back to article EU move to standardise phone chargers is bad news for Apple

In a move that'll be cheered by phone users the world over, the European Union has decided that mobile phones should have a standard charger plug. In a unanimous vote, the EU's Internal Market Committee decided that there's no good reason the charger should be treated as a proprietary secret. As German MEP Barbera Weiler put …

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    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Standardised connector

      If it was not Apple we would all agree Lightning is the better solution - unfortunately some people cannot accept Apple on any terms and would rather stick with an inferior design.

    2. PeterM42

      Re: Standardised connector

      I presume the "standard" will be microUSB. At least that WORKS - unlike SCART which is a heap of C.R.A.P.

    3. Jim 59

      appeal and elegance

      ...it's an electrical connector FPS.

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Apple's not the bad guy here

    You guys must remember back in 2007 (when the iPhone was released) that it was par for course for cell phones to have proprietary connectors. If you tried to buy an aftermarket charger for your phone at Best Buy you were faced with literally a wall of dozens of different adapters. Each manufacturer used several different kinds of connectors. It was rare for phones to have mini-USB connectors, and even when they did, some would refuse to charge unless they were plugged into their own proprietary wall wart (I'm looking at you, Motorola).

    Apple was a standout in this situation for using the same connector for ALL its devices for something like 8-9 solid years.

    It's nice that everybody has more or less standardized on micro-USB now but don't complain about Apple... for all we know, they might have started the ball rolling on standardized connectors when people realized they didn't necessarily have to get all new accessories every time they got a different model of phone.

    1. J. R. Hartley

      Re: Apple's not the bad guy here

      The only company that did chargers properly before micro USB was Nokia. In the end, even they messed it up by making the 'mini-Nokia' connector standard.

      (The cynic in me reckons the only reason they did that was to try and shift some new chargers.

      I mean, the average UK household has 2.675 old Nokia chargers*)

      *possibly

      1. julianh72

        Re: Apple's not the bad guy here

        Probably more than "2.675 old Nokia chargers* in the average household (or did you mean "2,675 old Nokia chargers"?

    2. Tom 35

      Re: Apple's not the bad guy here

      Up until they changed from 12V charge to 5 Volt only (even their own speaker doc was affected, along with lots of car docs. It might have been the same plug but they made a few changes during it's life.

      Now they changed it to a new plug and don't even have the excuse of needing lots of extra pins any more but still went for an Apple Tax non-standard cable.

      1. danbi

        Re: an Apple Tax non-standard cable

        That costs a whooping 1 UKP on Amazon.co.uk?

        Apple must be selling billions of those to collect enough cash to survive...

        1. Tom 35

          Re: an Apple Tax non-standard cable

          If you look at Amazon.co.uk most of the non-apple brand names seem to charge £12-15 for a cable. There are cheaper no-name knock-off cables but I expect they are not paying the Apple Tax (and some reviews say they don't work with iOS7 due to lack of the Apple chip). I don't see anything as cheap as £1.

          http://www.amazon.co.uk/Belkin-Lightning-Charge-iPhone-iPad4th/dp/B00BCIR21E/ref=sr_1_5?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1380545001&sr=1-5&keywords=apple+lightning+cable

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Apple's not the bad guy here

      We've got a bunch of tablets and smartphones that need charging at various times around the office I work in. We've got a drawer full of micro-USB and mini-USB cables and chargers. Every single one of the devices charges with these cables just fine - except when some goofball forgets to bring a proprietary charger from home for their latest favorite iToy.

      So, in the real world, I would have to say it definitely IS Apple that's the bad guy here.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Apple's not the bad guy here

        funny, this is the comment section of a technical website, yet some people posting can't seem able to distinguish between 'charger' and 'cable'. Apple haven't had a proprietary chargers for donkeys years.

    4. Sampler

      Re: Apple's not the bad guy here

      Back in 2007 I was on my second HTC which was still using mini-usb, they changed to micro when I got my fourth as it was around the time the EU decided that was the way to go and stuck since - so if you're claiming anyone had commonsense when it came to chargers you'll have to look at the fallen.

      (yes, I know they had their own version of mini-usb but that was just for their dongles and a standard adaptor would work perfectly fine)

      Oddly though, the lightening connector on my works iPhone5 is about the only thing I like about it, good size and doesn't mind which way around you stick it in (not that that's a massive issue, just nice not to try and connect, turn it around, try it again, turn it around, straight in...every...time..)

    5. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Apple's not the bad guy here

      Are you sure? Back then my smartphones (Palm Treos and HTCs) already used a micro USB cable both for charging and connecting to a PC. No need to use proprietary connectors.

