charge ports. But think about this: Apple could have done that years ago. They've had magnetic charging for years. Why is Lightning still around? Clearly, the answer is because people do not want devices that have zero hard-wired connectivity.
Even if the only positive effect this EU decision had were preventing Apple from shooting themselves and the environment in the foot by removing wired charging, it would still be a huge net win for the future of the planet. The convenience of standardization is just an added bonus. With USB-C, for trips, I'll be able to bring ONE power supply to charge my phone AND my laptop. I'll be able to use ONE adapter for my wired headphones and plug it in to my computer AND my phone without removing the adapter. I'll be able to use ONE adapter to connect my laptops AND my phones to Ethernet instead of having a separate set of adapters for my phone. I'll be able to plug in my phone at work without special cables. Airlines will be able to provide loaner power cords that will work for anyone. And so on.
The only thing sad about this is that it took the EU passing laws to force a connector change that Apple should have made years ago, and would have, were it not for their greed. (Apple gets significant royalties on every Lightning-equipped accessory and cable sold.)
Re:Big problem (Score:4, Interesting)
Lightning was introduced 2012 usb-c in 2014.
Apple doesn't get royalties on every lightning cable sold , they do on MFI certified cables that use the official chips and not the chinese knockoffs that just fake the handshake.
The royalties on mfi certified is around $5 though, so if you are paying less it obviously isn't certified.
What assurance do you have on a USB-C cable as to it being a good one or a poorly made one?
Re: (Score:2)
Requiring any charger port, or that it has a charger port is going to prevent innovation.
I have good news for you. A device doesn't require any charger port. What it does require is the final connection to a charger wherever it exists to be USB-C. So your innovation is safe.
I'm glad you at least got first post. I'm sure that makes up for talking about something you didn't put an iota of effort into understanding first.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
I'm glad my Galaxy Tab didn't come with a charger. I have a number of Anker multi USB bricks and some of my mains powerstrips have 5V2A USB ports which are fine for most USB charging devices.
I'm wondering if they'll put a wattage threshold in the new rules, something like if the device can charge and function simultaneously on 80W. Then there is the issue of power-supplying devices being good enough.
As for the car analogy, all cars that run on petrol are compatible with all the pumps in petrol stations (in
Re: (Score:2)
>Again and again, private industry fails to solve the problem of multiple proprietary and incompatible ways of doing the same thing, when a single universal standard is possible.
What do you mean? They're succeeding at avoiding a single universal standard masterfully - those reduce profits, and thus are to be avoided wherever possible.
The problem is that manufacturer and consumer interests diverge wildly when it comes to standards. If you want standards that benefit consumers rather than manufacturers t
Re: (Score:2)
https://gfycat.com/desertededu... [gfycat.com]
https://tenor.com/view/waitres... [tenor.com]
Re: (Score:2)
If USB-C charged at ONE OR TWO speeds, had one data speed and wasn't so f****g fragile, this would be something to be happy about.
Yay standardization . . . . less choice, whee.
USB-C and Lightning have similar cycle life in practice. Also you want USB-C to only have one or two charging speeds, because you are upset that you will have less choice? That makes no sense at all.