Kassmir, Mirza, Oh, Perez-Moncada_Collaborative Analysis

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University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign *

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Electrical Engineering

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Dec 6, 2023

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docx

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Group Work Agreement To complete the Collaborative Analysis group project in accordance with the articles below, this is an agreement between the following team members: Isaac Mirza Haley Oh Charles Kassmir Gisselle Perez Goals 1. Meet all deadlines. 2. Meet regularly to ensure the completion of this project Responsibilities Every member is expected to contribute to every aspect of the project. The following roles are just guidelines to assign a member to ensure that their specific part of the project gets completed. 1. Researcher (Haley )– Ensures the completion of the research aspect of the project from good sources. Manages the completion of the annotated bibliography. 2. Outliner (Gisselle) - Collaborating with the group, creating a structured list of what is to be included in the draft, referencing specific sections and subheadings. 3. Drafter (Charlie)- Writes with the group using the agreed on the outline as a template and makes sure headings are uniform. 4. Editor (Isaac)-Revises all the parts of the project including grammar and structure. 5. Submitter- Submit each assignment before the deadline. Evaluation Given these goals, at the end of this project, teammates will be evaluated on: 1. Participation 2. Communication 3. Quality of work 4. Time management Contingency Plans If a group member is unable to complete their work due to a circumstance outside of their control, the group will meet and redistribute that group member’s work evenly amongst all other members of the group. Scheduling This group will have regularly scheduled meetings every Thursday at 6 pm via Zoom. Further meetings in order to meet deadlines may be scheduled if needed and team members are expected to be in attendance unless a conflict occurs. 1
If someone is unable to make a meeting, they should text the group chat in advance with a brief explanation, teammates don’t need to fully disclose their situation for the absence to not count towards their Accountability. Accountability If members are consistently failing to show up to meetings and do not meet deadlines, a meeting can be scheduled with the course instructor at a group majority vote to discuss credit. __Isaac Mirza__________________ ___06/11/2023_________ Signature Date __Haley Oh_________________ ___06/11/2023_______ Signature Date __Gisselle Perez______________ ___06/11/2023__________ Signature Date ____Charles Kassmir______ ____06/11/2023_________ Signature Date
Apple’s USB Type C Dilemma Research Proposal Should tech companies adopt the status quo, or innovate using their own methods? Due to a recent law made by the European Union, the tech giant Apple is forced to make this tough decision. The new law states that all personal devices sold in 2024 or after must have a USB-C charging port (Reuters). Apple is currently using their proprietary lightning port, which has been the charging port on every iPhone released since 2012 (Weber). The USB-C port is a much newer technology but has taken the tech industry by storm. We plan on researching what the best decision is to the question: It is worth it for Apple to make the switch to USB-C in regard to consumer response based on environmental, legal, and overall consumer satisfaction factors? Most smart device users own technology that have chargers built with a USB-C port (Weber). The goal of the European Union’s new law is to standardize the charging port to save customers money spent on new cables and eliminate waste. The European Commission has estimated that a single charger would save $247 million dollars for consumers (Udvarlaki). This law seems great for consumers, however, switching to USB-C ports has several drawbacks. Further research on the consumer response to a large change in the company could ensure Apple’s safety as a company and any drawbacks or hardships are worth the risk. It’s important to investigate the potential negative side effects this switch might have for Apple, and their consumers. Apple switching to USB-C for their iPhone’s could be bad for some end users. The lightning cable not only has many of the up sides of the USB-C connector, like a reversible connector, but also comes in a smaller form factor allowing the iPhone to not be limited by the thickness of the USB-C connection (Weber). Apple switching over to this port may limit their ability to generate thinner iPhones, eventually creating a bulkier product for their users. Is there a need or want for Apple to switch to USB-C chargers to promote a universal standard in chargers? Apple's decision to switch from lightning chargers to USB-C may result in a significant
