From Lightning to Type-C — Apple’s “Compromise” in Europe
On October 24th, the European Council approved that from 2024, all electronic devices such as mobile phones, tablets, and digital cameras sold in EU countries must use the Type-C charging interface uniformly. Consumers can also choose to purchase other types of electronic devices by themselves. There is a 40-month grace period allowed for laptops not using qualified charging interfaces. According to the announcement of the EU Council, after being signed by the President of the EU Parliament and the President of EU Council, the act will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and will take effect 20 days after publication. At present, the three main charging interfaces on the market are Lightning, Type-C and Micro USB, of which Lightning is a dedicated interface for Apple products. Under this new EU rule, electronic products with Lightning interface will no longer be available in the EU’s electronic device market, making Apple one of the most affected companies. On October 26th, Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, said at Tech Live in California this week that obviously they have to comply because there is no choice, as they do all over the world. He also said that Apple will comply with EU laws.
Why did the EU decide to unify the charging interface? An important reason is that doing so can reduce electronic pollution. Since existing various types of electronic products still have different interfaces, users must purchase and reserve a large number of interface cables. When unifying electronic device charging interfaces becomes a law, users only need to use one type of data cable. Different kinds of data lines are often idle, which is equivalent to producing e-waste. It is estimated that the EU’s act will help reduce 11,000 tons of electronic waste every year and reduce pollution. From the perspective of enterprise production costs, chargers and electronic equipment can be sold separately in the future, and manufacturers do not need to make corresponding adaptations, which can help all European electronic product users save about 2.25 billion euros in expenses totally each year.
In addition to the above reasons, the law to unify the charging interface also has a strong commercial purpose. For Apple, the unique charging interface it has is one of the great sources of its profit. At present, there are two kinds of Apple Lightning interface data cables on the market: one is the original Apple data cable, and the other is the MFI data cable from a third-party certified manufacturer. Apple plays the role of MFI identification and authentication by building a special chip into the Lightning interface data line. Only third-party products certified by MFI can connect to Apple devices smoothly. According to relevant sources, manufacturers who apply for MFI certification must pay Apple an annual MFI membership fee of $99 , as well as a factory audit fee of $2,060 each time. In the first three quarters of this year, Apple made a full $78.1 billion by selling peripheral products and accessories centered on MFI certification. Apple has previously told EU officials that their act would affect up to 1 billion Apple products with Lightning interface on them.
“Apple stands for innovation, and we care deeply about the user experience,” Apple said in a statement. “We remain concerned that strict regulations requiring a unified charging interface will only stifle creativity rather than encourage technological innovation, which in turn will harm the interests of consumers in Europe and around the world.” Apple has opposed the EU proposal on the grounds that regulatory measures to force the use of a unified interface are stifling innovation rather than encouraging it. In addition, Apple has said that 1 billion Apple products are equipped with Lightning interface, and if Type-C is forced to be used, more electronic waste may be generated, which is inconsistent with the EU’s original intention of environmental protection. Anyway, the bill to unify the charging cable interface will have a great impact on the sales of Apple products in Europe, and the era of iPhone Lightning may come to an end there.
By Tao Cheng
