Which has happened a lot in the last few year tbh. I disagree with the EU on this.
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The EU wants all phones to use the same charging port
- Thread starter Infinity Times Two
- Start date
Lightning ports, USB c, micro USB? It might not seem like much but compare that to electric plug sockets staying the same for decades and decades. And electric plug sockets DO suck.
Part of the idea is that phones would no longer be bundled with chargers and cables. Instead you just keep reusing those you already have.
If your USB cables keep breaking get a quality one from Anker / UGreen / Amazon Basics, the ones that come with devices are often garbage.
haha where
iPads dominate, there's no competition in that space.
Macbooks are still macbooks, they're the defacto for web/app development and still the "gold standard" for mobile creatives despite the 2016-2018 keyboard fuckups
Cite your sources and prepare to get them slammed by someone like me who works in industries that are mac centric
I'll bite. What sucks about the UK 3 pin plug socket? As detailed as possible pls.
Well actually I was thinking of the UK 3 pin plug as an example of one which is good. But US plugs scare the fuck out of me.
I have an exceedingly minor gripe. The pins on the UK plugs are square as opposed to round. But I do love the fuze in the connector and the robust feeling overall compared to a US outlet.
Lol, shit... really?
No idea... but f'real as if we're skint on examples of Apple being anti-consumer fk-heads with their propriety everything.
Can't even browse my fkn iPhone's contents ffs [ex-iPhone, like hell I use that shite anymore].
They are part of the group that made it. I don't know for sure but if I was an engineer I would certainly look at competing standards for inspiration.
the exact same thing already happened in the EU with micro USB and apple just got around it by shipping a lightning adapter.
i would love apple to switch to USB-C for real, but at this point i think lightning is so entrenched that normal people would find it much more of a pain. the prevailing headline sentiment in mainstream press would be "omg apple forces everyone to buy new iphone chargers".
i would love apple to switch to USB-C for real, but at this point i think lightning is so entrenched that normal people would find it much more of a pain. the prevailing headline sentiment in mainstream press would be "omg apple forces everyone to buy new iphone chargers".
Industries in cooperation with regulating create input and output or methodolgy Standards for centuries. Huh?
Yes. USB-c development was announced in response to lightning, didn't ship for two years after, and wasn't ubiquitous on mobile phones for another year after that. Even now usbc is a crapshoot in terms of speed and charging capability.
I don't blame apple for not wanting to give up an advantage they cultivated.
Still I wouldn't mind them switching again.
Could you imagine the uproar if iPhones shipped without a power brick or USB cable
Those who are arguing against this because it would stifle innovation need to explain to me why lightning port is still usb 2.0(480mbit/s) and why it was late to the whole fast charge thing.
It's not because the EU asks all phone manufacturers to use the same charging ports that the EU ask them to use the same charging ports FOREVER.
Most formats are developed by groups of manufacturers, they can decide to make the switch to a new port as a group and decide on the timing.
Most formats are developed by groups of manufacturers, they can decide to make the switch to a new port as a group and decide on the timing.
because lightning was developed as an alternative to micro USB, which looks like this if you want 3.0 speeds:
apple supported 12W charging with ipad power bricks since forever, then in 2015 started supporting 18W USB-C PD fast charging once the hardware was there (ipad pro/12-inch macbook power brick/USB-C-to-lightning cable), then it came to phones with the 8/X. if you're saying they should've been quicker to create their own proprietary fast-charge thing like qualcomm, well, maybe, but that doesn't have anything to do with USB standards.
(i'm not arguing against this because it'd stifle innovation, though. they should and will just ship a USB-C adapter in the box as they did with micro USB the last time this happened)
The lightning port in the phone itself has planned obsolescence. As I've mentioned, I'm going through my second one with the same problem. It has bad contact.
Nearly, yes. A brief summary is that the EU looked at the proliferation of different charger types, decided that things couldn't stay like that, and told the industry that they had to either clean things up or there would be EU regulation.
The industry got together in 2009, signed a memorandum of understanding to move to micro-USB as a standard, and extended that memorandum a few times, then signed another similar one in 2014 which was in place until last year.
Apple were one of the signatories of the memorandum each time, but implemented micro-USB via adapters (like this one for €25, a totally justifiable price for a bit of plastic with a few internal strands of metal). They got away with that because it was technically within the boundaries of the memorandum, and because the memorandum itself, while forced into existence by the EU, was still a voluntary one.
Apple's skirting of their own agreement is one of the reasons why the EU wants to go with the regulatory route this time.
