EU Parliament agrees on proposal to force Apple to use USB-C on all devices (including iPhones), only allows small devices like watches to go portless

[Neoxon]

 

The EU takes the next steps towards solidifying the USB-C mandate, with a specification that the wireless-only exception only applies to devices too small for a USB-C port (citing smart watches, health trackers, & some sports equipment as examples of this). And going by other sources, members of the EU are hoping to enact the mandate 6 months after ratification. So since Parliament is planning to approve this draft negotiating position at the May plenary session, the mandate will likely force Apple to switch to USB-C by the iPhone 15 (or earlier, such as the rumored iPhone SE redesign). AirPods will likely also have to make the switch, as they are big enough to fit a USB-C port in place of their existing Lightning ports. Likewise, the EU also expresses a desire to enforce a similar mandate for wireless charging by 2026, which may impact Apple's emerging MagSafe standard.

Quote

On Wednesday the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee adopted its position on the revised Radio Equipment Directive with 43 votes in favour (2 against).

 

The new rules would make sure consumers no longer need a new charger and cable every time they purchase a new device, and can use one charger for all of their small and medium-sized electronic gadgets. Mobile phones, tablets, digital cameras, headphones and headsets, handheld videogame consoles and portable speakers, rechargeable via a wired cable, would have to be equipped with a USB Type-C port, regardless of the manufacturer. Exemptions would apply only for devices that are too small to have a USB Type-C port, such as smart watches, health trackers, and some sports equipment.

 

This revision is part of a broader EU effort to address product sustainability, in particular of electronics on the EU market, and to reduce electronic waste.

 

MEPs also want to see clear information and labelling on new devices about charging options, as well as whether a product includes a charger. This would, they say, help to avoid confusion and ease purchasing decisions for consumers that often own several different devices and do not always need additional chargers.

 

With the growing usage of wireless charging, MEPs want the European Commission to present a strategy by the end of 2026 that allows for minimum interoperability of any new charging solutions. The goal is to avoid a new fragmentation in the market, to continue to reduce environmental waste, ensure consumer convenience and avoid so-called “lock-in” effects created by proprietary charging solutions.

 

Rapporteur Alex Agius Saliba (MT, S&D) said: “With half a billion chargers for portable devices shipped in Europe each year, generating 11,000 to 13,000 tonnes of e-waste, a single charger for mobile phones and other small and medium electronic devices would benefit everyone. It will help the environment, further help the re-use of old electronics, save money, and reduce unnecessary costs and inconvenience for both businesses and consumers. We are proposing a truly comprehensive policy intervention, building on the Commission’s proposal by calling for the interoperability of wireless charging technologies by 2026 and improving information given to consumers with dedicated labels. We are also expanding the proposal’s scope by adding more products, such as laptops, that will need to comply with the new rules.”

 

Once Parliament as a whole has approved this draft negotiating position at the May plenary session, MEPs will be ready to start talks with EU governments on the final shape of the legislation.

Quote

However, many vendors have since moved into USB-C technology, while Apple has persisted with proprietary ports, introducing the ‘Lightning’ connector with the iPhone 5 back in 2013. The European Commission (EC) has become increasingly frustrated at a lack of progress by the industry to find a compromise and is now ready to legislate to force their hand.

 

Given the common charging standard would most likely be USB-C, Apple would be disproportionately affected by the new rules. The company would either have to create a special edition of its products for Europe, or would be forced to change the design for all markets around the world.

 

Apple opposes any mandate, arguing that it would lead to a huge amount of electronic waste as consumers dispose of their old Lightning chargers.

 

However the EU believes a common charger will reduce e-waste volumes as all cables would be interchangeable between devices. When Apple switched from its old 30-pin connector to Lightning, some accessories became unusable or required an additional adapter to function.

 

Proposed rules were first published last year and lawmaker Alex Agius Saliba told Reuters he hopes the legislative assembly will be able to vote on them this May, paving the way for discussions with member states on a final draft.