    6. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Apple's not the bad guy here

      Eh, let them have their five minute hate. If Apple had a plug that, as a side function, cured cancer, they'd hate on it for being proprietary.

  2. Zack Mollusc

    With the billions of dollars at their disposal, I am sure that Apple will move heaven and earth to find a way of making it crappy and annoying.

    1. Vociferous

      Probably. They make a lot of money off their proprietary chargers.

    2. veti Silver badge

      If I were Apple - I'd put the charging port on the phone, as required by law, but (unless this too is explicitly required) I wouldn't provide a cable for it, only for my own Lightning connector. Then if anyone has problems with the port, blame the 3rd-party connector.

      Alternatively, if the law *does* require you to provide a connector, make it unusable. Make the plug part so wide that it takes 3 socket spaces to plug it in. Put an annoyingly bright light on it, so that it keeps you awake all night if used in the bedroom. Basically, there are plenty of options to make sure no-one ever uses it.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        I hope you've patented those ideas.

        1. ShadowedOne

          I'm reasonable sure that you can't patent 'stupid' (especially when it's more temper tantrum than patentable idea).

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Who says you can't patent 'stupid'?

            "I'm reasonable sure that you can't patent 'stupid' (especially when it's more temper tantrum than patentable idea)."

            You're presumably not familiar with the US PTO, which happily lets people patent both the stupid and the obvious. Why wouldn't they? There used to be so many patents out there for stupid things that were obviously perpetual motion machines that there had to be a special exception made for them.

            Other than that, if the patent looks clerically correct (right boxes ticked, right fees paid to the right people) the patent is probably granted.

            The US PTO guidance has the following to say (convenienty locatable via the Wikipedia article on perpetual motion, and yes these are highly selective quotes, if you're interested you can read the originals):

            With the exception of cases involving perpetual motion, a model is not ordinarily required by the Office to demonstrate the operability of a device. If operability of a device is questioned, the applicant must establish it to the satisfaction of the examiner, but he or she may choose his or her own way of so doing.[21]

            And, further, that:

            A rejection [of a patent application] on the ground of lack of utility includes the more specific grounds of inoperativeness, involving perpetual motion. A rejection under 35 U.S.C. 101 for lack of utility should not be based on grounds that the invention is frivolous, fraudulent or against public policy.[22]

  3. TXITMAN

    Electronic waste

    I don't like government control nor regulation but a standard is needed. The volume of waste due to all sorts of chargers that go in the bin is high.

    I have a drawer full of obsolete chargers. My IT department a double box full per month to recycle. Too much waste for sure.

    1. ecofeco Silver badge

      Re: Electronic waste

      Same here. The waste of obsolete chargers is staggering.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Electronic waste

        But how is Apple contributing to this waste of obsolete chargers? Their chargers are a simple thing you plug in that takes a standard USB cable. Then they have a USB to Lightning cable. If you switch from iPhone to Android, you could continue using the charger, you'd just need a USB to micro USB cable instead of the USB to Lightning cable.

        It is a far cry from the old days where every phone had a charger + cable combo that was unique for every model.

        1. Ivan Headache

          Re: Electronic waste

          Instead of mandating the connector on the phone why not just mandate the wart. Apple's wart has a standard USB socket on it and many have interchangeable power pins for different countries.

          All that's needed is a cable - and most people already have those if they sync to their computers or connect to car socket chargers.

          Anyone who comes to our house, regardless of the make of their phone,(Kindle, Kobo, tablet) can recharge using any of our iPhone chargers.

  4. Lars Silver badge
    Flame

    Surprising

    Imagine that I can "tank" my car in so many different countries without problems. Nice, cars where invented long before modern times. The absolutely maddest connector was the one used by Ericsson, the best, used by Nokia. But that is beyond the point, how come it takes some twenty years to reach any. even the smallest amount of, sorry I cannot remember the word any more. Any damned cook wants to have his own charger as supposedly there is perhaps a cent to get. I am prepared to send you, each of you, a dollar if you can agree for the next one hundred years on one damned connector. And kudos to the EU if they can tackle even that one cent.

    1. Charlie Clark Silver badge

      Re: Surprising

      The absolutely maddest connector was the one used by Ericsson, the best, used by Nokia

      Have to disagree, all the Ericsson's I had used a connector that did not use a pin.

      As a result the pin could never be bent or damaged if it was moved against the phone; it would simply pop out.

