Apple has replaced the charging interface, but your Type-C cable may still not be usable

The newly released iPhone has finally changed its interface.In 2022, the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor of making Type-C a mandatory universal charging port for various consumer devices by 2024

The newly released iPhone has finally changed its interface.

In 2022, the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor of making Type-C a mandatory universal charging port for various consumer devices by 2024. Greg Joswiak, Apple's Vice President of Global Marketing, stated that Apple will have to switch to Type-C on iPhones and other devices still using Lightning to comply with new EU rules.

This is undoubtedly a good thing for users. Type-C interface has strong universality, good compatibility, and affordable price. In addition to improving usage efficiency, it also reduces resource waste.

IPhone finally switched to Type-C

Since iPhone 5, Apple has been using the Lightning interface for 11 consecutive years. This may have been a lead 11 years ago. Due to the adoption of an integrated design, it not only improves the service life but also supports forward and reverse insertion. Compared to the mainstream Micro USB interface on Android phones at that time, there has been a huge improvement in user experience and technological progress.

However,Today, the traditional interface of the iPhone has clearly fallen behind. Compared to the Type-C interface that is already compatible on various devices, the Lightning interface today can only be used on Apple phones, and its speed is still stuck in the USB2.0 era, with data transfer speed and charging power much lower than Type-C.

In addition to performance differences, what is more concerning to ordinary people isApple's lightning interface is not cheap. On Apple's official website, a regular half meter long lightning to USB cable costs 145 yuan, nearly twice the price of many third-party brands. But a high price does not necessarily mean that the quality of the data cable has also doubled. On the contrary, there are not many complaints about the interruption of Apple's original data on social media.

The existence of lightning interfaces means that consumers cannot share data cables from other devices with them.

But Apple has changed the Type-C interface, and now we have so many Type-C cables at home, can we prepare one less Apple cable? The answer may disappoint you.

We all know that the Lightning data cable has a built-in chip, and after connecting to the iPhone, the system will read this chip to confirm whether it is officially authorized. Without a chip, it cannot be used with the iPhone.

How to obtain chips? MFi (MadeForiPhone) certification is required, which is Apple's strict certification and authorization standard for third-party accessory manufacturers. Manufacturers must obtain authorization to produce accessories for Apple devices.

According to the New Consumer Daily, a subsidiary of Cailian News, well-known whistleblower MajinBu also shared a photo of a chipset labeled as a 3LD3 chip, claiming that it is the upcoming charging component of the iPhone 15 series. This component may identify different charging cables and adapters, and impose restrictions on non Apple certified third-party accessories to protect the phone and users.

According to 21st Century Economic Report, Foxconn's Type-C line, which has already started mass production, still contains MFi certification.

However, Type-C iPhone2024

How much does this charging cable affect?

Some articles claim that if Apple discontinues the Lightning interface, it will lose billions of dollars in profits annually.

Can a data cable really have such a significant impact?

Take a look at Apple's financial report.

According to the 2022 financial report,Apple recorded revenue of $41 billion in wearable, home and accessory categories, accounting for 10.4% of total revenue. Looking back three years, this proportion has roughly remained unchanged.The revenue under this caliber includes not only various types of charging cables, connecting cables, and power adapters, but also products such as AirPods, AppleWatch, HomePod, and AppleTV.

Explanation: The figure shows Apple's revenue situation under various categories; Source: Apple 2022 Annual Report

Therefore, for the entire Apple company,The revenue changes brought about by charging cables, connecting cables, etc. are relatively limited. Considering the existence of products such as AirPods, AppleWatch, HomePod, and AppleTV, the range of revenue changes caused by interface conversion is far below $41 billion.

As for the highly discussed Apple MFi licensing on the internet recently, the impact of interface conversion is not yet clear.

According to Apple's official website, there are currently 414 MFi authorized manufacturers. In addition to Apple's annual membership fee of $99, manufacturers applying for MFi certification also need to pay $2060 per factory audit.

There is currently no clear indication that Apple's Type-C data cable will abandon MFi authentication. Is Apple willing to waive this' Apple tax '? We still need to wait and see.

Apple has no longer included chargers for new phones since the iPhone 12 series. At that time, Apple explained that most consumers already have charging heads, and a large number of additional products will generate "electronic waste" and have an impact on the environment. According to 2022 statistics, this environmental protection measure has reduced costs for Apple by $264 million (approximately RMB 1.923 billion).

Nowadays, the unified data line interface was originally a bill designed for environmental protection, and according to the EU, it is estimated that it can save consumers up to 250 million euros (approximately 1.953 billion yuan) annually and reduce electronic waste by 11000 tons. But in 2021, an Apple spokesperson protested that mandatory conversion to Type-C would generate more electronic waste, billions of outdated cables could be buried, and more accessories in the Lightning ecosystem could become unusable. This change could actually damage the environment.

However, environmentally friendly apples can earn money every time.

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