 

He added that he would like the rules to come into effect within six months after adoption rather than a more usual two years so they would have more immediate effect. This means that the iPhone 15 could be the first Apple device to be affected.

 

In an ideal world, Agius Saliba would like rules to go even further, and cover other categories of electronic devices and laptops believing not to do so would be a “missed opportunity”. Furthermore, he would like harmonisation of wireless charging standards by 2025.

I'm glad that the EU is taking standardization seriously, while also leaving Apple with little choice but to go USB-C for future iPhones & AirPods. The original theory was that Apple would go portless to side-step the EU mandate. But not only does the supposed 6-month timeframe for enforcement after ratification not leave Apple with enough time to make the transition to going fully wireless with charging & data transfer (rumors indicate that Apple should've gone fully wireless by now, with no major signs of that happening with the iPhone 14), the specification that only small devices like smart watches & health trackers can go wireless-only effectively takes away Apple's loophole. So at this point, Apple has no choice but to go USB-C for iPhone & AirPods unless they want to face punishment from the EU.

 

Sources

European Parliament, TechRadar

[BachChain]

So what happens in 10 years when the next connector comes along

[Neoxon]

1 minute ago, BachChain said:

So what happens in 10 years when the next connector comes along

The mandate isn't married to USB-C & will be revisited every few years in the event a better standard comes up.

[poochyena]

based

[DANK_AS_gay]

8 minutes ago, Neoxon said:

So at this point, Apple has no choice but to go USB-C for iPhone & AirPods

Finally. It's so frustrating to have my MacBook have USB-C, and my iPhone to have Lightning. Lightning was a good idea, back when it came out. It was actually competitive, but with so many devices going to USB-C, which is arguably better in almost every way (it is less durable in terms of things getting stuck in the port, I cannot make any claims about # of plug insertions and removals), and Apple already using it on their other devices, like the iPad Pro, there really is no excuse.

Edited April 21, 2022 by DANK_AS_gay
Added video for context

[HanZie82]

Fan of standardization, but not sure forcing certain company's to change is the best option.
But then if they actively work against right to repair and such, yeah no mercy.

[DANK_AS_gay]

4 minutes ago, HanZie82 said:

Fan of standardization, but not sure forcing certain company's to change is the best option.
But then if they actively work against right to repair and such, yeah no mercy.

You should see the video (I edited my post). If Apple actually updated lightning, and it was on par with USB-C in every other way, AND Apple reduced the licensing fee or whatever that is called for other people to use in their devices, it would be hard for the EU to tell them to switch over to the worse port. But since it is still on USB 2.0, and the only advantage it has over USB-C is its durability, there is no real competition.

( they aren't fighting right to repair in this instance, and if they are, they do legitimately have the excuse that lightning is actually better for the end user, since it is more durable. This is more an issue of causing more unnecessary waste, just so they can continue getting money off of licensees that make the cables).

[Lightwreather]

Watch apple jump their iPhones to a portless design just to spite them /s

[DANK_AS_gay]

Just now, J-from-Nucleon said:

Watch apple jump their iPhones to a portless design just to spite them /s

They actually are being blocked from doing specifically this

15 minutes ago, Neoxon said:

But not only does the supposed 6-month timeframe for enforcement after ratification not leave Apple with enough time to make the transition to going fully wireless with charging & data transfer (rumors indicate that Apple should've gone fully wireless by now, with no major signs of that happening with the iPhone 14), the specification that only small devices like smart watches & health trackers can go wireless-only effectively takes away Apple's loophole.

I know this was a joke (the /s), but I am kinda confused. What did I miss? Was it sarcasm? (what does /s mean? Sarcasm or satire?)

[demonix00]

Remember the last time the EU wanted everyone to adopt a single standard.

 

It still didn't go their way.

