The EU have voted today to adopt the USB-C standard charging plug.
Smartphones, tablets, including the Apple iPhone and iPad, have to use a USB-C charger plug from 2024.
Laptop manufacturers have until 2026 to make the change.
2 Likes
Apple are NOT happy!
2 Likes
Appleās position is ridiculous. I have an iPhone, an iPad and a Macbook Pro. Itās very annoying to have to buy adaptor cables to accommodate their out of date lightning connector on my iPhone and the latest iPhone 14 Pro, barely released, is still using the lightning connector. FFS as my kids would say (whatever that means 
)
1 Like
Appleās argument is that this rule stifles development and it should be left to tech companies, not legislators, to make such decisions. I suppose they have a point, although I canāt say Iām a fan of the Lightning connector.
To be fair to the EU, much as I dislike their approach to many such issues, thereās no getting away from the fact that environmental factors need to be given top priority in pretty much every decision making process.
5 Likes
I know thatās their argument, but as a tech savvy customer I think itās total nonsense and they should just get on with doing what they are told to do.
4 Likes
I think their argument would be great if they could back it up with something better than a Lightning connector. On the face of it they have no choice but to do as they are told, and as it stands that is, I agree, the best option, although my confidence in the authorities in question to get such legislation right is not always so high. Best not say too much more about that in case itās deemed to be too political!
1 Like
Thereās standardised connections for electric cars and no one has kicked off.
Apple need to grow up.
2 Likes
Believe Apple are already using USB-C connectors on some of their productsā¦?
āNew models of the iPad and MacBook use USB-C charging portsā¦ā
My sons MacBook is USB-Cā¦ 
1 Like
If āstifling developmentā equates to āstifling our ability to restrict how you can use our device by locking you in to our after-market productsā, Iām with the EU.
Douglas Adams wrote an article in MacUser (oh, the irony!) in 1996 (yes, thatās right, nearly 30 years ago), describing the situation of having so many incompatible standards for power cables and plugs as āsheer blinding idiocyā. Apple might be whining, but they canāt say they didnāt know this was a problem.
Iāll say it again: nearly three decades ago!
Mark
3 Likes
Yes itās only iPhones that Apple is objecting to putting usb-c on.
As an Apple user , tuf ti**tie.
Being a cynic itās probably because 3rd party accessory manufacturers will no longer be paying a fee for Mifi certification of connectors/adapters etc using lightning plugs.
I just hope this doesnāt push them to rely more and more on less efficient āmagneticā charging solution - all their bloody magnets drive me potty - I had a fork stuck to my iPad Pro cover/keyboard yesterday.
Donāt get me started on the danger to my floppy discs, credit cards and compact cassettes 
Iām partly serious btw!
2 Likes
Iām also sure Apple will find a way to turn this into a reason for even more expensive accessories!
2 Likes
Having just replaced my old iMac with a newer one which involved spending a few hundred pounds on cables and adapters, I agree with Douglas. Apple seem to develop a new standard every few years.
2 Likes
Itās fun to rip on Apple, but theyāre only on their second-ever connector for their iPhone. No other maker has been as stable in terms of so-called āstandardsā. The reason Apple didnāt adopt third-party standards is because they were rubbish. The lightning connector is fit-for purpose, reliable, and goes in both ways! It is way better than either the mini or (truly terrible) micro USB. But USB-C is excellent, hence Apple adopting it for their iPads and MacBooks. USB-C is overkill for a phone in terms of current capacity for charging. It is also more bulky. Apple will adapt, but their phones will be (slightly) worse as a consequence.
Anyway, once USB-C becomes superseded by a better option, the merry-go-round starts again. I think the EU are over-reaching here.
3 Likes
Except that they donāt. Their portable computers are only only their third power connector type, and their phones on their second.
What on earth did you have to buy for a āfew hundred poundsā? iMacs come with a power cable in the box, as well as two USB-C to Lightning connectors (for phones, keyboards and mouse charging). Adaptors for USB-C to other standards are a few quid. Theyāve used Thunderbolt for many years. Yeah, connectors change over time, but Apple arenāt the bad guys here. Try finding a cable to plug-in your Sony phone.
Next needed is standardising of electric bike charging voltage and sockets - every bike seems to have a different one. In France in some places there are public bike chargers, which seems like a good move. I donāt know if they have some sort of standard there, or if it is simply a mains outlet requiring everyone to carry their own chargers with them.
Mine is an iMac not a laptop. Only one lead included to plug in my iPhone
I had to get:
Adapters to plug standard usb devices in
Adapters to plug in my existing hard drive as they changed from one Thunderbolt standard to another
Cables to plug in my micro usb camera
I think Apple are great but it is annoying
1 Like
I didnāt know about the Thunderbolt change. Because Apple have always had third-party compatible sockets, Iāve never needed to use Thunderbolt.
The adapter is admittedly not all that cheapā¦
The other cables are less than a tenner each.
I think i needed that and another as my external drive was maybe 2 generations back. But that was where my backup sat so my hands were tied.
I bought the apple official cables. Iām sure shopping around I could have got them for the prices youāre suggesting