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To avoid pointless extra electronic waste -- as well as provide the convenience it would create for consumers -- the European Commission strongly encouraged the industry in 2007 to agree a standard for power and data connectors.
The result in 2009 was a pair of new industry standards - CENELEC EN 62684 and ETSI EN 301489-34, which together finessed the pre-existing micro-USB standard and set it as the new standard for phone power and data connections in Europe. Aware that such standards need a little help to get established, the European Commission went on to seek a Memorandum of Understanding from all the important players. Everyone - including Apple - agreed to set 2011 as a target for implementation.
As the phone market is fairly fast-moving, every other manufacturer easily met the deadline. Despite the long notice period, Apple stuck with its proprietary connector, and even the iPhone 4 retained it. So a change in connector in 2012 came as no surprise.
The only problem is, Apple has reneged on that commitment to the European Commission to change to micro-USB like everyone else. Instead, they have introduced a completely new proprietary connector. Dubbed "Lightning", it is quite unlike any other connector in the industry. But it appears to only offer power and data connections -- with HDMI via a dongle, which is also possible with micro-USB -- while forcing customers to once again either carry two chargers or spend money to buy an adaptor that is only useful for Apple phones.
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oh wow so surprising
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Apple, proprietary connectors. Apple, proprietary everything. Apple is shit.
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It would be nice to see only one charger everywhere
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"we would've done that but then nobody would buy our $50 charging cables anymore and we'd go poor :("
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USB is trying to create a 100 watt standard that uses the standard USB connector.
Not miliwatt. WATT, as in USB powered incandescent light bulbs with integrated flash drives.
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If the mods approve of this title they hereby admit that they are all massive faggots
October 2009
7,223 Posts
To be fair, the ability to put in the connector either orientation is pretty fucking rad
apple at least deserves props for that
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My Lenovo's power connector is circular.
PCs > Macs
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And this is why I don't like Apple. My mom has an iPhone 4, every other device in my household uses Android, and as a result we have to have two fucking car chargers on hand. It's annoying as hell.
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do they though? its not really that amazing
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Saves you 2 seconds when plugging it in, makes you need more chargers. I don't see how it's a huge advantage.
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Nothing new about it
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oh my god you poor soul
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I really wish the EU would somehow make this enforceable. Every other mobile device manufacturer in the world abides by it, why apple doesn't is beyond me. Its so nice being able to charge / power all my devices (Like my Kindle, phone, tablet, Raspberry etc) from one cable sitting next to my PC. Much better than the previous shit with having to find the right cable for the right device. Even worse when the manufacturer decided to change on a regular basis (Nokia!!).
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1st world problems
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Knowing apple they would have to sue everyone if they used the standard charging adapter.
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Like seriously, why does anyone care....really. It's a connector. Apple provides you with one. Every other phone manufacturer provides you with one. It's not like you need to buy a different connector, you get it for free. My household has iPhones, Androids, iPads, etc and I actually like not having the same connector. It means mine never gets used (and lost) by anyone else.
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It also means you pay $50 for a cable licensed by apple and it has shitty build quality. Or you can by a $10 generic "apple" connector that has even shittier build quality...
It is a lose/lose situation.
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oops
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It's literally in the first sentence of the article: "To avoid pointless extra electronic waste "
Throwing out your old cables and chargers every time you switch phones is creating copious piles of waste.
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That and the fact that USB Just works ™. It's convenient. It does the job. I have a box of the cables. Even if I didn't I could get any cable I wanted in any length I wanted for dirt cheap. It doubles as a data transfer cable without anything extra being added.
With a 5 dollar wall adapter, you can be good to go anywhere. USB charging has been an absolute godsend for a family member that travels a lot for work. He literally flies to some country in the middle of bumfuck nowhere, hits a local store on the way through and picks up a USB adapter that works in the local power sockets and he's set for the time he's there.
If he forgets a cable, he's out all of 3 dollars.
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Apple products are far beyond shitty quality. Your just a bandwagon anti-apple guy. Apple products are some of the upmost in quality aspect. The cable just like any other cable gets worn and torn. My apple cable has out lasted any other andriod or any other phone charger.
