The European Union finally made a decision on the 8th, deciding that all new mobile phones sold in EU member states following December 28, 2024 must use Type C ports. In addition to cell phones, the bill would also apply to devices such as tablets, digital cameras, headsets and handheld video game consoles.
The bill formulated by the European Union has been rumored since the middle of this year. It was voted and passed in early October, but the exact implementation date has not yet been finalized. It was not officially announced until yesterday in the Official Journal of the European Union, making the bill formally binding. And the first to bear the brunt of course is the iPhone series; which means, When wired charging, the original Apple exclusive Lightning interface must be changed to a Type C interface to be sold in the EU 。
Change to Type C, Apple executives are not happy
However, as early as this year, when the European Union began to discuss and formulate this bill to force the unification of the Type C interface, Apple officials have expressed strong opposition, pointing out that the EU’s approach will only stifle innovation and create more electronic waste.
Greg Joswiak, the deputy general manager of Apple’s marketing department, publicly stated in October this year, “Obviously we have to follow the regulations and have no choice.” Use Type C following the fall of 2024″.
Joswick also declined to say at the time whether Apple would use Type C outside the EU. But he said Apple, which in the past tended to go its own way and relied on its own engineers, must now be forced to follow lawmakers to change hardware standards.
He also believes that the Apple charger already has a detachable charging cable, which can roughly solve the problem of standardization of specifications. Therefore, changing the interface of the iPhone from Lightening to Type C is the main reason for generating a large amount of electronic waste.
Ming-Chi Kuo: iPhone 15 will switch to Type C interface
Having said that, well-known Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo pointed out in November this year that the iPhone 15, which will be released in the fall of 2023, will abandon the Lightning interface and use Type C instead.
Ming-Chi Kuo also gave more detailed information; the standard iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus wired transmission speed specifications are USB 2.0, but the high-end iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max support higher-speed specifications and at least support USB 3.2 Or Thunderbolt 3 transfer speeds.
Obviously, the entire smartphone and tablet market has accepted the Type C trend. iPads and Macs have also accepted the Type C interface, but Apple still seems dissatisfied with this change; Guo Mingchi also predicted last year that Apple “won’t” consider Type C. C interface.
Some people even speculated that Apple would simply switch to MagSafe wireless charging; MagSafe would allow Apple to continue to lock its ecosystem and control the profits and industrial chain of accessory sales.
Lightning costs more? What exactly is Apple trying to make?
However, these changes regarding the new generation of iPhone can not help but raise questions regarding the cost.
Compared to Type C, Lightning is more expensive to produce because the chip inside the Lightning charging cable makes it more expensive. In terms of speed, Lightning transmits at USB2.0 speed (480Mbps), while Type C transmits at a maximum speed of 40Gbps, a difference of 80 times.
But the iPhone probably won’t drop in price as a result. LeaksApplePro, a well-known industry insider on Twitter, revealed that the iPhone 15 Ultra (Ultra is the new name of the Pro Max model) will increase the material cost by as much as $100, so the starting price of the iPhone 15 Ultra will be as high as $1,299, compared with the iPhone 14 Pro. The Max is $200 more expensive, the largest increase in iPhone history.
Now it is not sure whether the Lightning interface will be completely abandoned-although Lightning was once a new technology that attracted everyone’s attention 10 years ago, there has been no major update in the past 10 years. Compared with the popular Type C, the cost is higher, Shipping is also slower, so why hasn’t Apple caught up? Is it really just for “environmental protection” reasons?
There are probable reasons to point out that, Apple retains Lightning to maintain the income of the charging line, and can also charge Made for iPhone (MFi) commissions when sub-factories or other manufacturers produce cheaper Lightning charging lines 。
Although Apple has not announced the price of MFi, according to the statistics of the media “AppleInsider”, The efficiency of a charging line is as high as 50% ; and in 2021, the iPhone shipments will be regarding 237.9 million units. Assuming that only 10% of the users buy MFi charging cables, Apple’s commission profit is also close to 100 million US dollars, which is still a considerable source of income. Perhaps the profit from the charging cable is the factor that Apple refuses to give up on Lightning.
source:The Verge、Forbes、BusinessFocus
Responsible editor: Lin Meixin
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