I'm all in.
Considering apple already uses usb-c on their computers and ipads, it should come to the iphones soon enough.
I understand people saying that it might be superseded by another connector in the future, but considering we can get lots of power and lots of data transfer I think it will be good for quite a while.
Also, the shape of the connector itself is decoupled to what is transfered, and while it caused the mess that is currently the sea of usb standards, it means that if we need more power or data throughput, it can be done without changing the plug.
Considering apple already uses usb-c on their computers and ipads, it should come to the iphones soon enough.
I understand people saying that it might be superseded by another connector in the future, but considering we can get lots of power and lots of data transfer I think it will be good for quite a while.
Also, the shape of the connector itself is decoupled to what is transfered, and while it caused the mess that is currently the sea of usb standards, it means that if we need more power or data throughput, it can be done without changing the plug.
Isn't this old news ?
I remember EU demanding manufacturers did that like 10 years ago (it was a huge mess before) and then all phones gradually switching to micro USB, which is pretty much standard across all phones and tablets and lots of other things now EXCEPT for Apple's. It's always fucking Apple.
I remember EU demanding manufacturers did that like 10 years ago (it was a huge mess before) and then all phones gradually switching to micro USB, which is pretty much standard across all phones and tablets and lots of other things now EXCEPT for Apple's. It's always fucking Apple.
Lighting connector pretty much screwed up iOS 13 with flash drives on my 2017 Pro. Can't even power one without a USB hub because lighting can't deliver enough power. It's a pretty dumb connector tbh when a regular USB connector many many years older than it can power and do more. So yeah, I wish the connector never even existed and they would have just stuck with what Android had.
Usb type C is just a connector. The industry has been able to innovate within its framework.
It is the plug that was chosen for USB 4.0 (aka thunderbolt 3)
It is the plug that was chosen for USB 4.0 (aka thunderbolt 3)
These are the different sockets in the EU but note that Red, Green and Teal are compatible to the blue standard.
Swiss uses different variations, but the newer "Eurosocket" form factor is also compatible to the blue standard.
That leaves the UK with the only non-compatible sockets in the EU. On the other hand "leave", "UK" and "EU" are interesting keywords.
???
Ireland ain't going anywhere pal.
Who gives a shit about some fancy innovation when the planet is fucking dying. This can save 50tonnes of waste. Fucking go for it. In this case a lot of people would benefit from a more convenient product and less cost once there is one cable to rule them all. After a while there won't be cables being packaged in EU phones because everyone already has enough.
Good, helps reduce the big carbon and environmental footprint chargers have which has been known for quite some time.
There is also very little innovation to be done in this area any ways, what an absurd concern that it will stifle it. The advantages outweigh it.
There is also very little innovation to be done in this area any ways, what an absurd concern that it will stifle it. The advantages outweigh it.
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I know this is a joke, but it feels like it doesn't work because it's too absurd/unlikely.
How? I know that the ones most of Europe use have the small advantage of being usable with either side up, but besides that, I don't know why/how one socket would be considered superior
Thought of Tom Scott as well. But I would have liked if he compared it to the EU shuko plug.
Won't someone please think of the billion dollar companies that are only trying to innovate and make our life so much better?
These are the different sockets in the EU but note that Red, Green and Teal are compatible to the blue standard.
Swiss uses different variations, but the newer "Eurosocket" form factor is also compatible to the blue standard.
That leaves the UK with the only non-compatible sockets in the EU. On the other hand "leave", "UK" and "EU" are interesting keywords.
UK sockets are the best anyway, from a safety point of view. Unless the plug is on the floor and you have bare feet, then your fucked.
The main downsides are that they're big and they're monodirectional. Everyone who's used them for decades knows the rigmarole of contorting yourself to plug something in behind a TV cabinet or down the back of the sofa because it only goes in one way (which also puts stress on the cable if you're plugging in something above the socket, which you usually are given the low height of most plug sockets), and they're a pain to thread into narrow spaces because of the bulky, right-angled design.
Just this morning I had to choose between dismantling a cubicle or rewiring the plug to install a new monitor because the bloody thing wouldn't fit down a cable tidy. And I ended up installing the plug sockets behind my TV upside down because otherwise it's impossible to neatly plug in a cable coming down from above.
I understand the advantages but it's definitely a design that could be improved and that I'd gladly switch to something more elegant if it was available.
Yeah this is basically a rite of passage for any Brit/Irish, walking in the dark and standing on one of those motherfuckers is true pain.