Apple is about to change this major iPhone feature (fans are upset)
07 September, 2023
One of the reasons Apple (AAPL) - Get Free Report is one of the most visionary companies of the 21st century is because it ushers in change faster than almost any other tech company.
In the early 2000s It changed how we bought and listened to music. It reconceptualized what a cellphone should look like and do. It essentially invented the tablet category, made wireless headphones a symbol of fashion, status and efficiency, and now is looking to disrupt the health sector, spearheading the industry with its beloved Apple Watch.
Now, as the annual Apple event nears and folks are awaiting changes from Cupertino, one reported major change has iPhone users in a frenzy.
Fans brace for a major Apple iPhone change
Currently, iPhone models use the company's proprietary and original charger, also known as the Lightning charger. Lightning chargers are made only for Apple devices; they charge AirPods, iPhones, the Apple Pencil, and several other mobile accoutrements.
Other Apple products, along with most other non-Apple tech devices, use the USB-C charging system. Alphabet's Android, Samsung and other headphone and mobile products all use such chargers.
In September 2021, European Union regulators took issue with Apple's proprietary chargers and mandated: "Regardless of their manufacturer, all new mobile phones, tablets, digital cameras, headphones and headsets, handheld videogame consoles and portable speakers, e-readers, keyboards, mice, portable navigation systems, earbuds and laptops that are rechargeable via a wired cable, operating with a power delivery of up to 100 watts, will have to be equipped with a USB Type-C port."
This, of course, includes Apple, which is one of the top-selling phones on the Continent.
Apple, for its part, was not happy with the mandate, claiming it would create a lot of waste and do not much good for its products.
"Obviously, we'll have to comply. We have no choice," Apple Senior Vice President of Marketing Greg Joswiak said at the time.
The new iPhone 15 is expected to use USB-C
And so, Apple's latest iPhone 15 models are expected to use USB-C chargers when they're unveiled at Apple's Sept. 12 annual event. And while lots of excitement and buzz typically surrounds the event, tech insiders believe the charger change will be met with a dour attitude.
"A lot of people were worried and annoyed that they had to buy all new cords and accessories when Apple made the changeover from the 30-pin dock connector to the Lightning port," the app developer Johan Alexander said via Lifewire.
"Users eventually got used to the Lightning port's faster data transfer and greater flexibility in the ecosystem. Similarly, adapting to USB-C may cause some initial annoyance, but the widespread adoption of the new standard will ultimately benefit users."
This isn't the first time Apple has changed a charger on its user base. Longtime users might recall Apple's first-ever 30-pin dock charger, which also paired with the iPod and was almost as large as the entire bottom part of the devices. Apple switched to the Lightning charger in 2012 with the release of iPhone 5.
Apple is making no bones about how it feels about the regulation.
"Strict regulation mandating just one type of connector stifles innovation rather than encouraging it, which in turn will harm consumers in Europe and around the world," an Apple representative told the BBC.
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Source: www.thestreet.com