Comment by eru
3 hours ago
> Well, the USB committee did ask Apple for the superior connector, but for whatever reason they said no. So we're stuck with this.
They didn't need to ban all other connectors..
3 hours ago
> Well, the USB committee did ask Apple for the superior connector, but for whatever reason they said no. So we're stuck with this.
They didn't need to ban all other connectors..
Well good thing is that they didn't. The only thing you need is to provide a USB-C port for charging. Nothing stops a manufacturer adding additional ports for charging, data sharing etc.
So Apple could give people the ability to use their oh-so-superior Lightning cable while also being able to use USB-C for charging. If nothing else, it means that there are no longer any "does anyone have an iPhone charger" discussions at parties because people can just charge all their phones with USB-C.
> Well good thing is that they didn't. The only thing you need is to provide a USB-C port for charging. Nothing stops a manufacturer adding additional ports for charging, data sharing etc.
That's a bit silly. There's only so much space in eg a phone.
Apple switched to USB C years before legal standardization took place.
(actually, which single-vendor connector are we mourning, here? I forget.)
Yes, Apple switched to USB-C for some of their stuff.
So I'm not quite so sure why the EU needed to outlaw alternative chargers.
On one hand: It does seem a bit late to regulate that.
On the other hand: I used to work with a briefcase full of different phone cables, when the people that paid me had the swell idea to offer the service of transferring phone books between dumb phones and nobody agreed on how the connectors should be shaped. I think the number of them was >40. Some of them even looked identical in shape, but were not identical in function. Some were USB. Some were serial, with different voltages. Some used two data wires for serial comms, some used only one.
I was very pleased when we stopped doing that and I got to get rid of that stuff.
I'm also pleased that someone is making assurances that we won't go back to that way of doing things.
It's OK to have a common standard, and to stick with it. (It's also OK to draft a new standard when the old one turns old-and-busted somehow.)