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Comment by taylodl | Hacker News Reader

The EU did nothing. When Apple moved away from the 30 pin connector to the lightning connector they promised they'd keep it for a minimum of 10 years since so many people were howling about the change. That was 2014. Guess what? It looks like Apple will be adopting USB-C in 2024, thus fulfilling their 10 year promise. Meanwhile, since 2014, Apple has been adopting USB-C across their entire product line - except the iPhone which they had promised they wouldn't do.

So, let's end the farcical statement that the EU stood up to Big, Bad, Apple. The EU did nothing.

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The EU is telling Apple that the iPhone may no longer use connectors that they license themselves. Apple can do whatever they want in 2024, but if they want to sell phones in Europe then the iPhone will ship with a more agreed-upon connection standard.

If Apple still wants to use a superior in-house technology, they can implement Thunderbolt on iPhone.

You missed my point entirely - the EU capitulated to Apple. They mandated what Apple was going to do anyway. Great job!

Apple never said they were switching the iPhone to USB-C, unless I missed something. Do you have a source for that?

In 2014 Apple said they would use the Lightning adapter for at least 10 years. Meanwhile they've adopted USB-C across their product line. Apple famously never announces future product plans but I think it's pretty easy to read the tea leaves with regards to what they were going to do.

Well, now there are no tea leaves to read. If Apple doesn't want to be transparent or work with their community, these are the kinds of laws we'll be forced to pass. They have to be responsible with their power, as the single largest private company in the world. We have to hold them accountable.

Here is an ars article to back up the claim that they will switch to usb-c. Some devices like ipads use usb-c already. https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/10/apple-confirms-it-wi...

That ars article was published after the regulatory ball was rolling. The fact that iPads and Macbooks have already switched to USB-C is part of the mounting frustration surrounding Lightning - plus the fact that Lightning was redundant and licensed by Apple.

We need regulators to do this so Apple doesn't change their mind and make "Lightning 2". Even if Apple did have a full USB-C switch on their roadmap, every company in FAANG needs a healthy fear of regulators. Europe cracking down on the App Store and Apple's silly proprietary cables are the start of this, and a fantastic first turnout so far.

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