Nvidia is going to real disappointed if it is. They just announced plans to spend “hundreds of billions of $” on US chip production.
I’m don’t see that happening beyond the ability they offer for devs to store data in a user’s iCloud space for their apps.
The number of people they’d need to set it up and run it would be absolutely massive, and not worth the distraction for them.
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Yeah not likely, that’s the only thing I can see them invest in that would give them Apple scale growth numbers though. Either that or Cars and Health Care and they failed at cars.
Yes, but …
Whilst the popular image is of royalty and aristocrats being lined up to have their heads lopped off at the start of the revolution, in reality it was not then that the great majority of executions took place, but during the Reign of Terror that arose because of subsequent in fighting within the revolutionary movement. Many scores were settled by unfounded accusations and it was the working and middle classes who suffered the most.
There is a reasons why the French Presidency is the most powerful in the western world (in terms of his authority vs. the Parliament I know the US is more Powerful on the global stage). The french have a hard time with legislative deliberation so there is a lot of rule by fiat the French President can do when the situation arises. That is the legacy of the mob rule of the revolution.
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Will it? In a meaningful way that makes it worse than Apple continuing to use Lightning?
AFAIK, devices don’t have to use a physical charging port, they are allowed to have multiple charging ports (so a vendor can design a better charging port and include it if they really want), the regulations enforce a common standard (which the industry can agree to change should a better alternative be available), and USB-PD can already carry enough power to charge some very beefy devices and it seems like it will only go upwards from there.
Surely the ability to innovate still exists given those points above? Perhaps it’s limited to 95% of it being fully open but on the other hand we can now all have one single cable to charge anything.
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Let’s leave aside for the moment that USB-C isn’t a power port, but rather a power and data port, and just focus on charging. To me the question is pretty simple.
You’re arguing that Apple changed because the EU forced them to. I’d tend to agree. But I would also argue that now companies won’t change because the EU is, effectively, incentivizing them not to.
The EU legislation looked at the market, and realized that it was standardizing on USB-C anyway. So the EU mandated USB-C. But now that the market is MANDATED to use USB-C going forward, the “we’ll look around and see what the market is doing” method ceases to be a useful tool.
Companies won’t, as a rule, add another charging port. Tooling costs (and parity costs - if the proprietary port does fast charging, the USB-C port has to as well) will mean they’ll stick with the port that they’re mandated to use, whether or not they have a better idea.
The EU set out to legislate in order to change the market. It shouldn’t be that difficult to believe that the legislation actually changed the market. 
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I very much agree with the right to repair and use. I’m not sure precisely what you mean by right to connect, though. If you’re referring to cabling, as long as you have a connection option I think I’m okay with it. If you are talking about a more general right to connect devices of your choosing to other devices of your choosing, I agree with that for sure.
Yes. This is exactly how I see the issue with respect to mandating ports/cables.
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Industry isn’t mandated to use USB-C forever, it can propose an alternative charging standard any time it wants. Effectively it’s mandated to work collaboratively on an area that should be standardised. The rules are actually saving Apple money since it no longer needs to include a charger and cable with every device sold.
Yes, wouldn’t that be a shame. There’s hardly any profit on those things as it is…
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I also believe that it’s not the full USB-C standard as such that is mandated. It’s the charging port shape, and that it should maintain compability.
So, if Apple wants to put Thunderbolt 5 ports on all their íPhones, that is fine. The connector shape is the same, and the position of the charging connectors are in the same place. You can still charge it using any random USB-C charger.
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I would find it shocking if industry – at the level that it exists on the EU commission – were willing to propose a new standard without substantial market testing. The more layers of abstraction you have between the people actually designing the products and the people making the decision, the more conservative the decisions tend to be. This is especially true when you add the numerous additional obligations to consider environmental impact, etc.
But let’s say that it was solely a matter of technical feasibility and market viability. Given the fact that all of the members of the standards commission are European organizations, where would you propose they get the type of data they need to make the decision?
Apple is doing just fine but, from what I read, it is an expensive stock because investors expect it to continue to grow.
“Apple generated $387 billion in revenue for fiscal 2024, representing a modest 2.8% growth from the previous year – significantly below its 10-year average of 9.6% annual average”
Yes, and this is the main thing that’s currently killing our planet. The very concept that 387 BILLION USD for a single year somehow isn’t enough and investors still expecting infinite growth.
A cancer does this to perfection, right up until the moment it kills its host.
Whoops…
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Yes, but what? A Reign of Terror with killing on all sides is not a good way to begin a long and honourable tradition …
But that’s exactly what happened to standardise power outlets in the home. There’s still a genuine competitive market in that field (including ones that have usb-A and usb-C ports next to the socket!)
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The long and honourable tradition that sees government as the embodiment of the people, or at least with a deep obligation to work for their benefit, did not start with the French revolution and ultimately reflects a particular understanding of Christianity (see Tom Holland’s book “Dominion”). Feudal Monarchs and Lords had obligations to their subjects and duties to their well-being. When these were neglected, revolutions happened (in England, France and elsewhere) but the aim was to replace the monarch who was bad at serving the people, with a representative government so government could be by and for the people.
I’m confused. When was the last time the standard for a three-prong power outlet changed?
The issue here is whether a better standard can come along in the future, and replace USB-C. AFAIK that hasn’t happened with power outlets since the early 1970s - and all pre-1970s devices worked with the new outlets, since all they did was add an optional ground wire.
The USB-A/USB-C additions to power outlets aren’t useful comparisons, because they’re also backward-looking. The power outlet industry isn’t innovating new power connectors - they’re just responding to what consumers already have.
In the EU, “what consumers already have” is now legally mandated - it’s USB-C. Any market that responds to consumer demand will therefore standardize on USB-C. Any company attempting to change consumer demand will have to spend the extra money to do it while also offering USB-C. And for the EU to change their standard, their commission is legally mandated to consider the environmental impact of having to make the changeover from USB-C to whatever new standard comes along.
It’s a very clear recipe for stagnation.
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