The universal charger, too little for Apple

Fifteen years that Europe was waiting to be able to cut the cord. After having used its lobbyists in Brussels and played with the patience of the European Commission, Apple lost, on Tuesday June 7, one of its emblematic fights. From the fall of 2024, the chargers for its phones and iPads – in 2026 for MacBooks – will have to be compatible with the USB type C port. Already adopted by most manufacturers, this universal charger, with slightly rounded edges, should be imposed on all devices for ecological reasons.

Activist, the firm of Tim Cook? Armies of lawyers, lobbyists, and hours of hearings have not got the better of the Commission’s stubbornness. This ban, which must still be approved by MEPs at the beginning of the summer, marks above all a change of tone in Brussels. “Let’s say it clearly, if Apple wants to market its products, we will have to respect our rules”, tapped the European Market Commissioner, Thierry Breton.

“closed garden”

In the same spirit as the Digital Markets Act (DMA), published at the end of March, this future directive could deal a serious blow to the model developed by Tim Cook, which consists of maintaining Apple’s protected garden with its users. And for good reason, the brand has always made a point of personalizing its products as much as possible. Sometimes to excess. A guarantee of quality for his fans. A crude marketing method for its detractors. “If they could sell half an iPhone in one package and the other half in another, I have no doubt they would,” pricks lawyer Damien Gérardin, a specialist in law. competition.

And the American giant has understood this well. On Monday, June 6, the Californian firm took advantage of its big annual raout, the WWDC, to present its latest generation of MacBook equipped with the M2 chip. By the way, she took the opportunity to slip among her new products a 35 W “home” USB-C charger base. A luxury adapter, with double input, on sale for 59 dollars on her online store.

The proper distribution of derivative products and connectors remains one of Apple’s guidelines. Accessories represent 10% of its turnover. Their sales grew 6.6% last quarter, compared to 2021, according to IDC. Apple therefore has every interest in defending the smallest plot of its garden against its competitors. “Anything that could cause one of its products to lose value poses a threat to its ecosystem,” underlines Damien Gérardin.

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Services locked

Even today, access to its enclosure remains largely closed to devices from other brands. Several of its products, such as its connected speakers, HomePods, or its smart watches, Apple Watch, simply cannot be used with an Android device. Apple only allows its customers to share their screen with certain televisions from Samsung, LG, or Vizio, with which the brand has negotiated exclusive, hand-picked partnerships over the past three years.

But equipment is not his only weapon to protect his fortress. “In reality, the hardware serves as bait, explains the star analyst of Silicon Valley, Carolina Milanesi. This is the reason why we see Apple offering six months of free services with the purchase of a new device. ” or “baskets of services like AppleOne”, which allow you to subscribe at the same time to iCloud, Apple TV +, or even Fitness + for around fifteen euros per month.

Access to its app store is also fiercely guarded. Since last year, third-party applications can no longer track users there without their consent to carry out targeted advertising. Deprived of App Store, several major operators have been asked to look elsewhere. An approach presented by Apple as a fight for the protection of “privacy” – which has become its new advertising slogan since last year (“Privacy, that’s iPhone”). According to a study by the American firm Lotame, this measure represents a shortfall of 16 billion dollars for its competitors in 2022.

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