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by jmye 1045 days ago
Now I can finally throw away all of those perfectly usable lightning cables and buy a horde of new USB-C cables that do absolutely nothing to improve my experience. Thanks for that, EU.
7 comments

Other than the iPhone and the ear pods, I can't think of a single Apple device that doesn't have USB-C. The Macs all have it, beats pro have it, homepod has it, even the Apple TV has a USB-C port.

I'm sure the universe of people who only have those two devices and don't have friends that own literally any other devices will be distraught that they have to add a $5 cable to their next phone purchase, but I don't feel very bad for them. Would you prefer it if the 15 had two ports instead?

Would you prefer it if the 15 had two ports instead?

Yes, because then I could plug in a charging cable and Apple's diminutive 3.5 mm headphone adapter (for old car stereo) at the same time.

>Other than the iPhone and the ear pods, I can't think of a single Apple device that doesn't have USB-C.

The keyboards and mice are still on lightning.

??? Using a standardized cable that you'll always be able to find at a friend's place that also works with basically all modern devices doesn't improve your user experience?
Why would I find a cable at a friends house? I charge my phone at home, at night. With one of the cables that also work with my earphones and tablet.
Some people have sexy friends that invite them to stay the night. Some people stay with family. Some people use their phones a lot and need to charge away from home. Some people have worn out batteries that don’t hold much charge.
Some people figure out how to carry their charger in 99% of those cases. Some of those people are still on lightning. Some of them have Qi chargers that already work universally.

This is absolutely not a problem for anyone over the age of 18 or with a modicum of personal responsibility.

But hey, at least you’ve legislated a solution that enhances nothing technical, but makes sure that someday you can… borrow a cable? Cool. Big add. Thanks, EU.

Hard pass if there are no wireless chargers
I carry an external battery and a cable when I know I’m gonna be gone long enough that my phone dying is a remote possibility.
I don't think anybody is saying that there are no people without friends, or people that have weird cable/battery obsessions. They're just a small minority so it doesn't make sense to make laws cater to just them.
Lightning is standardised across my friends and family, so being the weird one out with usb-c doesn’t improve my user experience.
Why, are they also forcing you to throw away your old iPhone?
The battery will, at some point, necessitate getting a new phone, yes. As will other innovation. I know this seemed like a really smart dig, but it’s not like it only affects one year of devices. Come on, now.
Or you could just replace the battery. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
“As will other innovation”

I really didn’t use that many words.

The phones all come with a cable so if you buy a new phone you'll be getting the cable anyway.
the term experience was used and only carrying 1 usbc cable from a fast charge portable power bank for an iphone and M chip macbook will be an amazing experience
Imagine complaining about standardization.
Now I can buy good white Bluetooth headphones without having to retool my entire home's power banking.
I can't wait to be using USB C in 15 years because of the EU.
You do know how standards work right? They get revised with time. Did you forget we had headphones jacks at least that long, USB A. Lightning has gone unchanged how many years?
If phone makers feel a need to change charging port now, it’ll likely be to go all-wireless. If wireless charging ends up nearly as fast/efficient as USB what’s the point of USB? (for devices that don’t need super fast data transfer)

EU doesn’t prevent going all wireless I believe. Apple Watch is not getting banned.