... fuck 'em.

Apple have been far better than the rest of the industry, I can't recall how many chargers I had whilst Apple stayed with the 30 pin (2003-2012), and there have been quite a few since they switched to lightning. (I counted them at one point, and it really is shocking).

Lighting was, whilst proprietary, an improvement over the micro-usb that was starting to become common in phones at the time.

Technically USBc allows massive connectivity options, and is a fairly resilient reversible connector, so I don't see that there is a particular reason *not* to use it any more, but maintaining support for their connectors for a decade at a time does somewhat slow down change.

I understand two things in this plan :

1) there is finally a chance that I no longer have to store 50 different chargers "just in case"

2) Apple is no longer to make a mint by purposefully designing chargers that are just slightly different for every one of its models so that it can extract a maximum of additional moolah from the idiots that buy from it

I think I would be quite happy with point #1 if I bought Apple gear, and I am very, very happy with with point #2 in any case.

Stop the waste. Be more customer-friendly.

Besides, your phones hardly differ from one year to the next. Stop churning out clones every 12 months.

all my apple chargers have usb-a connections, I can plug any usb-a cable in to them and use them for powering all sorts of stuff, I even have usb-a to dc round connectors for different things. Amazon sells some usb-a to dc cables that you can change the output voltage, useful for powering stuff from those cheap power banks.

To be fair one of mine isn't USB-A, it's USBc...

Oh, and a couple are magsafe... but that's not really the target here (it's still the best feature to have been removed from basically any product line)

How does that happen? All the kit I have uses plug in USB devices - mainly with USB-A sockets, but some new ones now have USB-C.

The only difference between the "chargers" is the cable used to connect them to the plug-in part. Sure, that does mean I have a set of cables (USB-x to Lightning, USB-C, micro-usb and mini-usb), but they are really consumables as they wear over over time - which would be a problem if they are attached to the charger, but they're not.

“a spokesperson for Apple told The Reg - you heard that right - that while it "shares the European Commission's commitment to protecting the environment,"

As an iPhone owner this comment bugs me. It’s entirely obvious that USB-C should have been adopted by Apple, not only for environmental reasons, but also for performance reasons.

And if Tim was really caring for the environment he wouldn’t be pushing convenient but lazy and very energy-wasteful wireless charging which some tests have shown to use 50% more power than cable charging.

Lead by example Apple, practice what you preach.

As an iPhone owner this comment bugs me. It’s entirely obvious that USB-C should have been adopted by Apple, not only for environmental reasons, but also for performance reasons.

usb-c came well after apple adopted lightning and teamed with intel on thunderbolt.

Thunderbolt adopting the usb-c port confused a lot of things, but thunderbolt has always been faster than usb.

for reference usb3.1 can do 10gbs while thunderbolt 2 did 20gbps. my 2016 MBP does tb3 at 40gbps.

https://www.techradar.com/uk/news/computing-components/peripherals/thunderbolt-vs-usb-3-0-vs-esata-931343

usb4 released in 2019 is based on tb3.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunderbolt_(interface)#USB4

Apple consistently pushed the performance envelope, first with lighting (usbv2 speed but a smaller connection) then with intel and thunderbolt pushing multiple gb/s.

there are a number of fast usb charging standards that can supply more wattage and voltage than than the basic usb spec if both ends are compliant.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_hardware#USB_Power_Delivery

that is outside of apple's influence though.

I can charge all my PD spec & non PD spec devices happily off my MBP & iPad Pro high 20+w wattage chargers.

not wrong with the chargers, getting the right cable though is yet another amazon purchase. Do remember a charging cable won't do hi speed data transfer, at best you'll get usbv2 (480mbps) speeds.

Then Apple has no problem. The port on the charger they used to ship (and that connects with the cable they include) is USB-C. It is only the port on the phone that isn't USB-C.

Are they worried about "one charger" or "one charging cable"? Is there a link to what they are proposing anywhere?

What happens if Apple decides to have no port at all, and charge wirelessly? Would that be allowed or would the proposed EU rule ban that as well?

My understanding of the EU proposal is that the charging connector on the phone should be a standard. I agree, make them all USB-C. If Apple have any complaints, they are welcome to join the standards committee for whatever comes after USB-C... After all if its gonna be replaced in 5-10 years' time, they have to start working on it now.

For once I'm not sure it will...

USBc has a decently long life ahead of it. It's already pushing 40Gbps traffic and 100W of power.

Neither of those are going to be needed by a phone any time soon.

It's also a reversible, half decent connector - something that the USB consortium doesn't seem to have managed until now.

This is a good idea if done properly, but there are lots of gaps in the proposals. This could rapidly lead to a set of mixed priorities. I'm interested to see how this pans out.

To make it work, they need a couple of additional policies to make the power bricks from better designs and better quality components so that the things still work reliably after several years and the capacitors inside them have not all dried out, hence making the thing useless. They also need to ensure that they meet the spec in terms of stability of voltage, clean DC out and meeting the rated current for the full USB-C interface, so that newer / larger devices can charge properly.

We've all seen those cheap-o chargers that produce low voltage and some devices won't charge on them, or many that don't meet their stated current.

To fix all of this, they could mandate that they are maintainable so that people can get in and swap out faulty components when this happens. But this means more on the right to repair and conversely, mains power carries risks and sealed units keeps people out of them, so what are their real priorities and how do all of these cogs fit together ??

What about the cable from the charger - will that be pluggable since the cables get a hard life due to all the manual handling and insertions / removal.

