The European Parliament brought Apple to heel by forcing it to abandon its Lightning in favor of USB Type-C. However, the apple brand may not have said its last word…
It’s a laconic and undocumented statement from a Weibo user who woke up all Apple detractors in a few hours: despite the European standard aimed at standardizing the USB Type-C universal charger, the Apple brand would have decided to circumvent this legislation adopted by the European Parliament and Council last October, by integrating proprietary technology that limits interoperability.
An integration of a USB Type-C port only for form?
As you know, Europe has endorsed the adoption of a universal charger. By the end of 2024, all electronic devices such as smartphones and tablets marketed in the EU must be equipped with a USB Type-C charging port. This proposal was adopted in October 2022. Its supporters did not explicitly name Apple’s Lightning interface, but no one was fooled: this regulation was a victory over the famous Apple brand.
But now a Weibo user is causing trouble. He published the following message, of which here is the automatic translation: Apple has taken matters into its own hands and manufactured its own Lightning Type-C interface IC, which will be used in this year’s new iPhone and MFI-certified devices. “.
Some see in this statement, supported by no concrete source, proof that Apple is already planning to circumvent European regulations. To put it bluntly, for the iPhone 15, the brand, forced and forced, would indeed implement a USB Type-C port, but would continue to offer a proprietary ecosystem, with certified cables offering additional features, such as ultra charging. fast or high speed data transfer for example.
An unfounded accusation?
However, this claim should be taken with great caution. Already, as indicated above, there is nothing very concrete: not the shadow of any proof.
Then, the doubt benefits Apple. Some iPads or even the latest model of the Apple TV Remote use a USB-C port without any particular restriction.
Finally, if the devil often hides the details, especially in a directive, and we have not found such an explicit description in the text adopted by the European Parliament, the article published on the official site states that ” the charging speed will be the same for all devices with fast charging. Users will now be able to charge their device at the same speed with any compatible charger. »
Paradoxically, it is not excluded that what the Weibo user evokes will lead to anything but a restriction: that Apple is considering backward compatibility allowing the iPhone 15 to work with old Lightning accessories, subject to using an adapter of course. In any case, this is the hypothesis formulated by our colleague from 9to5Google.
Anyway, if rumors may confirm or deny all this in the coming weeks, Apple should not formalize its iPhone 15 before September 2023. Finally, know that beyond the abandonment of the Lightning in favor of USB Type-C, according to previous information, the iPhone 15 and 15 Pro will not offer the same transfer speeds.
Sources: Weibo, Europarl, 9to5Mac
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