Finally, Apple says the iPhone will get USB-C ports. Earlier this month, the European Union passed legislation it forces all phones and tablets sold in the EU to use USB-C charging ports by 2024. It’s a move that has huge ramifications for a company like Apple, which sells iPhones with the same physical design in all regions of the world. And all of these iPhones currently use Apple’s proprietary Lightning connector to charge and connect accessories.
This week, Apple finally recognized that it will bring USB-C ports to the iPhone. Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, Greg Joswiak, confirmed the wall street journal journalist Joanna Stern that USB-C ports are coming.
“Governments have to do what they’re going to do,” Joswiak said at the WSJ Tech Live conference this week. “Obviously we will have to comply. We have no choice.”
Clearly, Apple isn’t exactly happy with the decision. It’s a change the company has resisted for years. Apple’s overall business philosophy is to control every element of its product line. That’s why the company switched from Intel chips to its own proprietary silicon and quadrupled on its streaming service offers. The goal is to keep customers under the apple dome always. Having a proprietary charger on the iPhone was just another part of this strategy. This meant that iPhone users would have to get these charging cords directly from Apple, instead of handing over that money to any other manufacturer. USB-C cords.
Of course, Apple is unlikely to take a big financial hit from the death of the Lightning cable. It’ll probably go all-in on USB-C next year, perhaps even happily marketing the new connector as a way to cut down on excess e-waste at its next flashy iPhone announcement event. Still, the forced change shows just how much the company wants to cling to its darlings, or at least tweak its products on its own timeline rather than someone else’s.
No word yet on the fate of the Apple Pencil’s Lightning ports, Magic Trackpad, and other Apple accessories that currently rely on the connector.
Here’s some other gadget news you might have missed this week because everyone was wondering if Elon Musk will throw Twitter into a volcano.
Apple subscriptions are getting more expensive
Following the announcement last week that YouTube Premium for Families is get a price hikeApple has increased prices of its own streaming services. Apple Music is growing by $1 to $11 per month. Apple Music Family Plans are getting a $2 hike, to $17. Apple TV Plus is also up $2 and will be $7 per month. Apple One will drop from $15 to $17.
Many streaming services seek to get the most out of their subscribers. Netflix also recently said it would start load more for people who share an account among multiple users. It seems Spotify is nextSpotify CEO Daniel Ek said the company may soon increase the monthly price of its music streaming plan.
Press F to pay nothing
Another year, another Call of Duty Game. The latest entry in the absurdly popular military murder franchise was released this week, and by all accounts, it’s really a Call of Duty Game.
But, hey, you know what ain’t a Call of Duty Game? Everything on the disk inside the case. Players who have purchased the physical edition of Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 discovered that the disks are almost empty. There’s a 72 megabyte authenticator app that links to servers where you can download the 150 gigabytes of game files. That’s all on the discs – none of the game files, just a key to access it. This essentially makes the physical copy of the game identical to the digital version, albeit wrapped in an unnecessary plastic case.