iPhone charging cable with proprietary Lightning connector: is there an electronic waste debacle? picture: shutterstock
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Special case iPhone: This is why Apple resists uniform cell phone charging sockets
The discussions about Apple’s proprietary “Lightning” connection have flared up again. Now the manufacturer has declared.
Considerations to prescribe a uniform standard for charging sockets in electrical appliances in Europe are rejected by Apple. The company is convinced that this will slow down innovations and harm consumers in Europe, Apple said on Thursday.
The US group is responding to demands from European politics. Most recently, the European Parliament and the EU Commission have again made more active efforts to ensure more compatibility with chargers.
What do European politicians want?
The EU Parliament had announced in mid-January that manufacturers would have to offer uniform charging systems for cell phones, tablets, e-book readers and other similar devices. This should reduce electronic waste and make life easier for mobile phone users. Meanwhile, the Commission plans to propose new steps that could lead to a uniform charger.
Brussels had tried to clear the jungle of different charging systems at the time more than ten years ago. At the time, it was common for cell phones from different manufacturers to have incompatible charging sockets. The cables were also firmly connected to the charger – so that you automatically needed a new charger when changing providers.
How should this be solved technically?
After a commitment by the industry, today’s approach prevailed, one on the chargers Connection socket instead of a fixed cable to have. It can be used to charge various devices with a power supply unit and the appropriate cables. However, this does not go far enough for some political players and there are considerations to also set a standard for the charging sockets on the smartphones themselves. That would be USB-C.
Only a few formats are currently used. The micro USB format previously used by many manufacturers is on the retreat and is being replaced by the more modern USB-C. Apple sticks to its own Lightning connector for the iPhone, iPod Touch and most iPad models, but uses USB-C for some devices such as the iPad Pro or Macbook laptops. At the same time, USB-C is slowly becoming the standard for the output socket on the power supply.
Why is Apple fighting back?
The industry is voluntarily switching to USB-C, so there is no need for any legal changes or regulation, Apple argues. And cites his USB-C power supply as an example, which is compatible with all iPhone and iPad devices.
It should be noted that customers have to buy an adapter cable (Lightning> USB-C) for this. Apple charges 35 francs for a corresponding 2-meter cable!
The proprietary Lightning standard is also a big deal for the business because accessory manufacturers have to pay royalties. In addition, the interface is relevant for security reasons and Apple thus remains in control.
Apple has started the MFi program (Made for iPhone and iPad) so that the user can be sure that, for example, a charging cable from a third-party manufacturer will not damage their iPhone. This ensures that this accessory really does what it should. The customer can recognize this from the MFi logo on the packaging. In addition, Apple collects hard.
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source: apfeltalk.de
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The company itself argues that a blanket requirement for a standard charging socket would force consumers to replace their current Lightning cables – and would thus have a negative environmental impact with an “unprecedented amount of electrical insulation”.
The leadership of the iPhone manufacturer sent US media a long written statement on the subject on January 17, 2017. It says:
«We believe that regulation, which enforces the conformity of the connector type built into all smartphones, would stifle innovation rather than promote it and harm consumers in Europe and the economy as a whole (…) We hope that the Commission continues to look for a solution that doesn’t limit the ability of industry to innovate and introduce exciting new technologies to customers. »
source: appleinsider.com
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In addition, the group expressed concern that neither Lightning nor USB-C would have established themselves with their improved possibilities if the technically simpler micro-USB format had been laid down as the standard at the time.
Finally, the question remains whether the Californians are secretly researching a wireless iPhone future …
There was something:
The AirPower charging mat introduced by Apple in 2017 never made it onto the market. Image: AP
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What about wireless charging?
Smartphone manufacturers have already introduced models that can be charged wirelessly on their own and completely do without charging sockets. Analyst circles are also speculating about Apple’s plans in this direction. By omitting the charging socket, space could be saved.
However, such wireless charging systems have so far been considered to be significantly less energy efficient. In other words, more electricity would be used for charging via the air or via an electromagnetic field, the so-called induction. In practice there are two inductive energy transfer processes: the inductive and resonant coupling,
Various companies manufacture wireless chargers, whereby a world-leading system (with inductive coupling) has emerged from three proprietary standards:
- Introduced in 2008 and integrated into certain furniture by Ikea Qi from Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) currently dominates the market: In addition to Samsung and Apple, numerous other manufacturers offer smartphones and many other hardware products that are Qi-certified.
- Then there was Airfuel Inductive from the Power Matters Alliance (PMA) and Airfuel Resonant (Rezence) from the A4WP, the Alliance for Wireless Power,
- Due to the merger of PMA and A4WP 2015 is the Airfuel Alliance emerged. The less common air fuel standard is supported by Starbucks, Samsung and General Motors (GM), among others.
So far, charging mats for wireless charging of smartphones have not become established. The problem is not only with the technology, but also with the user behavior: A device that is fully charged for a long period of time significantly increases standby consumption. If the mobile device stays on the transmitter overnight, the total consumption would be about three times the consumption of wired charging, the Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) noted in a study published in 2018.
If wireless charging technology were to fully establish itself, an admittedly unrealistic scenario, the resulting electricity consumption would amount to a few per thousand of the total electricity consumption of the households, i.e. generate an additional annual consumption of around 30 GWh.
source: bulletin.ch
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How likely is it that the EU will prevail against Apple?
This is difficult to estimate and depends on how much lobbying the actors do behind the scenes.
European regulation often prevails on a global scale because manufacturers are reluctant to build devices for certain regions because of the extra costs.
swell
(DSC / SDA / AWP / dpa)
