The EU states that companies should agree to use the same connector, it does not state which one it should be. If the major companies convene and decide on USB-D in the future they can do that and let the EU know.
Case in point: all companies collectively decided that USB-C was better than Micro USB and moved over. They did not 'delay' anything, it was the process working as intended.
I mean it was actually this forced change that made Apple finally upgrade from the USB2 speeds they were stuck on until now for this connector.
Ironically Apple are also demonstrating on their laptops exactly how you might keep the current connector but add an additional innovative charging connector (MagSafe). They did the same with the pogo pins on the iPads.
I don’t think that’s necessary in any case, USBC itself was essentially designed by committee before a single device was shipped and I’m sure the next standard will be too because that’s what it takes to coordinate the whole market. Innovation still happens. The world doesn’t fall down.
As far as I can see, both the USB standard and the standardization of charging plugs have been a massive success. Do you remember back when literally every phone had a different charger and plug? I don't see how that was good for the consumer, for innovation, or society at large.
Even while Apple could have innovated, did they? I'd say that their insistence on Lightning has been a massive drain on society and purely rent-seeking behaviour.
Startups and large companies can still innovate, they just can't screw over their customers while doing so. Seems like a pretty good deal for all sides to me.
It all looks really nice, until you start wading through the dredge of fast charging, thunderbolt, displaylink over USB-c and whatever they’ll add in the future. But hey, you can basically charge over the same connector. Which was however already possible because all phones support the same wireless charging standard.
> It all looks really nice, until you start wading through the dredge of fast charging, thunderbolt, displaylink over USB-c and whatever they’ll add in the future.
Show me a standard with this many features without these problems.
> But hey, you can basically charge over the same connector.
Yes, I can charge all my devices with one cable. Isn't that amazing?
> Which was however already possible because all phones support the same wireless charging standard.
Weird, doesn't work with my current phone. I guess it's not a phone then?
What’s the model? I’ll be calling the EU so they force all the manufacturers to support the qi charging standard that is actually useful.
Oh and of course lightning cable is the spawn of evil and glorious USB-C can do no wrong and any concrete criticism is hand waved away. Really shows you know what you’re talking about.
> What’s the model? I’ll be calling the EU so they force all the manufacturers to support the qi charging standard that is actually useful.
You know that USB-C isn't just charging, but also data transfer, right? I'd be up for this if wireless charging also supported USB-C speed data transfer. Since it doesn't I'm not interested.
> Oh and of course lightning cable is the spawn of evil and glorious USB-C can do no wrong and any concrete criticism is hand waved away. Really shows you know what you’re talking about.
I dislike non-standards, and I like standards. Why are you trying to paint my criticisms as so incredibly emotionally laden, when they are simply based on technical disadvantages? Is it so hard for you to accept that, for most people, this is a very good step?
You do know we have the technology for wireless data transfer already? And it has even been standardized!
You like bad products as long as they’re standards. Anything that is wrong with the bad product is handwaved away as just too hard. The true sign of the connoisseur. I suppose you’re also one of those people crying about the dear loss of their precious headphone jack.
> You do know we have the technology for wireless data transfer already? And it has even been standardized!
Yes, and it's not as fast as cable-based data transfers, and it is not part of wireless charging technology. Do you even read 10% of what I write? Or do you just scan my comments far enough to find something you can dunk on? That's what all your comments seem to be, but I'd like to assume you're capable of more.
If you want, you can try again without throwing all those assumptions at me. But given what and how you're writing, I'm done here.
Are you sure about this? It it is not explicitly written somewhere it is not mandatory to use USB-C. There has to be some documents stating the exact name USB-C or the designated standard codes etc. how can this be enforced otherwise?
And how the heck will the industry innovate if one or two companies can not shift to a new connector and prove it?
> Are you sure about this? It it is not explicitly written somewhere it is not mandatory to use USB-C. There has to be some documents stating the exact name USB-C or the designated standard codes etc. how can this be enforced otherwise?
Why don't you just look up the law yourself if you don't believe me? This has been discussed to death.
> And how the heck will the industry innovate if one or two companies can not shift to a new connector and prove it?
How did the switch from Micro-USB to USB-C happen? Simple, the industry standardized on it. You can add as many connectors as you want, as long as you have the standard connector as well.
Yeah it's much better for the 2 trillion dollar company to be the sole entity in existence that doesn't use the same cable everyone else uses so they can inflate their accessory ecosystem!
Yes, companies should be punished for creating superior products and earning a lot from selling them! Or perhaps it’s the dumb customers, spending all their money on those overpriced phones using inferior cables! The EU knows much better than the market, they’ll decide what’s best for us, we can’t be trusted to make our own choices!
Technically more than one kind of device, and that device happens to number in the billions, with that many cables already existing in the world for about a decade now.
Do you think USB-C will be around forever? Hint: it won’t. And then all those cables will go to waste.
I'm not sure what point you're trying to make... basically everything we have will go to waste at some point. That does not mean we shouldn't reduce waste in the mean time.
I'd wager that a large majority of iPhone owners already have USB-C cables from some other product. But even if there is a small increase in wasted cables for 2-3 years as people acquire new cables, it will easily be offset over the next 5-10 due to reuse across multiple products.
At this stage it's genuinely hard to envision something replacing it - they're pulling 40gbit over this connector, running full pcie, displayport, etc. Most devices including these new phones are still using USB 2 speeds because it's good enough.
At least I don't have to carry Lightning cable and can just borrow a friends cable if I forget. And next time you try to backup 256GB iPhone with no iCloud Photos - good luck with this painful experience on a premium product.
I wouldn't be surprised if USB-C was the end-game for physical connectors, and the future was wireless. I'm honestly surprised Apple hasn't extended MagSafe (the iPhone version) with data support yet, their alignment makes it much for feasible there than with Qi.
