On October 4, the European Parliament made a final decision on the implementation of USB-C as a single charging standard for a wide range of gadgets, including iPhones and AirPods. The document was adopted almost unanimously: 602 votes against 13 (another 8 abstained), the press service of the parliament reports .
USB-C everywhere and everywhere
By the end of 2024, all mobile phones, tablets and cameras that will be shipped to Europe must be equipped with a USB Type-C charging port by the end of 2024, and from spring 2026, new single charge rules will apply to laptops.
Consumers will no longer need a different charger every time they buy a new device, as they can use one charger for a range of small and medium portable electronic devices.
Regardless of manufacturer, all new mobile phones, tablets, digital cameras, headphones and headsets, portable game consoles and portable speakers, electronic readers, keyboards, mice, portable navigation systems, rechargeable headphones and laptops up to 100W must be equipped with USB Type-C port.
All devices that support fast charging will now have the same charging speed, allowing users to charge their gadgets at the same speed with any compatible charger.”
from the official statement of the European Parliament
It can be recalled that since 2009, the European Commission has tirelessly called on technology companies, including Apple, to use a single charging standard instead of proprietary ones, and only in early 2020 did the European Parliament adopt a corresponding resolution on a single charging for mobile devices in order to reduce e-waste (previous attempt in 2018 failed). At the end of 2021, the European Commission submitted a bill to secure the status of a single charging connector for USB-C in various mobile devices. At the end of April, the profile committee of the European Parliament on the internal market and consumer protection (IMCO) approved this initiative. And now the European Parliament, according to the standard procedure, finally supported this bill.
Now the new rules must be approved by the EU member states. More specifically, the European Council must approve the directive so that it can be published in the Official Journal of the EU. The law will enter into force 20 days after publication in the Official Journal of the EU, and its requirements will begin to apply to new devices after 24 months. That is, in fact, the law should come into force by the end of 2024. Products that go on sale before the entry into force of the new rules are exempt from these requirements and can continue to be sold in the EU until the end of their life cycle.
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What about Apple?
First of all, this will affect Apple, because the iPhone still uses proprietary Lightning. But worrying about the Cupertino IT giant, who at one time criticized the initiative, arguing that it would “stifle innovation” , is not worth it for one simple reason – the company began to prepare for change ahead of time. Previously, there were rumors that Apple would probably take advantage of the loophole and simply put the appropriate adapter in the kit (the wording in the document clearly excludes such a possibility), and if it does abandon Lightning in the iPhone, it will rather prefer its own MagSafe wireless charging technology. than USB-C. But recent reports indicate that Apple is still leaning towards replacing Lightning with USB-C and is already testing a universal connector – both authoritative analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman have previously reported this . The 2023 iPhone lineup (likely the iPhone 15) is expected to mark the long-awaited transition to USB-C.
Fun fact: Apple introduced the Lightning standard in September 2012 and at the time, Phil Schiller ( at the time he was Apple’s chief marketing officer ) called it “the modern connector for the next decade.” So Lightning is already obsolete.
With regard to USB Type-C, the first cables supporting the 2.1 standard have recently appeared , which, among other things, made it possible to transmit electrical power up to 240 watts.
Not only the EU
The example of the EU with a single charge in the future may be followed by the United States – in June, three senators applied to the Department of Commerce with a similar initiative. Brazil, by the way, also considers USB-C as the only connector for the iPhone and all other smartphones. In early September, the day before the presentation of the iPhone 14, the local regulator banned the sale of the iPhone without a charger – Apple responded with an appeal and expressed confidence that it could win the case.
