You might have read headlines today about how the EU is looking to force Apple to ditch the Lightning cable television. That’s not truly real.
Since 2009, the European Commission has been trying to encourage tech companies to embrace a single wall charger instead of opting for a proprietary technique, one that can power any and all portable gadgets. And now, following a recent declaration by the Commission at Parliament that calls for stricter enforcement on the matter– possibly to the point of regulation– a couple of publications have actually been incorrectly convinced that this action could lead to Apple’s Lightning port and cable television disappearing when and for all, and forcing Apple to adopt USB-C throughout the board.
(At the behest of the Commission in previous years, Apple complied by making a Micro USB to 30- pin adapter for phones preceding the iPhone 5, and for more current phones, it made a Micro USB to Lightning adapter). Vice president of the European Commission Maroš Šefčovič shared that when its mission for the typical charger started in 2009, there were over 30 proprietary charging methods in usage. Even so, he shares that old, discarded battery chargers make up for 51,000 metric loads of e-waste per year.
But as hopeful as we are that USB-C will take Lightning’s place in 2020, the European Commission isn’t proposing that anything occur to the Lightning port or cable television. Again, it’s about battery chargers– and Apple already makes a charger that probably does what the Commission is asking!
Apple already consists of 18 W USB-C wall battery chargers, in addition to Lightning to USB-C cables, with its iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max. The business’s 2018 iPad Pro and complete lineup of MacBook laptops use USB-C chargers and cables too, and the most powerful USB-C chargers that Apple ships are equally capable of powering a laptop, tablet or phone– they’re universal. Apple may lag behind with the battery chargers included with some of its products, like the 5W USB Type-A charger that includes the basic iPhone 11, but it’s making development toward this typical battery charger effort, and that development doesn’t appear to be concerning an end.
And even if every charger on the planet amazingly turned into a USB-C charger tomorrow, that still wouldn’t force Apple to remove the Lightning ports from its phones. Once again, Apple already offers and ships a USB-C to Lightning cable television.
It makes sense that news outlets are invoking Apple’s name when it comes to cable televisions and battery chargers. It’s one of the greatest companies in the world, and thus, defunct Apple chargers likely make up a big part of the e-waste pile. And, if that’s what is required to require them all to consist of fast-charging USB-C wall adapters in the box, Apple included, it’s hard not to get behind the initiative.