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I hope they ban the Iphone 5 in Europe and then burn down Apple Headquarters to stop this capitalistic spread of greedyism.
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Apple obviously did this on purpose, non-conformity is their priority.
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I hate this and I hate apple.
Now that that's out of the way, I feel like micro USB isn't really all that great either, and was a poor choice for becoming the standard. Here's my complaints:
It looks nearly symmetrical, which makes it easy to try to plugin it in flipped 180 degrees. especially at night.
It's extremely short on most cables and devices I've used. It comes disloged easily, or can seat itself and be off by just a millimeter or two which will cause charging to fail.
Some cables transfer data while others only power, although this isn't usually a problem with the cables that come directly from the phone manufacturer. However this still creates a schism between cables that can be used for certain functions.
In my opinion mini USB was better, purely from the my standpoint on those 3 issues.
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It's kind of even more of a fuck you to the EU to change to a whole new connector, so now even people with apple devices will have to buy new chargers and cables an adapters which will become even more electronic waste.
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the microusb law is stupid anyway. Are they going to update it in 10 years when something better comes along?
How long will a microusb replacement have to be around and how much marketshare will it need before the EU gives it the ok?
Edited:
technology changes too much for standards to become law.
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You were saying?
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The EU could push a import ban as it doesn't follow the regulations.
Nonetheless, Damn it Apple you had one job.
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USB is currently fully backwards compatible, and plans to remain so, to the extent that the hardware and software powering newer revisions of USB devices is becoming quite complicated.
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Actually, the article is wrong. Apple kind of got a loophole to allow the iPhone 5 to be compliant.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57...nly-in-europe/
Get a better source next time.
Quite a bandwagon reunion this thread is, though. :)
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This is Micro usb 3. Like you said, it's supposed to be backwards compatibile with Micro usb 2, so you could charge/transfer at usb 2 rates with an older cable, but is it EU compliant?
Edited:
What I mean is that is it a violation to bundle this cable with a new phone in the EU?
Edited:
And say in 5 years usb 4 comes out with another micro usb connector what then? There's no way you can just say in law that one connector is required because that one connector will evolve as specs change over time.
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But doesn't that defeat the purpose of why USB is the standard?
Create standard to reduce waste.
Apple creates different connector. Then creates adapter so the new connector can use another connector.
I mean, I understand they have a connector to allow USB but they are creating more waste by creating another piece of electronics?
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Maybe the eu should concentrate on standardizing their AC power connectors first. Namely choosing between German plugs, French plugs, or UK plugs. You could cut down on a lot more ewaste by not having 3 or 4 different wall plugs if you travel around the EU
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Neat, though I'd still put this up there as pretty stupid. Quick google search doesn't turn up any other companies doing this, though I may just be searching in the wrong areas.
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Apple hold the patent for magnetic connectors. Why they continue to sit on it without using it, is beyond me.
A connector which can't break due to sheering force would be amazing. Apply force in the wrong direction? It just disconnects. No appreciable wear and tear on ei-ohhhhhhh
Dammit.
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Magsafe dude. google that shit.
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Oh, You all hate Apple? Wow, aren't you cool! Get over it. Some people like the products they produce, some don't. Stop bitching and complaining over what they do. Don't like the Charging cable? DOn't buy the fucking thing.
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Smugness just makes you both look like asshats. It's actually really bloody annoying, especially since one of them almost always ends up hiding somewhere when you need it. I also don't have anywhere to store the second cable in my truck, glove box is full of roadside tools and I don't have a center console at all.
I hate the nonstandard connectors. If Apple wants a proprietary data port that's fine, but for the love of god at least let us charge through a microUSB. Or, fuck, include an adapter for the proprietary port that lets us charge through microUSB. It can't be that hard. kejbaeihjyih
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Why would Apple use an old standard when they can use something better?
I don't think most people realize that the dock connector does a lot more than just charging and USB.
Edited:
Here's a good overview of what exactly the dock connector does and why Apple uses a proprietary connector instead of USB:
http://www.cultofmac.com/178093/the-...ector-feature/
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