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The size of the global consumer electronics market is growing, and the demand for electronic devices such as smartphones has contributed to the development of a large surrounding market, allowing chargers, data cables and other accessories to have considerable profit margins.
Behind these profits is actually caused by the differentiation of the charging interface, and the European Union has taken action to promote the unification of the charging interface. This was strongly opposed by Apple, only because it shook the market profit of Apple's charging interface.
However, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has also officially stated that it is also necessary to promote the unification of charging interfaces. Where should Cook go from here? Will you join the Type-C faction?
For the charging interface, Apple has a tough attitude
In September 2021, the European Union officially announced that it will adopt Type-C as a universal charging port to reduce e-waste and promote environmental protection. This decision was supported by many manufacturers, except Apple.
Apple, who learned of this news, could not sit still, and the European Union launched a fierce debate, opposing the mobile phone charging interface from Lightning to Type-C, bluntly saying that doing so will bring inconvenience to users, and replacing type-C will be more wasteful than using the original interface, because customers need to buy additional chargers and power adapters.
Apple's explanation seems to make a lot of sense, from the perspective of Apple users, do not want them to buy additional new accessories.
But this is just Apple's excuse, if it is really considered for Apple users, it will not cancel the accompanying charger. Since consumers need to buy additional charger accessories, what is the difference between them and replacing the new charging interface?
But Apple is unwilling to compromise and has a very tough attitude, saying that this will have a negative impact, inconvenience hundreds of millions of Apple users in Europe and even the world, and will produce unprecedented e-waste.
Is this really the case? I am afraid that apple is reluctant to replace the charging interface because it is worried about losing the relevant revenue share under the Lightning interface, resulting in the loss of profits for accessories such as iPhones and other ecological devices.
Apple has connected a large number of ecological products with the Lightning charging interface, and Apple not only sells Lightning power adapters, but also obtains huge revenue through MFI certification.
Third-party peripheral manufacturers who want to produce charging cables for lightning interfaces, or access Apple's hardware facility ecology, then they need to pass MFI certification, and Apple can extract certification fees every time.
Whether it is charging the iPhone, connecting external devices, or using digital-to-analog converters and other operations, it is inseparable from the support of MFI certification, otherwise the Lightning charging interface will not be able to use, even if it is safe and quality-assured.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has stated that where does Cook go?
Apple insists that the Lightning interface has so many benefits that it naturally needs to defend its own interests. But the EU's promotion of the unification of the Type-C interface is also justified, one is to better solve the waste of resources and reduce the generation of e-waste. The second is that the Type-C interface has higher and faster data transmission speeds.
Domestic mobile phone manufacturers using Type-C can achieve up to 120W fast charging, and they can be fully charged in more than ten minutes. The Apple Lightning interface does not have the corresponding transmission speed, and can only achieve a fast charging rate of about 20W.
But whether Apple is willing to replace the charging interface or not, the result may be doomed. Because after the European Union, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology also officially stated. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued a document saying that it will promote the integration and unification of charging interfaces and establish a standard system.
This may cause dissatisfaction among Apple users, as this will prompt them to spend extra money to buy new chargers, power adapters. It may indicate why not the Lightning interface as a unified standard, but Type-C?
In fact, it is not difficult to explain that the number of people using the Type-C interface in the world far exceeds Lightning, and the unification of the Type-C interface will certainly be smoother. In addition, TyPe-C has better data transmission capabilities, and supports PD, QC and other fast charging protocols, which can allow Android mobile phone manufacturers to bring 66W or 120W charging power to consumers.
Higher charging power may be broken in the future, but only if the Type-C interface is used. If apple's lightning charging interface is used, it may be difficult to break through the charging power of 66W, let alone 120W, no matter how much research and development is invested.
The question now is where Apple CEO Tim Cook should go, and as Apple's CEO, he has a lot of decision-making power over whether Apple insists on using Lightning.
There are two main choices in front of Apple, one is not willing to cooperate with the unification of the charging interface, continue to discuss with the European Union or the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in the future. The other is obedient cooperation, but in this way, Apple will lose about billions of accessories market profits every year.
If Apple chooses the first one, the end result is not necessarily that Apple has the upper hand. Under the trend of unified charging interface, it is estimated that Apple is not too sure that it can buck the trend.
summary
The European Union and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology have spoken, and the purpose is the same, that is, to promote a unified standard for charging interfaces, thereby reducing the waste of resources. Apple's insistence on its own charging interface can create great benefits, but in the face of the actions of the European Union and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, how should Apple Cook respond? Exciting.
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