Apple may be in trouble if it wants to exclusively charge iPhone 15

# **Apple may be in trouble if it wants to exclusively charge iPhone 15** **Despite pressure from the European Union to use a common charging standard, Apple is still ambitious to monopolize charging accessories on iPhones. ** In October 2022, the European Union (EU) officially approved the use of a single common charging standard (USB Type-C) for mobile devices in Europe from 2024. In that situation, Apple is forced to include USB-C on the iPhone product line, starting with the iPhone 15 this fall. However, the company is still ambitious to monopolize the “golden egg” by applying its own standards to charging accessories. ## Apple circumvents the law Some new rumors say that Apple is planning to require that Type-C cables used with the iPhone 15 still be manufactured according to its MFi standard – a standard that has been associated with Lightning port before. According to Le Vu, director of accessory company Velasboost, Apple has now confirmed with its accessory manufacturing partner that the new iPhone line will use the USB-C charging and data transfer standard. At the same time, accessories connected to the device are required to have MFi, Mr. Vu confirmed to *Zing*. *Tom’s Guide *also says that Apple will apply the MFi standard to accessories (charging cords, headphones, wired speakers …) that use USB Type-C. This means that charging cables that want to work with the iPhone 15 must also be “Made for iPhone” certified USB Type-C cables. If this certificate is not met, the device will not charge and a warning message will be displayed. The fact that Apple does not comply with the regulation of sharing the Type-C standard does not mean that users can freely use any charging cord for iPhone. MFi (short for Made for iPhone/iPad/iPod) are hardware standards for accessories to work well with Apple devices. The company said that of the accessories sent to Apple for inspection, only 2% of them received MFi certification. To ensure that products receive this certification, they must be durable in appearance, operate smoothly with the machine as well as ensure the safety of the user. This is also Apple’s “golden egg”. When each MFi certified product is manufactured, the company will collect $4. This amount will definitely be borne by the user. For MFi-certified accessories, they will have to pay at least $4 more. This brings huge benefits to Apple, and it will not be easy to give up its accessory monopoly when smartphone products from the iPhone 11 generation are no longer sold with chargers. Users will have to spend extra money to buy genuine accessories. In addition, Apple’s adoption of a separate standard for USB Type-C may also affect Android users as other phone manufacturers add this standard to all of their accessories to increase the price for users. ## Apple could be in trouble However, some research from *Laptopmag * suggests this approach could put Apple in trouble with legislators in Europe. An EU research filing outlines the basic rules that manufacturers (including Apple) will have to follow. The EU directive has stated that mobile phones and other devices, if capable of charging at a voltage higher than 5 v, a current higher than 3 A or a power higher than 15 W, and equipped with a USB Type-C plugs will have to use the USB Power Delivery (PD) charging standard. In addition, in a press release issued in October, the EU wrote: “Combining fast charging technology will help prevent different manufacturers from limiting charging rates and will help ensure that charging speed is the same when using any compatible charger for one device.” Therefore, if Apple decides to add a port in the form of MFi to USB-C accessories, it could be considered a violation of regulation even though it has complied by adding a USB-C port to the iPhone. For example, Apple may decide that all non-MFi cables will only charge the iPhone 15 Pro at 15 W, while those recognized by MFi will operate at 27 W (the current charging rate of Apple). iPhone 14). This would be in violation of the above regulation in the EU charging rate research record. However, Apple could argue that a USB-C cable that is not MFi certified could be dangerous and damage your iPhone. It is likely that a large number of customers will be willing to pay an extra buck for an MFi certified charging cable. Notably, Apple didn’t include any kind of MFi authentication chip for the iPad or MacBook line when they switched to USB-C.