A few days ago the European Parliament took the last step necessary to turn into law a project that had Apple concerned: the designation of the USB-C port as a standard for electronic devices marketed in this field.
On Tuesday, October 4, 2022, this initiative that would lead to the establishment of a single charger was approved by the plenary session with 602 votes in favor, 13 against and 8 abstentions. A forceful figure, but not without detractors.
Where the central objective of this law would focus on, literally, “reducing electronic waste and empowering consumers to make more sustainable decisions.”
Something that might sound sensible for a market where USB-C has been used for years as the most common and practical standard. But there was an obvious affected by this project: Apple.
A company with a narrative built around innovation, when in reality they have not exactly distinguished themselves by adopting or creating the latest technology.
But rather by taking existing elements and articulating them in a fresh way with others that are not so new, making the most of its high software optimization, thus playing in favor of its balance of profits against production costs.
The perfect example of this balance game is, fairly and ironically, its attachment to the Lightning port.
Apple will have to adopt the USB-C standard in 2024
Apple has a long tradition with the imposition of proprietary connectors that force their consumers to remain isolated (or distinguished?) generating extra expenses through the investment of additional accessories that definitely do not support the financial balances of the consumer himself, although each purchase may imply a supposed satisfaction for his reaffirmation.
The curious thing here is that there are some cases where consumers not only accept it as a reality, they even want to maintain that dynamic, despite the fact that there could be plenty of present and tangible arguments that refute that position and the negative reaction to an essential regulation against an imbalance.
In their arguments when they tried to stop this project, Apple stated that this measure was against innovation, and it is even possible to find on the net pieces that pose hypothetical scenarios of what would have happened if this type of regulation had been established with already old connectors such as microUSB.
However, this perspective omits (rationally or not) the usual pattern of behavior of the Cupertino manufacturer, where, in terms of hardware, they usually make the leap many years after the other companies have advanced.
There is the iPhone 14 Pro, which finally changed its camera to evolve to 48 MP, after more than 6 years using exactly the same main sensor from the beginning. iPhone 6s.
Another good example of this is the USB-C standard itself, which has been circulating in the smartphone market for more than 7 years.
While the Lightning port, which was born several steps back in terms of efficiency, has already completed a decade of existence in Apple devices this September 2022.
Starting from a free and open standard, not controlled by a single company, USB-C ports can offer much faster speeds thanks to compatibility with USB 3.2, USB4 and even Thunderbolt.
At the same time, the Lightning port is, in essence, USB 2.0 that has been integrating some relative improvements, but in the long run it makes it relatively slow in data and charging rates.
Although yes, developed by Apple, which opens the ground for further innovation. Or that it sought to consolidate the original argument.