Photo Credit: Jeandré Badenhorst | techTography
Not too long ago, the European Parliament (EP) was in the midst of a discussion about universalising USB-C to all smartphones. Read all about it in my previous article.
Current Stance in the EU
Voting has taken place and the majority of the EP has voted towards creating a law to force all smartphone manufacturers to use USB-C as the standard port in their devices. With 582 votes for and only 40 against it, there is a great chance that the law will be considered.
This was only the first stage of voting and doesn’t mean the law will be enforced. The first stage of voting was to only to decide whether a submission must be made to the lawmakers of the European Union, the European Commission, to make the law official.
Apple’s Stance
From the beginning, Apple has been against universalising smartphone ports. They said that it will cause major disruptions in the Apple community with millions of devices around the world using their proprietary Lightning connector. According to Apple, it will create an unparalleled volume of electronic waste with millions of lightning cables that will be thrown out in the next couple of years.
Another argument by Apple is that it will inconvenience their consumers who are settled in the Apple ecosystem with regards to their charging habits.
The last disagreement Apple has with the proposed new law has to do with design and innovation in the industry. They argue that forcing all manufacturers to use one port, manufacturers are not able to be innovative and unique in their designs.
Read the statement from Apple on MacRumors’s site.
What’s Next?
Apple
It is improbable that Apple will include USB-C in their 2020 releases of the rumoured iPhone SE2/iPhone9 or the iPhone 12 series. There is just not enough time to redesign and inform their suppliers and make deadlines for this year.
From next year though, we may see iPhones with USB-C. There are two probabilities:
- Design two different iPhones
- One with USB-C for iPhones exclusively shipping to countries in the EU borders
- One with Lightning for the rest of the world
- Design an iPhone that has no port and charge wirelessly which may be the reality in 2021
There are some flaws to both these plans though:
- It is unpractical and will be costly to design and manufacture a phone for one part of the world and another for the other part.
- Wireless charging is limited to the phone physically touching or being very close to the charging pad. This will render the use of the iPhone impossible while charging and will be a discomfort for the majority of users, especially when the battery starts to degrade and users need to charge more often and use the phone while charging
Other Manufacturers
This new law, if implemented, will have a significant effect on devices using micro-USB for charging and data transfer. These phones are primarily budget phones which uses micro-USB because it’s cheaper.
Forcing smaller manufacturers to adopt USB-C will cause low-priced phone manufacturers to raise their prices, eliminating cheap phones in the market. The ramifications will be seen in poor countries where low-budget phones are used by the majority of the people.
Closing
How will the smaller manufacturers react should the law become official? Will Apple find another loophole in the requirements of the EU’s laws? Will they design two different iPhones or follow the path of least resistance and cave to the demands of the EU? What is your opinion? Please leave your thoughts in the comments below.
