[tgsovlerkhgsel]

> what a bad idea the phone charger thing was

The correct approach there would have been telling the industry to get their shit together and agree on one standard (and then mandate that, not "that or an adapter" like what they let Apple get away with), under the threat that otherwise they'll make a standard for them.

[masklinn]

That's… exactly what the EU did, minus the legal mandate or adapter ban steps?

> In June 2009, many of the world's largest mobile phone manufacturers signed an EC-sponsored memorandum of understanding (MoU), agreeing to make most new data-enabled mobile phones marketed in the European Union compatible with a to-be-specified common EPS. All signatories agreed to develop a common specification for the EPS "to allow for full compatibility and safety of chargers and mobile phones."

> […]

> The original Common EPS memorandum of understanding expired at the end of 2012. The Commission reported at the time that all of the fourteen MoU signatories, "have met their obligations under the MoU." Eight of the original MoU signatories signed a 2013 Letter of Intent (LoI) to extend the 2009 MoU another year and, in 2014, five of those companies (Apple, Blackberry, Huawei, Samsung and Sony) again signed a second Letter of Intent, effectively extending the MoU through the end of 2014.

[tgsovlerkhgsel]

Doing "exactly that" but minus the legal mandate or adapter ban is like making "exactly" a cup of coffee but without the coffee or water. And then throwing the cup out 5 years ago, too.

Without the legal mandate and adapter ban, they might as well have done nothing. To this day, there are two common connectors for Android phones (Micro USB and USB C), a different connector for iPhones (Lightning), and proprietary connectors for most feature phones.

[wemdyjreichert]

I would argue that the industry do this already. On the part of Apple, lightning was undoubtedly better than micro-usb, and switching immediately to usb-c would arguably create more e-waste. Also, Apple is probably more sustainable than many other companies.

[sjy]

As the owner of several Apple devices with 30-pin connectors, which I replaced with devices with Lightning connectors, which it seems I will have to replace with devices with USB-C connectors in a few years, I would have been happier if Apple never invented either of those proprietary connectors and just went from micro-USB to USB-C like most of its competitors.