Again the sepukku metaphor applies: they've considered it like somebody considers openning their guts with a sword when their cough gets too much and their fever a little high due to flu - maybe a fleeting idea that passed through a person's mind and was quickly dismissed, leaving behind nothing but a slight awkward feeling for having even thought about it.

Calling that an "option" is like saying that sepukku is an "option" for curing a flu - strictly speaking it's true but practically speaking it's not because of the massive downsides.

That's the thing: nobody stops them from supporting "innovative" charging solutions as long as they also support this specific minimum.

Surelly Apple's "innovation" in charging can win in the market by its own merits rather than by owners of Apple devices having no other option.

I've worked in Tech for over 2 decades, mostly in the bleeding edge, and innovation is mostly used as bullshit word, especially by the big corps such as Apple.

This time too, it's bullshit: nobody stops Apple from providing innovative charging solutions beyond what the rules determine as all they define is the minimum spec for a charging solution that must be supported, not the maximum.

(And lets not get started on what exactly Apple has done in all the time they've had until now to as they call it "innovate" in the charging of their phones: almost all their "innovations" were ways to force owners of Apple devices to buy Apple chargers)

The rule is for phones and other devices that need charging, not chargers, so having a wireless charger which you do your own way does not "bypass" the rule.

The phone must support charging according to a specific set of specifications, so Apple has no other option than to "support charging according to a specific set of specifications" on their devices, which they will likely do by providing a charging port according to those specs along with their proprietary wireless charging.

If their phones did not support charging following the spec defined in the rules, no matter how many other alternative charging methods they provided their phones would still not be compliant and would not be allowed for sale in the EU as what's demanded is "you must support at least this".

"EU votes to force all phones to use same charger by 2024"

"A very long line with long waiting times is expected to form, as each of those amongst the 470 million EU residents who have mobile phones wait for their turn to use the charger"

I would really like to know how exactly these could help make smaller transistors in digital chips given that the current processes etch much smaller transistors in the sillicon substrate that the 50nm wire placements precision they've achieved with this process.

In fact, from all I know about chip manufacturing the only "wires" which are placed mechanically (rather than formed by chemical deposition) are the ones linking the chip pads to the pins in the chip package.