Last week’s poll shows that people are excited about Apple’s move to USB-C – it’s the right choice, even if the EU had to force Cupertino to do it. The EU is no longer alone, Saudi Arabia will make USB-C mandatory for laptops from 2025, Brazil is still weighing its options.
Either way, some are concerned about the e-waste the move will create, but the vast majority see it as a necessary, even a good move.
What really worries people is whether Apple will limit USB-C functionality on iPhones. Current Lightning cables (and other accessories) must be MFi-certified, and their authenticity is confirmed via an embedded chip. How fast will you be able to charge your iPhone 15 with a random cable that hasn’t been approved by Apple?
High-power USB-C cables already include an eMarker, a chip that tells your phone and charger the maximum safe current and voltage they can use. Apple could just use the eMarker system, but they might want to use a custom solution. Not that iPhones support particularly fast charging, so the difference might not matter anyway.
But will unofficial USB-C cables be able to carry data, and how fast? What about the output video? Those questions will only be answered later this year when Apple makes the new iPhone 15 series official. And if Apple puts a cap on unofficial cables, the EU may have something to say about it.
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