European Union (EU) lawmakers have reached a deal today to ensure that all mobile phones, tablets and cameras sold in the EU, including Apple devices, will have a USB-C charging port by autumn 2024.
This is part of the EU’s effort to reduce electronic waste and make consumers’ lives easier.
The rule will cover all mobile phones (including Apple’s iPhones), tablets, e-readers, earbuds, digital cameras, headphones and headsets, handheld videogame consoles, and portable speakers (no smartwatches?) that are charged with a wired cable. Companies have 24 months to comply and the rule does not apply to products already placed on the market before then.
“Under the new rules, consumers will no longer need a different charging device and cable every time they purchase a new device, and can use one single charger for all of their small and medium-sized portable electronic devices,” the EU said in its press release.
Laptops also fall under this new rule, though companies will have a longer time frame to comply, with a 40-month deadline after the rule goes into effect. This is because EU lawmakers recognise the difficulty in coming up with a standard for laptops with different power requirements.
“We don’t have that technological certainty on a standard which can cater to laptops between 100 and 240 watts,” said EU rapporteur Alex Agius Saliba. “Our line of reasoning was to extend the deadline for laptops to have a standard that is clear.”
Charging specifications of new devices will need to be clearly indicated so buyers can see whether their existing chargers are compatible. Buyers can also choose whether to purchase a new electronic device with or without a charger.
The European Commission that proposed the deal states that this would save up to 250 million euro (US$267 million) a year on unnecessary charger purchases and remove about 11,000 tonnes of e-waste from discarded unused chargers.
It will also standardise charging speed for devices that support fast charging, though it did not state what that is. The deal also allows for the European Commission to set standards for wireless charging in the future.
This USB-C rule will enter into force 20 days after it is formally approved by the EU’s Parliament and Council and published in the EU Official Journal. The requirements in the rule will apply 24 months after that.
The agreement will likely have the biggest impact on Apple, which uses its propriety Lightning port, as many other electronic device manufacturers are already using the USB-C standard. However, recent reports have stated that Apple has been testing USB-C on its phones internally and there is speculation that Apple will soon launch USB-C compatible iPhones.
While some of Apple’s laptops and iPads already use the USB-C standard, new devices announced at this week’s WWDC, including the new MacBook Air and MacBook Pro 13 devices, will use Apple’s MagSafe charging.
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