

Apple reveals Lightning to microUSB adapter to pacify Europe - dchichkov
http://www.slashgear.com/apple-reveals-lightning-to-microusb-adapter-to-pacify-europe-13247411/

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ars
How is an adapter a valid way to obey the law? The goal is that you don't have
proprietary chargers in the box. i.e. the goal is the charger, not the phone.

If apple sells the phone with their charger, that has a proprietary interface
that are not obeying the law, adapter or no adapter.

To obey the law the charger must have a microUSB connector on it, and they
need to offer phones with no charger at a lower cost as an option.

The goal is to reduce waste, instead apple is increasing it with this adapter.

~~~
m_eiman
The charger has a normal USB-A female connecter, so you can connect any USB
cable that will fit in a computer to it. So the charger itself isn't limited
to Lightning, but can be used with a USBA->microUSB cable.

Also see
[http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/rtte/chargers/questio...](http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/rtte/chargers/questions/index_en.htm)
that says:

 _Which is the agreed common interface?

On the basis of the Micro-USB interface, the companies have agreed to develop
a common specification in order to allow for full compatibility of chargers
and mobile phones. These specifications have been translated in European
standards.

N.B.: The agreement allows for the use of an adaptor._

~~~
buro9
> N.B.: The agreement allows for the use of an adaptor.

That doesn't make sense unless Apple ship adaptors for both the charger and
phone.

As your parent said, the goal is very clearly to have one charger be capable
of charging any mobile device.

So... can the Apple charger be used on the Nokia? If not, then they also need
to make available an adaptor the other way around.

The whole point is to not ship chargers at some point. If Apple make it so
that other chargers can charge the iPhone but the Apple charger cannot charge
anything else, then Apple are still outside the spirit of the law.

They need to provide 2 adaptors. The charger must charge a Nokia, and a Nokia
charger must charge an iPhone.

~~~
taligent
Yes. The current Apple Power->USB charger works just fine at charging Nokia
devices. And no reason why it would be any different now.

~~~
buro9
If the only cable provided in the box with the iPhone is this one:
[http://store.apple.com/uk/product/MD818ZM/A/lightning-to-
usb...](http://store.apple.com/uk/product/MD818ZM/A/lightning-to-usb-
cable?fnode=45)

A USB > Lightning cable.

Then how can I take any phone off my desk and just charge it? The Nokia
doesn't have a Lightning interface.

And if they don't supply a cable with a male microUSB end, then how are they
complying?

It's not like the last video on this page doesn't make the purpose eminently
clear:
[http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/rtte/chargers/index_e...](http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/rtte/chargers/index_en.htm)

In Europe, they should ship a microUSB charger and give everyone the adaptor
too.

Then, we have one charger for all... and the iPhone can be charged using the
adaptor.

That's not ideal for Apple and it is a less than elegant solution given the
lightning port, but the whole point is to put a common consumer and the
environment before the corporations and proprietary interfaces (and chargers).

------
brunnsbe
I guess they will need to include the adapter with the phone here in EU,
otherwise they can be in serious trouble with even a sales blockade by EU as
one of the options.

Here is a FAQ about the Micro-USB from the European Commission:
[http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/rtte/chargers/questio...](http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/rtte/chargers/questions/index_en.htm)

~~~
taligent
Apple isn't stupid. They always include the adapter and charger with every
iPhone sold.

Not just to comply with regulations but because the iPhone is designed to be
usable without a computer.

~~~
brunnsbe
Of course they will include the charger, but now the question is if they will
include the micro-USB adapter as well.

------
moondowner
Instead of changing the old port with Lightning, they could've changed it to
microUSB.

~~~
fredley
Can anyone come up with a feasible reason why they haven't done this? Other
than allow the connector to go in either way up, what advantages does
Lightning provide?

~~~
eloisant
1\. Force you to buy overpriced cables 2\. Lock you in - once you have a bunch
of iPhone-only peripherals, you're more likely to keep buying iPhones rather
than switching brands

~~~
rimantas
So you say what they just unlocked all the users of previous iPhones and
iPods, because the connector is no longer the same.

------
bonaldi
None of the adapters offered so far look like they're going to support use
inside existing docks/devices -- the best you can do is the use the cable
adapter and then sit the phone nearby.

On top of that, there isn't even a Lightning dock for sale from Apple!

This change seems badly thought out, and shaving a few mm from the overall
device a poor justification for the massive expense and upheaval involved.
When even hotel rooms have caught on to the popularity of the dock connector,
changing it should have had better reasons.

