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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.
[....] 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
(Score: 2) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Tuesday June 14 2022, @05:37AM (5 children)
That's the convenient thing: the universal USB-C port will trickle down to the UK as a result of the EU mandating it without the UK having to decide anything.
Manufacturers will simply make USB-C devices by default for all markets as a result of having to service the EU market. They're not gonna make proprietary charger port versions of their products, even for China or the US - simply for the economy of scale - and they certainly won't bother making anything special for a single tiny island country sitting right next to the EU.
(Score: 2) by isostatic on Tuesday June 14 2022, @08:15AM (2 children)
One of the many lies of brexit. Now instead of being able to vote against this in the EU, the UK will have to blindly accept it.
(Score: 1) by pTamok on Tuesday June 14 2022, @12:50PM (1 child)
Not exactly. The UK can choose to accept the standard, or not. The problem is, choosing not to makes things difficult and expensive for the UK, which is interpreted by die-hard Brexiters as the EU punishing the UK for daring to be different.
The UK has chosen not to have an input into the EU standards-setting process. Which is fine. What is not fine is then complaining about the standards the EU then sets, independently of the UK.
(Score: 2) by isostatic on Tuesday June 14 2022, @06:29PM
With this specific it's possible the UK could choose either the US or China as a master instead of the EU - after all the phones are all shipped from China anyway, so ordering a US model phone rather than an EU model isn't a problem, and most of the brexit lot are happy taking orders from the US as they aren't French.
That's assuming Apple continues to make 2 phone models.
For other stuff which are more Geographically related (food especialy), the UK cut its nose off to spite its face.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday June 14 2022, @05:38PM
Finally, at long last, we now have a single charging standard that will be here with us for the next ten thousand years!
Google for: why are American railroad tracks so narrow
If you have a disagreement with someone, don't resort to arson. That only inflames the situation.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 14 2022, @07:36PM
> Manufacturers will simply make USB-C devices by default for all markets as a result of having to service the EU market.
Yah but the British one will have measurements in inches rather than millicentipedes or whatever French junk they use on the continent.