USB C mandatory for iPhones in EU by 2024?

Given that USB-A & USB-B have been with us since the late 90s and you can still plug a mouse from that era and expect it to work (after the mandatory three insertion attempts and maybe some cursing, that is), I think it is fair to assume it will take some time until some other physical connector replaces USB-C.

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That misses the point though. What if USB-D is significantly better than USB-C?

Or to say it another way, what if this law had been passed several years ago mandating USB-A?

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I too remember that, but I have little faith in a bureaucracy to actually to make such a change in a timely manner.

And of course it also likely rule out any better items that are not available for everyone to use. Although that may be a good thing for users. :slight_smile:

Well, the iPhone 14 Pro is still using USB 2.0 some 22 years after the release of the standard. Seems it is not only regulators that have problems with making timely changes. :slightly_smiling_face:

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And this just in ā€¦

:slight_smile:

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Governments should not be involved with the design of electronic equipment. Voluntary standards bodies where the relevant companies cooperate on a standard is the way to go.

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The EU asked the companies to find a standard, and this was in the End denied by them.
The companies had their chances for a long timeā€¦

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ā€¦until the pysical connector isnā€™t that sturdy - and doesnā€™t really lock with a satisfying click.

Given the purported success of their MFI licensing program, I doubt that.

They could easily have changed with the introduction of wireless charging as an alternativen iPhone (and USB-C being well eatablished on iPads for a while). There wouldnā€™t have been a better time - and with the video recording capabilities of recent iPhone, thereā€™d actually be good reason to. Yet they chose not to.

As a matter of fact, Appleā€˜s ā€žcheap, low-qualityā€œ cables and computers donā€™t tell you.

Thunderbolt 3 or 4 - who knows? For the second generation, insiders will at least recognise the connector.

Noting that this situation is exactly the rationale given for the EU standard - that you wouldnā€™t have to use the cable that came with your device. If ā€œuse the cable that comes with your deviceā€ were an acceptable answer to the problem, this standard wouldnā€™t be necessary.

The issue comes when Device X requires USB-C Gen 2 or something like that, and Device Y requires USB-C Gen 3 (or 4, or 5, etc. on into the future).

Which cables are you finding that have clear markings on them? Appleā€™s own USB C charge cables are unmarked, from what I can tell. And Iā€™ve never really considered Appleā€™s cables ā€œlow costā€ or ā€œlow qualityā€.

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Thatā€™s how we end up with 10 different ā€œStandardsā€

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The cable, Apple puts into its boxes are, according to their tech specs, only for charging.
And that is reflected by the cable, as it is a USB-C cable, often without a special marking.
If you have a cable with a higher rating, that is really build according to the standards, it would for pretty sure be labeled, because this is, as far as I know, part of the standard and licensing!
If it is not labeled, consider it as PD, or Non-Standard (for whatever reason).

This is not really an issue at all!
You can always use the latest generation, to also use it with older devices!
And anyway, it is the same problem, user are faced with it right now, as I have 5 different cable on my desk, for different Gen. Devices or Specs.
This would be reduced to just two of them, if USB-C would have become a standard.

The law describes that new USB standards can be adopted. In principle it only limits companies to create their own ā€˜standardsā€™. My iPhone, AirPods and e-reader are the only devices i use regularly using some other connector. My iPad and MacBook already support usb-c so I do not see a problem with thisā€¦ I guess it would be pretty stupid if Apple would develop a new connector (not usb-c) to replace lightning on the iPhone ;).

From the proposal:

Will the proposal be an obstacle to innovation?

The Commissionā€™s proposal aims at providing consumers with an open and interoperable solution and, at the same time, enabling technological innovation. The proposal encourages innovation for wired and wireless technology charging.

Any technological developments in wired charging can be reflected in a timely adjustment of technical requirements/ specific standards under the Radio Equipment Directive. This would ensure that the technology used is not outdated.