~~~
nicholassmith
Shaving a few mm is definitely a good justification for doing it. Every
company is pushing for thinner devices.

The dock connector has been in use for years, it was fit for purpose then and
it's not fit for purpose now. Apple as a company has never shown any remorse
over killing technology and ports it thinks are outdated and pushing forward.

Personally I think it's the best thing of the new iPhone, the current
connector sucks and is overly fragile, but I'm not invested in docks or
similar mostly as the change has been expected since the iPhone 4ish.

~~~
bonaldi
"never shown any remorse over killing technology and ports it thinks are
outdated and pushing forward"

Whenever it has done this, it has nearly always been in the name of progress
-- it has made things better.

This makes them worse. It takes you from a world with nearly a half-billion
usable dock connectors and devices in it to a world with none (unless you
remember your adapter everywhere you go).

This is not them replacing ADB with USB. This is them replacing VGA with ADC
(their ill-fated custom video adapter which was rightfully killed when the
market adopted DVI.)

The market now is settling on Micro-USB (which would have equally given them
their few mm back) The advantages of "adaptive digital interface" pale next to
the advantages of "a charger and connection, wherever in the world you are".

~~~
nicholassmith
Well, ADC was killed when Apple realised it was unsustainable in the market.
It wasn't actually a bad idea, combining power, signal and USB over one cable.
20/20 hindsight though.

This thins out the device, it improves the connector and it makes it more
durable and it builds for the future, it's a good thing (in my eyes).

It takes you into a world where there's many dock connectors that don't work
with your device, and if you're an iPhone 5 buyer then you deal with that. And
saying 'they should have used Micro-USB' (in not so many words) would also
break compatibility with the docks, so the only thing they could have done is
_not change anything_ , which is also a bad idea.

------
ipt
It's a shame Apple didn't design this new port such that a microUSB cable
could plug straight into one half of it (for charging only).

------
corin_
I'm not familiar with the specifics of legislation, but surely it must be
pretty shoddy if companies are allowed to charge for adapters which are needed
to make the phone comply with the rule?

~~~
panacea
I'm not an expert, but yeah, I'm fairly sure these will need to be included in
the box for iPhones sold in Europe.

Off topic, but the Lightening connector has 8 copper strips, and it's a 9 pin
connecter. Presumably, the outer metal strip is the 9th?

Does this adapter lessen the capabilities of the connector?

I mean, are their legitimate functional requirements that the 9-pin connector
addresses beyong the capabilities of a micro-usb? I've seen a comment or two
on blogs, but no explanation.

~~~
_djo_
Yes, the additional pins are for things like audio in/out & video out, making
the Lightning connector more capable than microUSB alone. So this microUSB
adaptor will be usable for charging only.

In terms of the legislation that's ok, as it only specifies a common charging
format, not a common accessory connector format.

~~~
kalleboo
> Yes, the additional pins are for things like audio in/out & video out,
> making the Lightning connector more capable than microUSB alone

I don't think we know this yet, details on the Lightning connector specs are
sparse, aside from it being "all-digital" and "adaptive".

~~~
panacea
This is what I was wondering about. You can do a heck of a lot of different
things through a thunderbolt port. You don't need seperate copper pipes/pins
for each function... It's not a miniature switchboard, with a bunch of tiny
cables plugged into each pin.

~~~
taligent
Thunderbolt cables have very expensive, somewhat fragile controllers at each
end of the cable.

The Lightening cables are designed to be cheap, simple and sturdy.

~~~
panacea
Not an answer to the question I asked. You've conflated 'connector sturdiness'
with function. A micro-usb plug could be made rugged. Thanks anyway.

------
laacz
Please, please, stop saying that there is a law on microUSB compatibility in
EU. There is memorandum of agreement, which is not binding. Vendors agreed
that it would be awesome, if you could charge any phone via common external
power supply. That's all. Nobody is forcing anyone to do anything.

Also, there are several standards, which also are not binding. One can
implement them and wave hands, but one can also ignore them or work around
them (via adaptor, for example).

------
Matsta
It seems like something that will get lost after 2 seconds since its so small.
Wouldn't it of been better if they made something really slim that just
attached to the bottom of your phone? So if you did want to regularly charge
with micro usb, you could just leave it on and not loose it.

The other thing I don't get is why Apple charge so much for this tiny thing.
In 2 seconds flat we'll see clones of it coming on ebay for $1, if Apple
actually priced it at $5 or something, people would actually buy it and Apple
would still make a 1000% mark up on it.

------
josteink
Apple: NIH reinvented.