      This is the big drawback with the USB connections: if the phone falls awkwardly when connected then there is a chance that the cable and possibly even the socket will damaged. So, an idiot-proof USB pop or magnetic connector would be the best solution.

      But having a standard connection, in whatever form, is great. Samsung now just supplies a micro-USB cable with a USB mains adapter. I can use the same cable for all my phones and my Kobo. I still have a dedicated charger in one room because it can deliver 2A instead of 1A but basically just being able to carry one cable for >= 3 devices instead of a separate charge for each is a godsend.

  5. Volker Hett

    And then ...

    we will have Micro USB as only solution for the coming decades with lots of adaptors to connect our Galaxy 15 to the USB 5.1 plug in out new Lenovo ThinkPad whatever ...

  6. Big-nosed Pengie

    Halle-bloody-lujah!

    Roll on the day!

  7. Eric Hood

    I like the lightning connector on the newer Apple products. It is reversible, so in the dark there can be no mistakes plugging it in.

    The connector is small and there is excellent physical connection when inserted. A much better experience than mini or micro USB.

    Apple do make a Lightning to micro USB adapter. At worst they could include one with the device.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Have you ever seen that good USB cables have a something on the plug telling you which side you're tourching, even in the dark of if you're blind (yes, there are blind people using USB cables as well...)

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        I've settled on genuine samsung micro USB cables for this reason. The cable on the micro plug is offset to one side, so in the dark I can tell which way round it is and know which way to plug it in. With 3 chargers by the bed it's good to be able to plug in the stuff without fiddling around and breaking the USB plugs.

        Now I just have to remember that on my nexus 7, the plug goes the other way round compared to my nexus 4 and Note 2

        Micro USB seems the most likely candidate, but given the choice, lightning would be best even though I don't own any apple devices. Reversible connectors is such a great idea. But what if there was a square connector that you could insert any of the 4 ways and still have it work. You could even increase the number of faces and have more ways the connector could go in.

        Or go to the extreme and make it a circular connector!! oh wait...

  8. ecofeco Silver badge
    Coat

    One charger...

    ...to rule them all!

    That's mine with bulging pockets of different chargers.

  9. Decade
    Stop

    Can't standardize, yet. Innovation still needed.

    You know what I miss about the old barrel plugs? The ability to insert the plug in any orientation. (Almost) Everybody has standardized on MicroUSB, but it's difficult to tell which way you're supposed to plug it in.

    I'm not exactly happy about the clutter generated by new Lightning cables, but I think Apple is proving that there are still desirable improvements that we can implement in our mobile device cables.

    1. Magani
      Happy

      Re: Can't standardize, yet. Innovation still needed.

      @Decade : "...but it's difficult to tell which way you're supposed to plug it in."

      I tend to put a drop of Liquid Paper or white marker on the top of the Micro/Mini USB connector. Makes it lots easier on both the failing eyesight and the frustration factor.

  10. hitmouse

    Cupertino is already preparing a more aesthetically appropriate reality distortion field-effect inductive charging standard that will only work on their devices.

    1. Steve Davies 3 Silver badge
      Joke

      Added function to the Apple chargers

      will be to cause any Samsung device connected to cease to function apart as a doorstop.

      I am joking ok

  11. Arthur Kater :-D ☺

    MicroUSB poor standard

    Despite the good intentions to have a single charger suitable for all phones/tablets, the choice for MicroUSB as the standard connector is less favorable.

    MicroUSB is often difficult to connect (upside down, must align well). For docking stations it's even worse. This all resulting in frustrations and easily broken connectors.

    1. Charles 9

      Re: MicroUSB poor standard

      Well, MicroUSB was designed for two things: thinner phones (it's a thinner plug) and wear issues (most of the wear-and-tear falls to the plug, which is easier to replace than the socket).

  12. Gary F

    Another benefit of standardisation

    100 miles from home with a colleague:

    Colleague: "Can I borrow your phone charger cable and laptop as my iphone is nearly dead?"

    Me: "Sure, help yourself."

    Colleague: "Erm, your cable doesn't fit my phone"

    Me: "Sure it does, it's a standard cable"

    Colleague: "Oh, well not for the iphone it isn't"

    Me: "Ha-ha!"

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Another benefit of standardisation

      Yeah and if it had been you that forgot your cable the same would happen. I have an iPhone and some devices that take micro USB and I carry a micro USB to Lightning adapter - simple solution.

      Often more than one device needs charging at once so not sure this would greatly reduce the number of cables I needed to carry as if I had two micro USB devices I'd probably carry two charging cables - so carrying one micro USB cable and one Lightning cable is no bother. As for which is better - Lightning is certainly the better connector but micro USB is more widely used (perhaps down to cost) - but not because it's better.