At the same time, the implementation of any new standards in further revisions of Radio Equipment Directive would need to be developed in a harmonised manner, respecting the objectives of full interoperability. Industry is therefore expected to continue the work already undertaken on the standardised interface, led by the USB-IF organisation, in view of developing new interoperable, open and non-controversial solutions.

In addition, larger technological developments are expected in the area of wireless charging, which is still a developing technology with a low level of market fragmentation. In order to allow innovation in this field, the proposal does not set specific technical requirements for wireless charging. Therefore, manufacturers remain free to include any wireless charging solution in their products alongside the wired charging via the USB-C port.

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Sorry, but you are obviously in the wrong Thread!
WE are Talking about " USB C mandatory for iPhones in EU by 2024? " and this is ONLY about charging, and nothing else!!
If YOU want to talk about something different, I would recommend to open up a new Thread!

I agree with you that an easy way for consumers to ā€˜seeā€™ the capabilities of a cable would be a good idea. Itā€™s not always clear and most consumers are not familiar with all the standardsā€¦ they just look if the cable fits and might be disappointed when the cable is slow when copying files or charging.

This is indeed true, the law clearly talks about a standard for charging and allowing consumers to choose if they want a charger with their device or not.

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No, it has only Lightning!!
USB-C will be necessary as of 2024, and you can use the port for both, charging and data-transfer!

And NO, it is not relevant!
It is solely up to Apple, if they will fit there iPhone 16 with a T4 port, or a USB-C PD 2.0 one!
Both do have a USB-C connector, and that is the only thing, that is required by the law!
The LAW is about Charging, not about Data Transfer!
Everything else stays completely within the responsibility of the companies!
And BTW, nobody will need a 40GB/s Data transfer Rate with an iPhone with a 128GB RAM!

Thats up to Appleā€¦ they probably will not do that ;). The EU only requires a company to add usb-c for charging (unless the device is only charged wireless, like the Apple Watch). If a company wants to add a separate usb-c port for charging and another standard for data transfer thatā€™s fineā€¦

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Right. Iā€™m looking beyond the law here. The EUā€™s whole point in making the law was to make it so chargers were universal, but the reason for that was reducing e-waste.

I really have no objection to devices going USB-C. It will simplify the cables I have to carry significantly. But my issue with USB-C is always one of ā€œwhich cable is which, and how do I knowā€. I own several higher-end braided-sheathing USB-C cables, and if I didnā€™t know what they were because Iā€™d purchased them Iā€™d have no idea whether they were data, power, USB 2, USB 3, or whatever.

And letā€™s not even get into USB 3 naming. To borrow from elsewhere on the Internet:

The version numbers are confusing and donā€™t mean much as USB 3.0, USB 3.1 Gen 1 and USB 3.2 Gen 1 are all interchangeable and operate at 5 Gbps while USB 3.1 Gen 2 and USB 3.2 Gen 2 are the same, operating at 10 Gbps.

A law that required manufacturers to label their cablesā€¦now that I could get behind. :smiley:

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This Thread was about Coulmac stating that the regulation will be coming, and making an statement, that you could read above.
It is obvious, that you are complaining about USB-C, because you do not have a deeper knowledge about it, but reacting to someone else complaining on the Internet about USB-C.
I would recommend, that you inform yourself about USB-C, its different Standards, and usages, and then overthink if you really should complain in the way you did here, because this has no ground at all.

USB-C is the actual Standard for High-Speed DataTransfers, and it is with its T4-Standard currently the fastest, I could think about in that area.
You can get faster, if you want to plug a Fibre-Cable into your future iPhone, but this would be not able to charge the phone at the same time, unless someone is wrapping some cooper around it!

You should be happy, that the regulation is requiring USB-C (USB4 2.0/T5 with up to 80GB/s) for this, instead of e.g. Lightning (5 GB/s max) or MicroUSB(480MB/s max.)!