All Phones in the EU will require USB-C, including all Apple Products- New EU Mandate.

All Phones in the EU will require USB-C, including all Apple Products- New EU Mandate.

All Phones in the EU will require USB-C, including all Apple Products- New EU Mandate.

Legislators in the European Union have struck an agreement on legislation that will require all future cell phones sold in the EU to feature the universal USB-C connection for wired charging by the fall of 2024. This goes for the iPhone, which has been using the lightning port. Other electronic gadgets, including tablets, digital cameras, headphones, handheld video game consoles, and e-readers, will be subject to the ban. Laptops will be required to comply with the rule at some point in the future.

Parliament’s rapporteur Alex Agius Saliba (S&D, MT) said: “Today we have made the common charger a reality in Europe! European consumers were frustrated long with multiple chargers piling up with every new device. Now they will be able to use a single charger for all their portable electronics. We are proud that laptops, e-readers, earbuds, keyboards, computer mice, and portable navigation devices are also included in addition to smartphones, tablets, digital cameras, headphones and headsets, handheld video game consoles, and portable speakers. We have also added provisions on wireless charging being the next evolution in the charging technology and improved information and labeling for consumers”.

The EU’s implementation of a “common charger” is an attempt to reduce e-waste while also making life easier for customers. Lawmakers anticipate that in the future, phones and other electronic devices will not need to come with a charger because purchasers will already have the necessary components at home. According to the EU, the regulation may save customers millions of euros a year on “unnecessary charger purchases” and reduce e-waste by 11,000 tons each year.

Apple, which is the only major smartphone manufacturer that still uses a proprietary port (the lightning port) instead of USB-C, will be the most affected by the accord. Apple sold 241 million iPhones worldwide in 2021, with roughly 56 million shipped in Europe. Some of their lineups use USB-C though, like the iPad, iPad Pro, iPad Air, and iPad Mini. This mandate will only be in effect in European countries, but will Apple switch to the USB-C on iPhone units outside of the EU? Apple hasn’t revealed its plans.

According to the mandate, all phone manufacturers have 24-months to switch fully to the USB-C chargers for all the phone lineups being shipped to the EU.

According to the Verge, “Critics say the new legislation will stifle innovation by de-incentivizing manufacturers from developing improved charging standards. The EU denies this will be the case, and says it will update the legislation as new technology is developed.”

The next few months should be interesting, with the announcement of the new iPhone lineups on the horizon (iPhone 14, 14 Pro, and 14 Pro Max). Are they going to switch to the USB-C globally or are they going to ship different units with USB-C to only the EU while retaining the lightning port in other regions? We’ll find out soon enough.

Apple Launched iOS 16 this week. What’s in it for iPhone Users?

Apple Launched iOS 16 this week. What’s in it for iPhone Users?

Apple Launched iOS 16 this week. What’s in it for iPhone Users?

 

Earlier this week, Apple launched the new iOS 16, which is chock full of customization features. Apple in the past has never been forthcoming with personalization features, but for iOS, this may be the breaking of a new dawn.

The lock screen received an update in this iOS version; a complete overhaul of what used to be the standard lock screen on the iPhone over the last decade. In iOS 16, you can change the wallpaper, clock style, color, and font as you wish. There’s also an option to add and customize widgets. The personalization options are vast, and the revamped Wallpaper Gallery comes with the option to create and save multiple preset lock screens. You can easily switch to a different lock screen you desire at any point in time.

The lock screen can be linked to Focus mode, which means you can have a different preset lock screen for the different focus modes. You can have one each for Sleep mode or Work mode.

Notifications now do not take up the lock screen like in previous iOS versions. They are hidden and will only show when you swipe up on the lock screen. You can also swipe down to hide the notifications after viewing them.

iMessage Updates

iMessage also received major updates and overall quality of life improvements in iOS 16. You can now edit sent messages in iOS 16. There’s no need to panic after realizing you made a mistake in an already-sent message. I wonder how it is going to work out. Hopefully, there will be an indication that a message has been edited. You can also “unsend” a message, which will be deleted on both devices. This should come in handy when you text the wrong person.
You can also mark messages as read without scrolling through hundreds of group chat messages.

Dictation

The new iOS saw a massive improvement in the on-device dictation system. The dictation app will type out everything you say with incredible accuracy. The biggest plus is that the app will fix punctuations where the AI thinks it needs one using machine learning. You can also switch between typing and talking seamlessly in one document. These changes overall take text-to-speech to another level.

Other Updates

  • Live Texts is now available for video formats. Users can now copy texts that are seen in videos.
  • Ability to select objects from pictures to use as stickers. It does a good job of cutting the object from the background. The object can now be copied and pasted in chats, documents, etc.
  • The in-built keyboard now has a haptic touch.
  • General Apple Maps improvements
  • Quick Search on the home screen to search apps on your phone.
  • Newly revamped Wallpaper Gallery


Apple finally embracing and including more personalization options is good to see. That was one knock Android users never forgot to remind iPhone users. It’s still not to the level of Android 12 or even older versions, but I think Apple will gradually get there.