The EU sets a start date for a universal cell phone charger (and why Apple opposes it)

The days of searching for the right cell phone charger are coming to an end in most of Europe.

The European Union (EU) has agreed that Autumn 2024 All mobile phones and other mobile devices You will need to use a USB Type C charger..

This has a special effect on Apple products.

iPhones and some iPad tablets will have to stop using their charging port. The new rule will eventually apply to laptops as well.

Devices already in place prior to entry into force will be exempted from complying with this measure.

The new regulations have been approved by the Council and the European Parliament and must be formally approved and then published after the summer recess.

Apple told the BBC it had no comment at this time. But in September 2021 They were against the proposal.

What devices will the standard include?

Apple is the largest manufacturer to use a unique charging port called Lightningfor some of your devices, such as the iPhone.

At the same time, Android devices mostly use USB-C and micro-USB charging ports.

But the new European standard is intended to cover all “small and medium-sized portable electronic devices”, including Mobile phones, tablets, headphones, portable game consoles, portable speakers.

Which of these is cable-charged? It must have a USB Type C . portNo matter who makes the hardware.

Laptops must also comply with the ruling, but manufacturers will have 40 months after it goes into effect to make changes.

The deal also includes a plan for customers Choose whether you want a cable or not To charge your new electronic devices at the time of purchase.

“This law is part of a broader effort by the European Union to make products in the European Union more sustainable, reduce e-waste and make life easier for consumers,” the announcement read.

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It will save consumers “up to 250 million euros [US$267 millones] year in unnecessary purchases of chargers” and will reduce 11,000 tons of waste annually, the EU added.

Why are you against Apple?

Apple, along with 10 other big tech leaders such as Nokia and Samsung, signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2009.

In it, he promised to provide consumers with charging devices compatible with micro-USB ports.

However, the US company took advantage of a legal loophole that He was allowed to continue using his charging cable If it also shows a micro-USB adapter.

In 2014, the European Union issued the “Radio Equipment Directive”, which called for “renewed efforts to develop a common charger”.

Apple insisted that its top-of-the-line devices wouldn’t be able to accommodate the new USB-C technology. According to the company, meeting the required standard will cost up to 2 billion US dollars.

And last year decided to categorically reject the European action.

Strict regulation that requires only one type of connector It stifles innovation rather than encourages it“Which in turn will hurt consumers in Europe and around the world,” a company spokesman told the BBC last year.

An alternative could be ports Wireless chargingIt is a technology that has already been adopted by iPhones and other smartphones.

Some analysts predict that Apple could get rid of its charging ports entirely and, in the future, release iPhone and iPad models that rely solely on wireless charging.

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