Published on
Thursday, September 23, 2021
Earlier today, the European Union announced plans to force all devices - including iPhones - to use a common charging port. This is notable, as Apple has used their proprietary Lightning connector for years, while the rest of the industry moved on to USB-C. Under the new plan, Apple would have to change this.
“We remain concerned that 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,” a spokesperson told Reuters.
Sound familiar? Maybe because it's the exact same argument Epic Games used against Apple regarding payment methods. If Apple truly was "concerned" about hurting competition, they wouldn't be doing exactly that on their own platform.
And that's not even the strangest part about this. Apple is competing with itself on charging ports. They just recently released the new iPad mini -- with a USB-C port -- advertising that it was “10x faster than [Lightning]”. Then, in the same keynote, released new iPhones… with Lightning ports. Apple praises the versatility & speed of USB-C, then goes on to use something worse.
The company is in a quite odd position -- they're concerned about competition, while engaging in anti-competitive behavior, and are praising a charging port, which they don't even use.