Could the EU's USB-C edict cause Apple to cut the cord altogether?

Could the EU's USB-C edict cause Apple to cut the cord altogether?

The European Union (EU) mandate that manufacturers of most mobile devices use USB-C by fall 2024 has increased pressure on speculation that Apple could use wireless technology in future models of its iPhone and AirPods.

While the directive from a committee of the European Parliament applies to all manufacturers of mobile electronic devices, this unprecedented requirement is expected to directly affect Apple, whose products, including the popular iPhone, use Apple's proprietary Lightning connector protocol. .

The mandate is clear: "Mobile phones, tablets, e-readers, headsets, digital cameras, headsets and earphones, portable game consoles, and portable speakers rechargeable via a cable must be equipped with a USB Type-C port, regardless of manufacturer ". .

The move means iPhones and AirPods sold in the EU will need to upgrade to popular USB-C ports and cable connectors by fall 2024. The mandate leaves Apple with several options, including switching to sin hilos.

iPhone 8 carga inalámbrica con RavPower IDG/Ken Mingis

An iPhone 8 charged with a RavPower wireless charger, capable of transmitting up to 7,5W of power.

Forrester Senior Analyst Andrew Cornwall said the EU decision leaves at least three paths for Apple to follow.

"It is in Apple's character to completely remove the charging/Lightning port in favor of wireless charging, bypassing European legislation," Cornwall said. “Since their wireless charger supports an open standard, they won't violate future delegated acts.

"Apple appears to have anticipated European legislation and is ready to move to wireless charging with the Qi standard," Cornwall said. “Data transfer will be wireless only. The Lightning port will be gone from future iPhones, just like the headphone jack did.

However, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes that Apple is already planning USB-C in the iPhone 15 when it launches in the second half of 2023. Therefore, in this scenario, the shipment of a phone should follow. with completely wireless charging. The iPhone 14 lineup, expected in September, will almost certainly continue to use a Lightning connector, he tweeted.

The EU directive also allows manufacturers not to include a charger with their devices. Indeed, once all manufacturers have the same charging standard, it would be superfluous to ship a charger with each product. This is an attribute that the European Parliament recalled in its statement on the directive.

This will undoubtedly hurt some buyers: the few without chargers will have to pay more, Cornwall said.

“There is a higher risk of denial of warranty repairs due to 'defective chargers.' Some can buy shoddy chargers that start fires,” he said. "Travellers will need to use a dongle for charging until hotels widely implement Qi."

And if Apple's Lightning port goes away for data transfer, Apple users will lose some privacy because it's much harder to intercept wired traffic than something live, Cornwall said. Also, some iPhones can become more difficult to repair and updating an iPhone or restoring it to its original firmware can become impossible. And jailbreaking a completely wireless iPhone, that wouldn't work either.

On the other hand, iPhones may be easier to waterproof if the port is removed.

"I think the EU law is a bit inconvenient for consumers," Cornwall said. "This is slightly favorable for device sellers, who no longer need to include a charger with every sale."

Jack Gold, principal analyst at J. Gold Associates, wondered if the EU directive would allow Apple to remove a port altogether, since the mandate calls for vendors to switch to USB-C. Furthermore, wireless charging still presents several challenges, the first being that it is not as energy efficient.

"There's a lot of loss in wireless charging, up to 50%," Gold said. "And you're limited in how much power you can use with the wireless charger. So the fast charging we've all gotten used to is very hard to do wirelessly. That's probably why Apple doesn't has come a long way with wireless technology." charging for their phones.

So the question is, would users accept slower charging?

"I'm guessing Apple will be very resistant to full wireless charging until they can fix some of these issues. But physics is against them and it would take some major breakthroughs to turn things around. Apple users hope they can't cater for charging. wireless as the only option.

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