reduction of electronic waste. Many Apple devices, including iPhones, currently use lightning chargers, and these devices contribute to more than half of Apple's total revenue (FourWeekMBA). This means that many customers already own devices with lightning chargers, and if Apple switches to USB-C, these chargers could be used interchangeably with a number of other chargers or new phones could not come with a charger at all. This could lead to a substantial decrease in electronic waste. Additionally, another concern with Apple's switch is their desire to maintain control over their devices and limit compatibility with external products (MUO). Our research aims to find solutions that address both the e- waste issue and Apple's desire for control. Previous research shows that this project is needed to support this switch. An article published in the Environmental Science and Pollution Research journal tested cell phone chargers from a popular company. After chemical analysis found lead and copper that is bioleaching into the soil, affecting the environment (Joshi). With so many different types of chargers and a new charger coming with almost every electronic device, it is no surprise the effect the overproduction of chargers brings to the earth as they inevitably end up in landfills. With research backing up Apple’s switch to the modern USB-C the level of charger waste could decrease significantly. Research published by Cal Poly electrical engineering students describes how switching to a Direct current (DC) power source like this could change lives. They went on to design a direct current for the DC House project, aiming to make DC the new standard in homes worldwide. The power and versatility present in USB-C made it the perfect compatible DC power adapter (Starr). It is prevalent that if our research is to find that Apple switching to USB-C is accepted by the public that the company being a large part of the standardization of direct current chargers could help homes as well. Other than simple approval from the public the thoughts of consumers' views of environmental impact through e- waste and legal challenges from the European Union are also critical when thinking about consumer response to the switch.
A research method we could incorporate is the use of case studies. There are aspects of the USB- C port that are being studied. From our sources, there are studies that have found the USB-C port contributes to improving material waste (Mearian). The European Union argues that electronic waste will be reduced because more chargers will be reused for different devices as a result. Additionally, it may enable consumers to avoid spending up to $268 million a year on unneeded charger purchases (Mearian). Another element that is being studied is the potential regulations for wireless charging. Furthermore, the lightning transfer speed of the cable is being studied. Apple is known for having chargers that have high potential speed. The newest and fastest USB specification, USB4, can be supported via USB-C, enabling data transfer rates of up to 40Gbps. 480Mbps USB 2.0 transfer rates are used by Lightning, in contrast. Most current gadgets, including Android phones, Windows PCs, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and the iPad Pro (3rd generation and later), support USB-C (Mearian). We could do research on why the USB-C’s speed would benefit Apple switching to that port. Another research method we can include is surveys. The European Union has voted for the USB- C port to be adapted. We can gather surveys with information regarding how many people are in agreement with having the standard USB-C charger. Public opinion of Apple switching to USB-C is imperative. Apple is a premium brand and having an iPhone is a status symbol in many places. If standardizing this port to USB-C makes Apple lose some of its premium value in consumer eyes, then it’d be detrimental to the brand. Lastly, we can incorporate interviews into our research. Legislators from the European Union have been interviewed for their stance in the adoption of the charger (Kharpal). Apple’s executives have also been interviewed on their stance. We can gather information from both perspectives. Our research will specifically focus on how Apple’s audience would respond to such changes, creating research and data specific to Apple as a company, something not readily available to them. This will allow them to confidently make this switch without worrying about backlash from their loyal customer base.
Works Cited Cuofano, Gennaro. “Apple Revenue Breakdown.” FourWeekMBA , 6 June 2023, fourweekmba.com/apple- revenue-breakdown/. Erinfolami, Keyede. “Why Doesn’t Apple Want the Iphone to Have a USB-C Port?” Make Use Of , MUO, 4 Nov. 2021, www.makeuseof.com/why-doesnt-apple-want-the-iphone-to-have-a-usb-c-port/. Humphries, M. “ Apple will switch iPhone to USB-C because “we have no choice.’” PCMAG, Oct 26 2022, https://www.pcmag.com/news/apple-will-switch-iphone-to-usb-c-because-we-have-no- choice Joshi, Vyenkatesh, et al. “Comparative Bioleaching of Metals from Pulverized and Non-Pulverized PCBS of Cell Phone Charger: Advantages of Non-Pulverized PCBS.” Environmental Science and Pollution Research , vol. 24, no. 36, 2017, pp. 28277–28286, doi:10.1007/s11356-017-0780-x. Kharpal, A. IPhones will get USB-C charging after Apple says it will have to comply with EU law . CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/26/apple-confirms-iphone-to-get-usb-c-charging-to-comply-with- eu-law.html October 26, 2022 Mearian, L. What the EU’s USB-C mandate means for Apple - and for users . Computerworld. https://www.computerworld.com/article/3663388/what-the-eus-usb-c-mandate-means-for-apple- and-for-users.html June 8, 2022 Reuters. Apple must change iphone charging port to USB-C in EU by fall 2024 - National . Global News. https://globalnews.ca/news/9175349/apple-charging-port-usb-c-eu/ October 4, 2022 Starr, Tyler G, and Ezzeddeen Gazali. “USB-C Power Adapter for DC House Project.” Digital Commons @ CalPoly , Electrical Engineering Department, 29 May 2019, digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/eesp/446/. Weber, Joe. "Differences Between USB-C and Lightning." Battery Plus Blog , 15 Dec. 2022, www.batteriesplus.com/blog/tech/usbc-vs-lightning .
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