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posted by hubie on Monday June 13 2022, @10:06PM   Printer-friendly
from the there-can-be-only-one dept.

BBC: UK will not copy EU demand for common charging cable

The UK government says it is not "currently considering" copying European Union plans for a common charging cable.

The EU has provisionally agreed all new portable electronic devices must, by autumn 2024, use a USB Type-C charger, a move it says will benefit consumers.

[....] Under the current post-Brexit arrangements, the regulation would apply to Northern Ireland, according to EU and UK officials.

DailyMail: Britain will NOT follow the EU and make USB-C charging ports mandatory on all phones – meaning Apple's 'lightning connector' will be allowed everywhere in the UK except Northern Ireland

[....] Since the EU's announcement, it had been uncertain if the decision could affect Apple products sold in the UK and other non-EU countries in Europe.

But a UK government spokesperson has told MailOnline: 'We are not currently considering replicating this requirement.'

[....] This complicates things for Apple; the firm might have to make devices with USB-C ports to sell in EU countries and Northern Ireland, as well as making devices with a Lightning ports to sell in the UK and other non-EU countries.

To simplify things, Apple could just opt to make devices with USB-C ports in the whole of Europe.

9 to 5 Mac: UK won't follow EU in demanding iPhone replace Lightning with USB-C

[....] However, many are awaiting the arrival of a USB-C port to match their other devices. Apple's Lightning port is already 10 years old and was previously dubbed as the "modern connector for the next decade." According to this notion, it seems inevitable to see Lightning retired soon.

[....] The pressure to switch to USB-C has been mounting on Apple for some time. It's no surprise the EU has made this decision. Could we see more regions do the same? With Lightning being a decade-old port, many are going to grow tired of the lack of a USB-C port on their iPhone.

Or, another idea: Apple could standardize on USB-C?

Remember twenty years ago when every mobile phone had a different charge connector? Even different models within a single manufacturer. Expensive to replace, you hoped you never lost one. Don't forget every single charger when packing for a trip!

See Also:
    USB-C to be Mandatory for Phones Sold in the EU by Autumn 2024


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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by RedGreen on Monday June 13 2022, @10:37PM (15 children)

    by RedGreen (888) on Monday June 13 2022, @10:37PM (#1253040)

    The UK will get whatever everyone else in Europe gets, no manufacturer is going to make a special model for them fools. How is Putin's plan for chaos, the Brexit, going morons? I see that clown Boris gets ready to ramp up the drama once more with the Northern Ireland accords. Now if they could just get on standardizing the batteries used in the power tools, christ what a mess those are to deal with even within the same brand you have different incompatible voltages used at times.

    --
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  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 13 2022, @10:48PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 13 2022, @10:48PM (#1253043)

    no manufacturer is going to make a special model for them fools

    Exactly, we were offered a seat at the table and squandered it because "we're special"... Now we'll be subjected to whatever the EU decides and we'll just get to swallow.
    Come to think of it... maybe Boris' mom should have done that.

  • (Score: 2, Interesting) by krishnoid on Monday June 13 2022, @10:49PM (2 children)

    by krishnoid (1156) on Monday June 13 2022, @10:49PM (#1253044)

    You sure [arstechnica.com] about that?

    • (Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Tuesday June 14 2022, @03:19PM (1 child)

      by DeathMonkey (1380) on Tuesday June 14 2022, @03:19PM (#1253196) Journal

      I don't get it.... Sounds like back in 2011, when the article was written and when they standardized on micro-USB, Apple complied.

      • (Score: 2) by krishnoid on Saturday June 18 2022, @01:53AM

        by krishnoid (1156) on Saturday June 18 2022, @01:53AM (#1254129)

        Yeah ... but they did build and ship specialized hardware only for certain countries [cnet.com]. Back when the last connector change directive included the UK!

