EU plans to make common charger mandatory for iPhones and other devices!

The European Commission recently plans to legislate to require smartphone manufacturers to equip their products with a USB-C charging port.

File photo: iPhone 12 Pro Max

To lessen electronic waste and to make the lives of consumers simpler

Under the legislation from the agency, USB-C will become the standard port for all smartphones, tablets, cameras, headphones, portable speakers and handheld video game consoles.

Allegedly, this proposal from European Commission was designed to reduce electronic waste and simplify the lives of consumers. In theory, this will enable them to use a single charger for multiple devices they own.

This decision from the government may heavily affect Apple since the Cupertino giant still uses its own Lightning type charger for iPhones. For some of its iPads and MacBooks, the company has equipped them with USB-C ports already.

Apple said that they have the same goal with the European Commission's goal for the welfare of the environment. In addition to this, the Cupertino giant explained that they are already being carbon neutral for all of their corporate emissions worldwide.

However, the company is taking a stand for innovation and customer experience by saying,

We remain concerned that strict regulation mandating just one type of connector stifles innovation rather than encouraging it, which in turn will harm consumers in Europe and around the world. We look forward to continued engagement with stakeholders to help find a solution that protects consumer interest, as well as the industry’s ability to innovate and bring exciting new technology to users.

On the other hand, Apple's competitors like Samsung and Huawei have already incorporated their latest devices with USB-C ports. Several of their older models remain to have micro-USC ports.

Aside from this plan, the European Commission also wants smartphone manufacturers to stop including chargers with their devices. EC's Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager of said that incompatible chargers piling up have frustrated European consumers.

Vestager stated that the commission already gave a lot of time to come up with their own solutions. Hence, this is the time to take an action to implement the law requiring a common charger. If the proposal does become law, device manufacturers will have two years to comply with the new legislation.

What do you guys think?

Source: CNBC