The European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union that handles legislations, has proposed a common charging solution for all electronic devices. The body’s efforts to reduce e-waste and reduce customer inconvenience, has resulted in the decision which will enforce USB-C charger on all portable electronic devices and smartphones including iPhones.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The Radio Equipment Directive proposal will enforce electronic devices and smartphones manufacturers to equip their products with a USB-C charging port. It covers products in the following categories – cameras, handheld videogame consoles, headphones, portable speakers, smartphones, and tablets released across Europe. Under the new proposal, customers would also be able buy new devices without a charger included in the box and fast charging should be the same across board.
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Finally, manufacturers will provide charging information to allow the user either determine whether their existing chargers are compatible, or simply get new chargers. The proposal needs to be passed by the European parliament before it becomes law and eventually, a a 24-month adoption period will kick in for manufacturers. This move is expected to save about €250 million a year spent on unnecessary charger purchases.
Apple will be the biggest casualty from this legislation because iPhones use the company’s lightning connector, and most Android devices already have USB-C ports. This could result in Apple either switching to a USB-C port or ultimately make the next generation iPhones portless (requires wireless charging). It should be said that this green-focused proposal covers only wired devices, hence, wirelessly charged devices are unaffected.