Apple may have said that it opposes the idea of weakening encryption and providing governments with backdoors into products, but things are rather different in China.
Under the guise of counter-terrorism, the controversial law is the Chinese government's attempt to curtail the activities of militants and political activists.
China already faces criticism from around the world not only for the infamous Great Firewall of China, but also the blatant online surveillance and censorship that takes place. This latest move is one that will be view very suspiciously by foreign companies operating within China, or looking to do so.
Apple's Lightning cable cartel be
While the exact standard hasn't been mentioned yet, it wouldn't be hard to guess the standard: Micro USB, used across phone platforms, most especially Android, which has a gigantic chunk of the cell phone market worldwide.
The likely loser?
Apple, which has relied on proprietary chargers since introducing the iPhone in 2007.
While many companies have tried releasing generic cables, Apple often relies on DRM software to ensure that it's an Apple certified cable, charging $19 a piece for the Lightning charger used by the iPhone 5 and 6 and similar models.
What do you think -- are government-mandated standards for chargers a good idea?
Despite the success of the standard household 3-prong electrical plug, doesn't this hamper progress?
China seems to have done most of the work on the wall-circuit side of the equation,several years ago.
But as to the "standard" 3-prong plug, any particular plug type is only as universal as the sockets and voltages they supply.
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