That's a very big 'may'.

My biggest compliant is that since iOS 7 I get error messages about some of my lightning cables.

I can hear the screams of outrage from the apple faithful if this happens.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

Why couldn't apple just give you a free USB to apple adapter when you bought a phone?

Are they Apple lightning cables?

They do. All Apple iPhone chargers are a plug with a USB socket and a USB to lightning cable.

I think he meant a micro USB adapter. Which they sell rather than give you. They might not be happy about having to give them away but it would be your proverbial drop in the bucket of their profits.

I'm not sure how this change of law will be sold. The eu laws are to standardise chargers, not cables.

Essentially, they want you to be able to plug any device into any charger, which is fair enough, but I'm not sure why this extra part needs adding. Devices still gave to be shipped with chargers so it is no more green. You can look at the issue of vampire charging, but I'm not sure people plug in chargers they don't need and disallowing adapters doesn't change that. I can't see any reason for this law to be changed other than 'we want it to be this way, just because'.

Aside from anything else, this is bolting the door after the horse has gone. There are already millions of lightning port equipped devices in use in the EU and the law certainly can't be applied retrospectively.

I just don't see what the change gains anyone.

Not all of them. It might be down to the chip that might be the phone equivalent of chipped inkjet cartridges. They might be deliberately trying to restrict the competition.

But that isn't USB to Micro USB. If you are travelling, most people have multiple Micro USB charging cables. If the iPhone had Micro USB, or Micro USB adapter, you don't need to carry a charger or cable with you.

@John, why do they need to sold with a charger? The charger is extra costs and extra waste. If I already have 4 or 5 chargers at home, why do I want another. That isnthe whole point of the change, the chargers would be sold separately to those that need them and reduce the device costs. At least that was the argument 3 years ago, when Apple signed up to the voluntary code of conduct in Europe.

My iPhone only came with a cable no charger, and it was only a USB charger so would be suitable for any phone as long as they had their cable. I actually bought myself a charger plug so I could charge it elsewhere. Not everyone has USB ports, or will allow others to plug into them.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Considering they've had several cases of "exploding iPhones" in the news and all were down to dodgy third party chargers I can understand why.

IMO, this was sold as the point of the original EU directive - it wasn't to standardise on a plug socket per se, it was to reduce the number of chargers that are essentially wasted by being given to people who already have them. Interoperabilty was nice side point. However the phone companies still assume their phones might be bought by people who don't have chargers, so most still ship them. This isn't an Apple thing at all, I bought a Sony phone about six months ago - brand new model just onto the shelves - and it came with a USB charger.


Great. Somebody else might. How are they to know which is you and which isn't when they're packaging the phone? The only way to stop phone makers putting chargers in the box is to legislate to make them stop. The EU has singularly not done that, instead focusing on the port on the phone, something which is largely irrelevant.


If that's what they'd wanted the EU directive to say, that's what it would have said. It didn't. If it had been that would actually have been much better, but it wasn't. And, in fact, it still isn't and apparently won't be. Forcing Apple to use micro USB ports on it's phones won't stop anyone shipping chargers or not.


And what's changed since then? The Nexus 7, Galaxy S4, HTC One, Lumia 1020 and Xperia Z all come with chargers in the box. How will making Apple use a connector which by any reasonable estimation is slightly inferior change any of that?

My plug is a genuine Apple one it is that the cable that it came with is used in a dock on my desk. The additional cable I bought has decided since iOS7 to stop charging the phone which it was quite happy to do until iOS7.