Recently, the European Union and Apple Inc have torn up again.

The EU legislature has passed a resolution explicitly supporting the USB-C interface to unify the European smartphone charging interface.

Obviously, this is a message for Apple Inc.

Because the charging interface of Apple Inc's mobile phone has always been a maverick.

And Apple Inc's reaction is also very simple: don't screw you. You are stifling innovation and you have a bad conscience.

It is not the first time that Apple Inc has been fucked by the European Union, nor is it the only American technology giant that has been fucked.

In 2016, the European Union claimed to recover nearly 10 billion euros in taxes from Apple Inc. In 2018, the EU threatened to fine Facebook Inc 1.6 billion US dollars; in 2019, the EU fined 2.5 billion euros for Alphabet Inc-CL C's suspected monopoly.

These disputes are often more than $1 billion, but why are they torn up on a small mobile phone interface this time?

This can only show that a small interface is a great benefit.

What is the part.1 interface?

Once upon a time, there were more than 30 kinds of interfaces in Europe. But now there are only three mainstream mobile phone interfaces:

Mirco-USB 、 USB-C 、 lightning .

Mirco-USB interface, born in 2007, once became the standard of Android, so it is commonly known as Android line. But this kind of interface, the function is limited, can only transmit data and charge, at present, it is mostly found in thousands of yuan machines and below.

USB-C (USB type C), released in 2014, is "more, faster and stronger". It can not only achieve functions such as playing audio and video, but also greatly improve the speed of data transmission and charging.

Lightning interface, which is the exclusive interface released by Apple Inc in 2012, is also commonly known as Apple Line, and its function is similar to that of USB-C.

The development potential of the three interfaces is also different.

For example, the USB-C interface can carry more current because there are more contacts than Mirco-USB. Moreover, the mutual identification chip of the equipment can be added to the interface, and the two-way charging which can not be done by the lightning interface can be realized.

Even now computer devices such as Lenovo are beginning to use this interface, so it can be said that USB-C has a bright future. As a result, the European Union also has sufficient strength to challenge Apple Inc.

Since USB-C is ahead in technology and has a mass base, why is Apple Inc unwilling to submit?

The answer lies in the benefit cake of accessories.

How to divide the part.2 cake?

The most repurchased products of Apple Inc may be charging lines.

And when buying rechargeable wires, you will find that the price differences between different brands are as high as 10 times.

So, is there really a 10-fold difference in the quality of these products, such as their service life?

It's not.

The secret of price difference lies in Apple Inc's MFi system (that is, Made for iPhone/iPad/iPod).

According to Apple Inc's regulations, the production of Lightning line must be examined and tested in accordance with its guidance, and it must also be equipped with a special chip provided by Apple Inc.

In the MFi system, the cost of the chip is as high as $3. After the completion of the whole process, the cost of a charging line starts at about 20-30 yuan.

And those cheap, naturally is secretly bypassed the production of the MFi system.

Can this product bypass the MFi system work? In terms of quality, it may or may not work, but in terms of effect, Apple Inc will definitely make it unusable.

Because, Apple Inc has already built in the function of detecting MFi chip in his mobile phone. Charging lines that do not contain MFi chips will be detected and refused to charge.

As the saying goes, not a family, can not enter a door. And natural users will be dissatisfied and turn to the legitimate line.

Apple Inc now has a global stock of nearly 2 billion ios equipment, and if each device is replaced by a charging line a year, it is also an income of nearly 10 billion US dollars.

So, what if Apple Inc interface is changed to USB-C interface?

Obviously, third-party manufacturers no longer need to follow MFi procedures, but take USB-IF certification.

USB-IF certification only needs to pay an annual membership fee of $4000, which greatly reduces the cost. However, Apple Inc's income has also dropped sharply.

Therefore, no matter how the EU says it is for environmental protection, its eyes always take a peek at the meat in Apple Inc's pot.

The part.3 interface derives many requirements

What else is Apple Inc's best-selling product besides mobile phones?