What do I do when I've got 5 new devices and only 2 working chargers ? I still need to get more of them. This is the same with electric car charging. Either someone / something looses out with a flat device / car or it costs a lot more money to get to the point where I can charge all my gadgets easily and not have to worry about all this faffing about.

Time to think again about Tesla (the real one, not Elon) and the world charging field, that would remove all the dedicated chargers too.

> it remains "concerned that strict regulation mandating just one type of connector stifles innovation rather than encouraging it

Strewth, what possible innovation could there possibly be in the design of a connector for putting electricity into your phone with a cable that would make so much difference that it justifies the generation of tons of e-waste every year?

some people use that connection for hi speed data transfer too.

So you're saying we should have stuck with micro-USB? Or is now the right time to freeze the standard because USB-C is definitely as good as it can get and won't be a hindrance in the future?

I'm also sceptical about the claims of tonnes of e-waste, the last time I looked at the paper the claim was based on they seemed to assume everyone threw away their old charger when they got a new phone*. But most people I know keep them so they have a spare, one at work, in the living room etc.

*It was a bit unclear what their methodology was but it was the only way the numbers could add up.

Just like the "no one will ever need more than 640K".

Let's hope the requirement is worded to prevent Apple chipping its connector so that only Apple-approved USB-C connectors work. I'm sure that Apple has already got legal, commercial and engineering teams working out how they can fuck us over on this.

Oh you sweet innocent child.

Apple will DRM each charger to a specific phone, if you have 2 phones you have 2 chargers. If you need a 2nd charger for the same phone these can be purchased and installed by your local Apple store

Indeed, there are also concerns that if the rules are introduced too quickly it could mean that perfectly good tech with plenty of shelf life gets dumped prematurely.

If your charger breaks, and it is the only one you had with an old style connector, there are thousands advertised on eBay every day. If your device breaks, who can resist buying a new one. Especially since you will already have a USB-A charger or 3 in a drawer and a USB-A to USB-C cable.

The only thing that stifles innovation is Apple with their attempts to maintain a walled garden and forcing their customers to update all their gear because the new stuff doesn't have at least 1 previous style of port.

I have a single Anker 5 port in the house (and 1 at work that is around 6 years old now and a 12v model in the car. It charges All my kit from several makers, but I also buy decent quality cables for my kit, given that many manufacturers are not supplying a power brick with new kit I wonder Where is this “mountain” coming from? Far better to outlaw the cheap chargers that have no longevity and those with fixed cables.

I am surprised how many people don't use multi-port supplies from Anker, Aukey, RavPower et al. They are excellent.

The ones I get bundled with any kit go straight in the eco recycling bin. (To be dumped in a 3rd world country or illegally incinerated, probably.)

The Apple USB-C charger : only $89.99

@Howard Sway

you forgot to mention the 20 watt usb c charger for 20 quid. About 27.44 dollars

you lie!!!

in all seriousness though, what happens when someone comes up with a new connection standard that is somehow better than & incompatible with the current usb thing the EU want everyone to use?

we would then have 2 connections and increased cost?

what if Apple decide not to have a connection at all, will they be forced to put a USB port on all their portable stuff when its not needed?

I'm all for standardisation but enforced standardisation seems a bit to far.

are the EU mandating mini/micro usb or is it usb-c?

I'm happy with usb-c connector and would be grateful if everything used it, would cut down the number of cables I need, but I do have a load of cables with usb-a on 1 side and 3 connectors (usb-c, lightning, micro usb) on the other that are useful especially in the car and our hallway where I have a usb-c connected wireless dock & can still use the micro usb & lighting connectors, all 3 at the same time if I need.

Lastly, the cheap usb-c cables tend to only permit charging & are no good for data transfer, or only permit usb2 (400mbs) speeds on transfer.

You are asking difficult questions. By the time this will be a problem, people who wasted tax payer money on this, will be long time lounging somewhere at the beach or already working on another problem that will need "solving".

Why? If it exists now, you'll have a charger for it...

This was probably years of meetings, dinners, getaways, commissioned research, analysis, more dinners, banquets, field trips, and who knows how much tax payer money spent to come up with something there is probably no need for. I mean the numbers if massaged well enough may indeed look dramatic, but it's a bit like "Look, the pleb has 30 chargers! They are literally hoarding precious metals! The pleb can only have 3 chargers tops!"

Now, it's not wild to imagine, that bureaucrats once sniffed no resistance, will be going further. For example you will have to register your charger with your local authority and you will be allowed to buy once charger per year only with a valid recycling receipt. Of course you will be able to buy as many chargers as you want from a bloke down the road, but police will be keeping an eye on that - it's always good to keep police away from corruption and other serious crimes.

Then they'll start moaning there is no money for all these great green initiatives and they raise taxes again. Only a matter of time, when the taxes will approach 100%... The ultimate communist dream.

Of course you will be able to buy as many chargers as you want from a bloke down the road, but police will be keeping an eye on that - it's always good to keep police away from corruption and other serious crimes.

is that guy pinging you on whats app too?

Sorry, too stunned to take in article. APPLE? SPOKE TO ELREG?!?!

Stop Apple lobbying against Right To Repair. Force them to supply schematics and parts to independent repair shops. You know, like what companies used to do. Open up an old telly and the schematic was printed on the back cover.

If ever Apple end up going into their will-they-won't-they electric car biz, then expect age old standard things like tyres to be a special Apple design available only from Apple and fitted by their own Genius Mechanics.

As for the charging connector in these vehicles - well, let's see, do they have any prior form with following industry practice when it comes to charging connectors?

From the Apple website for iPhone 13

In the Box

iPhone with iOS 15

USB-C to Lightning Cable

Documentation

No charger, so you have to supply one yourself.