  • (Score: 2) by Thexalon on Monday June 13 2022, @11:39PM (3 children)

    by Thexalon (636) on Monday June 13 2022, @11:39PM (#1253053)

    How is Putin's plan for chaos, the Brexit, going morons?

    It's going great! Boris is Prime Minister, Nigel Farage is being taken semi-seriously, the racists are happy because they got to exclude more brown people, and thus its main purposes were served.

    Once you understand that politicians have figured out they can gain in popularity by throwing a portion of their own population under the bus, they're going to do that.

    --
    The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 14 2022, @07:56AM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 14 2022, @07:56AM (#1253119)

      > because they got to exclude more brown people

      Perhaps you didn't notice that the European population is predominantly caucasian?

      • (Score: 2) by Thexalon on Tuesday June 14 2022, @11:36AM

        by Thexalon (636) on Tuesday June 14 2022, @11:36AM (#1253145)

        Europe is mostly white (although not as white as you might think, many European countries have significant non-white minorities), but the clamor for Brexit came in part in response to refugees from Syria and North Africa fleeing into EU countries and racist Britons wanting to keep them out of Britain. UKIP in particular was trying to appeal to that sentiment.

        --
        The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 14 2022, @11:56AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 14 2022, @11:56AM (#1253148)

      they can gain in popularity by throwing a portion of their own population under the bus

      They are bound to find quickly there aren't many willing to drive the buses for a living. Wouldn't be a first [bbc.com]

  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 14 2022, @01:37AM (5 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 14 2022, @01:37AM (#1253069)

    The UK will get whatever everyone else in Europe gets, no manufacturer is going to make a special model for them fools.

    Considering the UK gets cars manufactured for their market that have right hand drive AND MPH speedometers, I think it is a big enough market to cater to those "fools".

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 14 2022, @03:59AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 14 2022, @03:59AM (#1253089)

      driving on the left is common in many parts of the Commonwealth, excluding Canada.

      Aren't most speedometers digital these days? No crazier than having to adjust for US units when the rest of the world, generally, adopted metric decades ago.

    • (Score: 3, Informative) by RedGreen on Tuesday June 14 2022, @04:04AM (2 children)

      by RedGreen (888) on Tuesday June 14 2022, @04:04AM (#1253091)

      "Considering the UK gets cars manufactured for their market that have right hand drive AND MPH speedometers, I think it is a big enough market to cater to those "fools"."

      It is left hand drive when you drive on the left part of the road. My count of the jurisdictions in the world that do it were 57 as listed on this page, plenty enough for a market excluding they had their own car companies making them from the start. Something they do not have with the one size fits all approach Apple and the Android phone manufacturers take, Apple just happens to get screwed for their proprietary solution and get to use what the vast majority of phones and other devices use to charge.

      https://international-license.com/blogs/news/in-what-countries-you-drive-by-the-left-side-of-the-road [international-license.com]

      --
      "I modded down, down, down, and the flames went higher." -- Sven Olsen
    • (Score: 2) by isostatic on Tuesday June 14 2022, @08:38AM

      by isostatic (365) on Tuesday June 14 2022, @08:38AM (#1253129) Journal

      Every car I've seen has both mph and kph as an option, just as they have y-m-d and d-m-y as options. With speedo dials it's just a bit of plastic that's selected, whether you're selling to Canada or the US.

      Japan and India are other major RHD markets, it's not just the UK that's the market.

      But the crucial part is you can't really sell a LHD in the UK/Japan/Australia etc - its either RHD or don't sell. To reach the whole market you need to have both options.

      You can however sell a USB-C phone in the UK, so why would you bother making both USB-C and non-USB-C.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 14 2022, @08:40AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 14 2022, @08:40AM (#1253130)

    > How is Putin's plan for chaos, the Brexit, going morons?

    Last time I looked, UK was backing Ukraine so doesn't look so strong for Putin. Meanwhile, we in UK get our democracy back. (Or do you think MEPs have any power to do anything?)