AirPods wireless headset? Apple watch?

Neither.

In fact, for a long time, Apple Inc's best-selling products are various interface converters.

For example, in an August 2018 statistics, six of the top 10 products sold were converters, five of which were Lightning-related.

The prices of these accessories are very touching. In the peak period, Apple Inc's accessories are as high as 23. If you buy it all on the official website, you can buy an iPhone 11 pro for a total of $857, plus $100.

This makes people sigh: Apple Inc is an adapter company, but also happens to make mobile phones and computers.

And these accessories, compared with the domestic copycat cost, the gross margin is even as high as 90%, far exceeding Apple Inc's average product profit of 40%.

Do a simple calculation, according to the conversion of accessories accounted for 50% of Apple Inc's spare parts revenue in 2013 (that year Apple watch,AirPods was not even born), this income is also as high as more than 5 billion US dollars.

This income comes from the demand for conversion. These conversion requirements are vividly and artificially created by the "interface" of Apple Inc's own school.

Therefore, the interface is Apple Inc's profit perpetual motion machine.

The strength of part.4 Apple Inc

Apple Inc dared to challenge the European Union, not only because of his heartache, but also because of his confidence.

The strength comes from two aspects: innovation ability and brand awareness.

Back then, when the major manufacturers were still obsessed with the Micro USB interface, Apple Inc launched a 30-pin Dock interface. This interface not only realizes the functions of charging and data transmission, but also includes high-end goods such as audio and video transmission and playback control.

This makes Apple Inc come up with a bunch of fun things, such as the stereo that plays songs while charging, so that the interface can only transmit data, but not audio.

The lightning line, launched in 2012, can be plugged on both sides, simplifying the internal structure of the phone and once again at the forefront of the times.

However, when it comes to USB-C, Apple Inc's lightning is less innovative by comparison.

Apple Inc is also aware of this. For example, the high-end iPad Pro in 2018 adopted USB-C. Immediately upgraded from an entertainment tablet to an office artifact.

When the MacBook Air was released in 2015, Apple Inc retained only USB-C, which can support a variety of high-definition content reading at high speed.

Properly, the mouth says no, the body is very honest.

So when Apple says the EU curbs innovation, it is a gesture of "I know you know I'm lying, but you just can't help it".

After all, behind Apple Inc are hundreds of millions of fruit fans who share weal and woe and never give up.

The change of part.5 Industry chain

Each upgrade of the conversion head is not only a fight among the standard-setting companies, but also a reshuffle of the industrial chain and ecological pattern.

At the bottom is the contract manufacturing enterprise.

For example, when USB-C was released, six new lines were added to the transmission line, so that faster and more kinds of data transmission could be realized. And this corresponds to order revenue. For example, contract manufacturing enterprises such as Lixun Precision take advantage of this to make a lot of money.

And the field of interface chips is also a fight. For example, after the launch of the USB interface, NXP, Cypress, Texas Instruments Inc and other companies have increased the corresponding chip research and development.

These high-value chips and cables give USB-C nearly 10 times the monomer value of MIrco-USB.

The greater impact lies in the changes brought about by the relevant ecological industries.

Because the USB-C interface supports audio and video transmission, many Android manufacturers have cancelled the analog audio interface of 3.5mm. This also drives headphones from the analog era to the digital age, resulting in new products such as TWS (true wireless) headphones.

The fast charging function of USB has brought about great changes in the battery industry. In order to support fast charging, the corresponding fast charging batteries and fast charging cells emerge as the times require. In addition to the USB PD standard of the USB developers Alliance, there are ten solutions in China, such as Huawei, XIAOMI, OPPO, Meizu and so on.

And it is a series of development of Apple Inc, so that domestic enterprises further understand a sentence: third-class enterprises to make products, second-class enterprises to do brands, first-class enterprises as standards.

Going back to the debate over the interface, it is obvious that Apple Inc's attitude is still that sentence:

I want them all.