The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China has issued new requirements. Soon all mobile phones sold in the domestic market will have to support the Type-C interface. This is another big market that has decided to unify the charging interface after the mandatory

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China has issued new requirements. Soon all mobile phones sold in the domestic market will have to support the Type-C interface. This is another big market that decided to unify the charging interface after the European market forced the adoption of the Type-C interface. It will facilitate the interoperability of multiple devices and reduce electronic waste.

There has been a debate about the type-c interface and the Apple Lightning interface for many years. Technically speaking, the technical advantages of the type-c interface are very obvious. Both the data transmission rate and the charging power are far superior to the Lightning interface that Apple strongly promotes. It is precisely because of the technological leadership of the type-C interface that it quickly replaced the Micro USB interface and became a universal interface for the non-Apple camp.

However, after the type-C interface has completely replaced non-Apple electronic devices, Apple still insists on using its own Lightning interface. Industry insiders believe that this is mainly because Apple is unwilling to abandon the Lightning interface based on its own interests.

Apple's iPhone, iPad, Macbook and many other products use its own Lightning interface, which can be better compatible with its own devices, but more importantly, it can consolidate the unique ecology of many of its own device hardware, so consumption Consumers who use one of Apple's products often end up purchasing an Apple Family Bucket for convenience, thus bringing huge income to Apple.

In addition, Apple’s hardware ecosystem can also help bring it additional generous profits. The 2021 performance shows that Apple’s accessories business revenue reached 8.7 billion US dollars. Although it does not account for a high proportion of overall revenue, the profits are very high. For example, Apple's data cable costs more than 100 yuan, while a USB-C data cable on the market only costs more than 10 yuan. The profit in the middle is something Apple is not willing to give up easily.

Apple’s persistence has caused huge waste. Since Apple’s main products such as iPad, Mac, and iPhone need to use its own accessories to achieve more friendly compatibility, consumers cannot use other accessories after purchasing Apple products. As a result, more and more Apple accessories have been accumulated, and at the same time high costs have been paid, which is naturally not conducive to the chain and the reduction of social costs.

Europe has launched antitrust investigations against Apple many times before, but Apple would rather pay a huge fine than compromise. It was not until Europe recently took an extremely tough attitude that Apple had to compromise. It is reported that Apple has discussed USB-C with the industry chain The supply of components and the type-C interface are also being tested internally, showing that it will eventually comply with European requirements and adopt the type-C interface in 2024.

The Chinese market has long become one of Apple's three major markets, and it has been the market with the highest revenue growth for Apple in the past two years. Apple's products have unique competitiveness in the Chinese market, which relies on its software and hardware ecosystem. Of course, it does not We are willing to change this ecology easily, but now that the world is pushing for hardware compatibility, coupled with the tough attitude of China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, it is estimated that Apple will also comply.

Facing the tough attitude of China and Europe, Apple actually has some small thoughts. Some people in the industry speculate that after Apple adopts the type-C interface, its future data transmission and charging technology may shift to wireless technology. By using wireless technology Come and build your own hardware ecosystem and continue to ensure huge profits.

In any case, after Apple adopts the type-C interface, its competitiveness will eventually lose part of it. This is a beneficial change for Chinese mobile phone companies. Today, Chinese mobile phones as a whole account for nearly 50% of the global market, giving Apple and and Samsung bring huge pressure. Unification in hardware will help Chinese mobile phones seize more markets. After all, the cost advantage of Chinese mobile phones is unmatched by Apple.