[Blademaster91]

5 minutes ago, DANK_AS_gay said:

They actually are being blocked from doing specifically this

I would expect Apple to find some loophole, or just include a USB-C dongle in the box, or fight the EU over fines.

[jaslion]

Finally and hopefully this one actually sticks.

[Neoxon]

2 minutes ago, demonix00 said:

Remember the last time the EU wanted everyone to adopt a single standard.

 

It still didn't go their way.

If you’re referring to the last time the EU trying to get everyone to use a universal port, that was more of a request than a hard mandate. And back then, Apple tried to circumvent it by bundling a microUSB adapter with iPhones released in Europe. What the EU is doing now is the latter, a requirement that all phones have a universal port on the device itself (which, in this case, is USB-C) with every theorized loophole plugged.

[jaslion]

Just now, Blademaster91 said:

I would expect Apple to find some loophole, or just include a USB-C dongle in the box, or fight the EU over fines.

The loophole would be to make the phone too thin.

[DANK_AS_gay]

1 minute ago, jaslion said:

The loophole would be to make the phone too thin.

Remember the iPhone 6?

[Neoxon]

2 minutes ago, Blademaster91 said:

I would expect Apple to find some loophole, or just include a USB-C dongle in the box, or fight the EU over fines.

Apple tried this years ago (see my previous post), & now the EU is requiring that the standardized port (USB-C, in this case) be on the device itself.

[drdrewnatic]

Knowing Apple, they'll probably find some stupid technicality in this to avoid it though this one seems more promising.

[jaslion]

3 minutes ago, DANK_AS_gay said:

Remember the iPhone 6?

Yeah it wasn't too thin for a micro b one. We've had thinner phones from other brands.

[Derangel]

I'm all for anything that gets Apple to ditch Lightening, but I'd rather the EU stay the hell away from standardizing wireless charging. Basically every single notable wireless charging device already uses Qi (yes. even Apple devices) and getting rid of great optional things like MagSafe would really suck.

 

1 minute ago, jaslion said:

The loophole would be to make the phone too thin.

 

Apple is moving away from the "as thing as possible" design philosophy. It would take at least a couple generations for Apple to making anything thin enough to bypass this requirement and without some pretty significant structural support the phone would bend just from the heat generated from charging it. If Apple can't find a way to fit it, they'll likely just go along with it and that'll be that. They're already moving most of their devices over to USB-C anyway. I wouldn't be surprised if they were already planning on migrating iPhones away from Lightening at some point in the next couple generations as is. 

[DANK_AS_gay]

Just now, jaslion said:

Yeah it wasn't too thin for a micro b one. We've had thinner phones from other brands.

I'm talking about the bending. You can't make it much thinner without compromising in every regard, something that Apple cannot afford to do. Who wants an iPhone 14 with a smaller battery, and worse cameras.

[Needfuldoer]

4 minutes ago, drdrewnatic said:

Knowing Apple, they'll probably find some stupid technicality in this to avoid it though this one seems more promising.

Every iPhone sold in the EU will come bundled with a free wrist-mount case! 

 

"It tells time, it straps to your wrist, therefore it's exempt from this legislation because it's a watch."

[tikker]

As much as Apple is the main one opposing this, I do feel like the title is making it sound like these are measures specifically against Apple, which the linked EU source does not mention. It's just the universal charging proposal.

 

As for the proposal, happy to see them agree on it.

[Shreyas1]

inb4 regionlocked eu iphone

[drdrewnatic]

2 minutes ago, DANK_AS_gay said:

I'm talking about the bending. You can't make it much thinner without compromising in every regard, something that Apple cannot afford to do. Who wants an iPhone 14 with a smaller battery, and worse cameras.

*cough* 2018 iPad Pro *cough*

[DANK_AS_gay]

Just now, drdrewnatic said:

*cough* 2018 iPad Pro *cough*

Apple is moving away from the stupid design thing, or at least I thought so until the Studio display.