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    What happens when you want to do something that cannot be done via USB?

    Like say an HDBaseT 2.0 connection (which could possibly why Apple chose the form factor it did) You cannot support such a connection with USB. You could connect your phone to a monitor or TV that supports this (when they become available) and have a USB mouse and keyboard plug into the monitor, and if the phone ran a desktop OS X GUI you'd have a full fledged computer - not quite as fast as modern computers, but faster than a high end desktop computer was a decade ago. It would make for a perfectly good PC for the average person, who doesn't need the fastest Core 2 Extreme to browse the web, send emails, write papers for school, etc.

    Perhaps the reference to A7 being "desktop class" was a teaser for what Apple is planning for the future...

    But if bureaucrats decide that every phone has to have the exact same connector, goodbye to innovation. And for those who say "who cares, Apple can't innovate", well, it also stops any chance of Google or Samsung doing any sort of innovation for which USB is not suitable. Still think it is OK for the EU to dictate?

    1. Daniel Voyce

      Re: What happens when you want to do something that cannot be done via USB?

      I agree with you to a point - however just because they have to include a standard charger doesn't mean they cant include another port for any other innovation they want (or a combined port that does both (e.g. the eSATA/USB ports on many laptops now) - that's where their innovation can come in!

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: What happens when you want to do something that cannot be done via USB?

        But Apple already has a standard charger, which has a USB socket. The only thing you can't use with an Android device is the USB to Lightning cable, you'd need a USB to micro-USB cable instead. Why should they need to include a micro USB port just to support charging?

        Also, what happens for phones that are wirelessly charged? Will the EU still require them to have a micro USB port even if someone wanted to design a phone without any ports at all that did everything wirelessly?

  14. Jolyon Smith

    Except that these are not JUST chargers

    Where was the EU when phones did only have to plug in to chargers and there was far greater/worse diversity in play ?

    The micro-USB connector on my Galaxy S2 is the one thing that causes me to cast envious eyes at my fiances iPhone charger.

    Even the old 30 pin connector... sure it was bigger, but somehow it slots home more naturally and easily than the micro-USB which even after 2+ years I still can't slot home without having to check the orientation of the male connector in my hand and carefully lining up.

    The new orientation-agnostic lightning connector is pure genius.

  15. Joe Gurman

    Sorry to sound like a Yank

    But I prefer the marketplace to figure out the best charger connector, not overpaid bureaucrats in Brussels.

    1. Richard 12 Silver badge

      Re: Sorry to sound like a Yank

      You are aware that left to themselves they will never standardise?

      Every single phone manufacturer will deliberately use a different charger connector purely and simply so they can price-gouge you for replacement chargers/cables, and have some brand lock-in for your next phone.

      They'll also patent their connector and do other dirty tricks to ensure cheap clones of their cable are much more difficult to make and can't be imported.

      You have the EU to thanks for the fact that most modern phones are chargeable via the same micro-USB cable, with Apple being the only one that isn't.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Sorry to sound like a Yank

        Micro USB may be popular for now but it was not long before when it was Mini USB (and I also have some weird connector Jabra and a few others used) - then scroll back when people probably though the Nokia connector was a standard and people offered adapters from it to the multitude of other sorry connectors. Micro USB is ok but it's nothing (apart from popular) compared to Lightning. The EU would have been better off asking Apple to license it (cheaply) if they actually wanted what was best.

      2. spudmasterflex

        Re: Sorry to sound like a Yank

        "You have the EU to thanks for the fact that most modern phones are chargeable via the same micro-USB cable, with Apple being the only one that isn't."

        So in one sentence you are saying that most phones can charge by micro USB, most indicates not all, correct?

        And the end of the sentence you put apple being the only one, so which is mr contradictory ?

        1. Richard 12 Silver badge

          Re: Sorry to sound like a Yank

          You're sounding very foolish now.

          Are you trolling or is English or Americanese not your native language?

          The word "Most" was used because Apple, and Apple alone, do not comply.

          Thus I could not say "All" without also claiming that iPhone 5/5S/5C are not modern phones.

          We can discuss the merits of that argument another time.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Sorry to sound like a Yank

      > But I prefer the marketplace to figure out the best charger connector, not overpaid bureaucrats in Brussels.

      Correct me if I'm wrong but I seem to remember that the EU asked the industry to standardise on one type of charger and the industry settled on micro-USB. The marketplace has previously caused all the waste that people here have so eloquently described.

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