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The European Union announced on Thursday its plans to make USB-C connectors the standard charging port for all smartphones, tablets and other electronics sold across the block, saying this initiative will reduce environmental waste.
The move will mostly affect Apple products that use a different port for their iPhones.
NS new legislation It is likely to enter into force in 2024 because it must first be approved by the European Parliament and then adopted by the manufacturers. Besides phones, it will also apply to cameras, headsets, portable speakers and video game consoles.
Wireless chargers will not be affected, but the main change will come for iPhones that currently have a proprietary Lightning charging port.
“What do we offer? More freedom, less cost” and less electronic waste, European Trade Commissioner Thierry Breton said at a press conference on Thursday.
The move will represent a long-awaited but aggressive step towards product manufacturing decisions by the European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm. Apple has long opposed the plan, arguing that it will suffocate innovation and lead to more electronic waste, as all existing non-USB-C chargers will become obsolete.
Still, if legislation passes as recommended by the European Commission, selling an electronic device without a USB-C charging port will become illegal. A commission official noted that Apple will have to switch to USB-C for its products sold across the block, selling new iPads with such charging ports.
European Union officials and deputies in the European Parliament, defending a common charger Since 2009, there were more than 30 charging options on the market, now it’s down to three. They argued that fewer cables would be more convenient for users and better for the environment, as cell phone chargers are estimated to be responsible for 11,000 tonnes of electronic waste per year across the bloc, according to estimates by the EU’s executive body, the European Commission. The arm that presented the law on Thursday.
But Apple also argued that if the European Union had implemented a common charger in 2009, it would have restricted the innovation that led to USB-C and Lightning connectors. In a statement on Thursday, Apple said that while it welcomes the European Commission’s commitment to protecting the environment, it prefers a charger-side solution such as USB-C, which leaves the device side of the charging interface open to innovation.
Mr Breton said on Thursday he was familiar with Apple’s concerns. Every time we try to bring an offer, such companies start to say ‘It will be against innovation’”.
“Not against innovation, not against anybody,” he added. “For European consumers.”
Critics have also blamed the European Union’s action coming too late due to the decline in connector types in recent years. Half of the charging cables sold with mobile phones in 2018 had a USB micro-B connector, 29 percent had a USB-C and 21 percent had a Lightning connector. study Published by the European Commission in 2019. The share of USB-C charging ports has likely increased as most Android phones are now sold with it.
The European Commission said it will require manufacturers to also sell devices without a charger: If a packaged option remains available, an unpackaged option of the same product should also be offered, he said.
Adam Satariano contributing reporting.
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