Apple has always been a bit of a "lone wolf" when it comes to hardware. The company maintains tight control over their hardware and software empire. In some ways this can be an incredibly good thing. You don't often buy or hear of an Apple product that has hardware issues or compatibility issues with another piece of Apple hardware.
However, like the Yin and Yang, there are positives and negatives to everything. Sometimes that means Apple forces its users into hardware formats they may not want to go. As an example, I'll use my current MacBook Pro. I purchased it shortly before Covid hit in 2019. At the time, that model only offered 4 ports and there were *all* USB-C. Even the power port was USB-C which forced me to use one of the 4 ports just to charge the device. My previous model had several different ports including HDMI, USB, and even an SD card slot. My new Mac forced me to buy all kinds of dongles and adapters so that I could connect to an Ethernet cable, HDMI , SD, USB 2.0, and even a second HDMI adapter as I usually am working from 3 screens.
Imagine my frustration when recently the company announced that their new MacBook Pro models would offer a variety of ports to meet consumer demand. I was *less than thrilled*.
And that brings us to the point of today's post. In an effort to make things easier for consumers, the European Union placed a mandate on manufacturers to use USB-C to charge their devices. In the last, probably 7 years (although I'm not sure of the exact amount of time), Apple has used their proprietary "Lightning" connector to charge iPhones, iPads, and iPods.
Personally I'm grateful to the EU for this little piece of legislation. I'm tired of having to have a lighting cord with me whenever I want to charge my phone or tablet. The mandate is set to take affect in autumn of 2024, but Apple is not hiding their angst over it.
For a full discussion, take a look at this page from The Verge...
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