Time.news – With the final go-ahead from the European Parliament and the EU Council on the universal charger, Apple’s grumbles remain on the table. USB-C is already a shared standard in the mobile device landscape. All the major smartphone manufacturers in the world, from Samsung to Xiaomi and Huawei, have been adopting the next generation port for a few years. Most Android phones are equipped with micro-B USB charging ports or have already switched to the more modern USB-C standard. Everyone except Apple.
Europe has postponed all the exceptions raised by the bitten apple company to Cupertino. Objections that were the contents of the letter that Apple had filed with the Commission. According to Cupertino, “the inappropriate use of standards stifles innovation and undermines the goal of broad interoperability”. For Apple, the standards are updated on an ongoing basis and “the procedure for updating the legal text will entail significant delays in bringing innovations and improvements to the European market”.
Stimulus
But is this really the case? Do standards stifle innovation? “In my opinion no, or at least not entirely. Specifically, Apple has already adopted the USB-C standard for its Macbook laptops and iPad tablets, on which there are no particular performance limits, indeed: thanks to the standard Thunderbolt achieved excellent performance. In general, then, innovation is stimulated by directives like these, which push the players in the sector to find new solutions “ explained Francesco Ronchi, Turin, born in 1975, graduated in Computer Science, founder and president of Synesthesia, a digital experience company that supports customers in the implementation phases of a project by accompanying and supporting them in all the steps both on the marketing front and on the technology.
The Lightning connector, the bridge solution
Yes, but why did Cupertino raise the wall? “What is true, on the other hand, is – added Ronchi, who in In Synesthesia has worked at international events such as Droidcon Italia, conceived Swift Heroes and launched the FuturMakers project dedicated to technical-scientific dissemination for children and teenagers – that when the Lightning connector (currently used on the iPhone) was launched, the USB-C standard was not yet ready and Apple had to find an “intermediate” temporary “solution.
“Then it has to do with the fact that Apple has always been hyper-protective of the” walled garden “it has created for its users. This has certainly been an advantage for the company, but it has often benefited users as well. , to the detriment of a certain interoperability and freedom of movement towards other manufacturers or brands, or until there is the need to get out of them “.
For Ronchi, however, “Apple’s real problem in this case is that a new connector change would trigger the discontent of many users who would be forced to change, at a minimum, different cables and chargers for the various accessories. Maybe Apple is waiting to switch to fully wireless charging, completely eliminating (as with the headphone jack) the external connectors from the iPhone.“.
For the other Big Tech, however, a single standard is almost a necessity. “In fact, the majority of other manufacturers already used the USB (micro) standard before the advent of USB-C, so the transition was more natural. The Android world is much more open, but also fragmented, and a standard common is necessary “.
The advantage of standards
According to Ronchi, standardizing standards as they are trying to do in Europe is a prospect that goes in the right direction. “And there are many good reasons to do so, especially ecological and economic ones. Ultimately, standards in information technology have always represented a great advantage and opportunity for both companies and consumers. Europe is working correctly, in this and others. fields (such as marketplaces) intervening with regulations for the benefit of citizens and free competition, creating precedents that are often followed by other countries in the world (just think of the GDPR) “.