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Comment by TomMarius | Hacker News Reader

> What would the EU do in this case?

Fine Apple for not following its regulation, of course. Classic EU.

It'll be interesting to see how clear-cut this is. Do the rules actually require the socket, or do they say that if the socket is present it needs to be a certain type.

(Even in the former case, there'd be a much stronger "stifling innovation" case if you're proposing a fully-wireless device rather than just a slightly thinner incompatible socket).

If you want to express how oppressive the EU is, it might be better to use "late modern EU".

I would suggest he goes for "socialist EU".

I was just joking because before his edit he had "classical EU" instead of "classic EU".

Sorry I didn't update the page and didn't see your comment. I'd add an edit notice, but I thought nobody has noticed. :X

You would've gotten away with it, if it weren't for the meddling me! :)

If I were Apple, I'd just not pay the fine and let the EU try to ban the iPhone from being sold. And then I'd ignore the ban until they tried to enforce it, at which point I'd just stop selling them.

It would cause an absolute uproar. No iPhones because the EU doesn't like the Lightning port? The argument won't stand a moment's scrutiny and within a week, individual governments will be so averse to the controversy that the EU would be forced to fold.

Microsoft tried the "let's not pay" strategy once and failed. And Windows was arguably more strategic than iPhone.

EU is a huge market for Apple they can't just ignore it. If they are compelled to comply then they could make a EU version of the iPhone with USB-C connector. It would require a bit of re-engineering and re-tooling, but nothing Apple couldn't handle. However I suppose that if this ever happens there will be a lot of grey market export.

Personally with USB-C I don't really mind one way or another.

Microsoft didn't have a plausible argument on their end; that EU action could be easily spun as pro-consumer. I don't think the EU spin would work so well here.

Windows might be more "strategic" than iPhone, but unlike Windows the iPhone is a product consumers actually want. It won't fly to tell their citizens they can't have it because it uses a plug everyone already has ten spare cables for.

Many people would prefer to have USB-C cables on their phone. I guess the majority don't care, many would like USB-C and those who prefer lightning are in minority. The transition from lightning to USB-C would also probably be simpler than from 30-pin to lightning.

In the long run people will have more spare usb-c cables than lightning ones as well.

It won't fly to tell its customers that they can't have it because Apple considers itself too special to simply follow standards and the law.

That will be the line of argument from the EU of course, and I'm sure plenty of non-iPhone customers will accept it. Everyone with an existing iPhone effectively being told that the product they currently hold in their hands is now banned from sale because the little socket on the bottom isn't blessed by the EU? That little socket that their millions of customers love and appreciate as being a desirable feature of the device?

Good luck with that.

> love and appreciate

Normal people don't talk like that about connector sockets.

Maybe not consciously, but they absolutely do subconsciously.

When you've spent a long time dealing with blindingly or subtly hateful plugs and sockets, a connector like lightning seems utterly magical. I appreciate its ergonomics every time I plug my phone in.

I however don't appreciate how flimsy lightning is when it keeps disconnecting my apple headphones when my phone is in my pocket. Coincidentally, they put out new wireless headphones.

Not to mention what a hassle it is to find someone to borrow their cable from if I accidentally left mine at home.

> Maybe not consciously, but they absolutely do subconsciously.

This is not how talking works.

Actually it really is.

Why would someone say something like "I love the lightning connector" if they aren't aware that they do? Please explain.

Everyone already has ten proprietary lightning cables? That's news to me.

I have at least 6. And we had 3 iPhones in this house.

6,999,999 to go.

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