Getting rid of lightning was a spiteful - and stupid - thing to do, but that isn't what bothers me. What bothers me is that the EU bureaucrats have mandated that USB-C is used in perpetuity, when anyone with any sense knows that it will be obsolete in 5 years, and positively historic in 10: theoretically everyone that sells in the EU will be still building into their kit in 50 years. Like Wintel and the serial port. This is madness.
I think Apple should have kept the lightning port and stopped selling in the EU.
(Side note - USB-C is a mad melange of standards: instead of making sure that everything is interoperable, USB-C makes it impossible to know what is or isn't interoperable. The connector is standard, but the protocols aren't, meaning that no-one can ever be sure when they connect two items using a USB-C cable which functions - if any - will work, and to what extent)
Lawmakers should stay out of technology. I understand that winding up the Apple guy is a widespread pastime, but no-one that doesn't use Apple cared that Apple used lightning, and everyone that used lightning had no interest in USB-C, so the law actually addressed a problem that didn't exist, and "solved" it by making things a hundred times worse. Genius.
The EU saw a problem where none existed: in that Apple used lightning ports and cables, and everyone else used some variant of USB. So they mandated that - for the benefit of the consumer - any electronic device that has a charging port must use USB-C for charging. Thus they forced everyone that used lightning cables to change to USB-C, and buy a new set of cables and peripherals (when the EU says consumer, they apparently - like Smokes - mean "non-Apple-using consumer").
Unfortunately they didn't understand that USB will be obsolete soon, and people will then still have to manufacture equipment with a USB port that is a museum piece. I assume that they are of the opinion that the legislation will be updated to reflect new technology, not comprehending that it is in the interest of the manufacturer to stay with outdated standards if there is no competition (qv serial port, parallel port, RS232, RS422, SCSI, which we would likely still be using if Apple hadn't upset the Wintel "Applecart")
I think the only real downside to losing Lightning is that it was more durable and easier to clean than USB-C. It also felt a bit more secure when plugged in. But beyond that, USB-C is just more capable overall—higher speeds, video output, and universal charging.
Having multiple standards under the same connector isn’t really unique to USB-C. HDMI 2.1, for example, requires better cables but isn’t always labeled clearly, and some devices are advertised as "HDMI 2.1" while only supporting HDMI 2.0 speeds. DisplayPort has different versions too, and even USB-A had its own issues with USB 1.1, 2.0, and 3.0 all looking the same. It’s not ideal, but the real problem is the lack of clear labeling, not the existence of different specs.
The idea that the USB-C law will block innovation forever seems a bit exaggerated. If it actually becomes a limitation, it can be revised, like how other regulations change over time. I don’t really see why USB-C would be outdated so soon though—USB-A has lasted for decades, and HDMI is still evolving. Thunderbolt 5 (or USB4 v2) already does 80Gbps and 240W, which is more than enough for most things outside of GPUs.
The regulation itself was mainly about standardization and reducing e-waste, which makes sense. Having a single charging standard does make things more convenient. But in the case of the iPhone specifically, it also had the side effect of pushing Apple away from its proprietary ecosystem faster than they would have liked. Apple already uses USB-C on Macs and iPads, so they clearly see its advantages. I'm sure some prosumers appreciate the higher speed too, such as those using the phone to film in high resolution often. But keeping Lightning on iPhones let them control accessories, enforce MFi licensing, and reinforce ecosystem lock-in. iPhones are usually the entry point into Apple’s ecosystem, and having a proprietary port made switching to other platforms less appealing. It’s similar to how Apple won’t support RCS messaging or make iMessage open—once people are in the system, they’re more likely to stay.
Also, if getting rid of old ports is bad, then wasn’t Apple dropping serial, parallel, and SCSI also a problem? Those ports stuck around in business and industrial settings, but Apple moved on, which forced the industry to adapt. That’s usually seen as progress. So it’s kind of odd to say that USB-C shouldn’t be mandated, but Lightning—USB 2.0 speeds, no video output—should have stuck around instead. Either removing outdated ports is good, or it isn’t.
