legislators in The EU has chosen one charging port to rule them all. That charging port is USB-C.
On Tuesday, EU officials ruled that any mobile electronic device sold within the bloc must come with USB-C charging port By fall 2024. The new rules apply to rechargeable mobile devices such as cell phones, tablets, laptops, handheld game consoles, headsets and cameras. The move to standardize charging ports is meant to limit e-waste — consumers will be able to buy devices without chargers if they so choose — but also make it easier for people to address their energy needs. Many devices.
“It’s a triumph of common sense,” said Ben Wood, principal analyst at CCS Insight. “Consumers are tired of having a lot of different chargers, a lot of different ports.”
Standardization around USB-C as the tech industry’s primary connectivity interface has been around for a long time, with many manufacturers making the switch years ago. After all, USB-C generally boasts faster charging and transfer speeds than competing standards, and cables are easy to find and use.
Still, there is one big player who will really feel the verdict: Apple. All current iPhones and base model iPads use a proprietary Lighting port unique to Apple devices.Have Over 1 billion iPhones Globally, every iPhone Apple has released since 2012 has a Lightning port.
Apple’s most likely move is to switch to USB-C on all of its devices. It’s not that the company didn’t foresee this. It already uses the USB-C connector on the MacBook and most iPad models. last month, Bloomberg According to reports, Apple has Test the new iPhone Comes with a USB-C port.
So, after years of speculation, we may soon see a USB-C iPhone, with the EU forcing Apple to do so. However, more radical situations are equally possible.
“And then there’s Apple’s nuclear option,” Wood said, “which will be a nod to Jony Ive’s obsession with minimalism, getting rid of the charging port completely and going completely wireless.”
The entire iPhone lineup already supports wireless charging. While countless accessories and dongles connect to the iPhone via the Lightning connector, Apple has proven that it isn’t afraid to make major design changes that break device compatibility. The company faced huge backlash when it came to removing the iPhone’s headphone jack, but made progress anyway.
Apple has not responded to a request for comment.
Nor is it the first time in recent history that an EU ruling has driven major changes in consumer tech companies. GDPR is the European Union’s comprehensive online data privacy legislation, leading to a global redesign of the web user experience. A law passed in France last year requiring device makers to include repairability ratings on their products has led Apple and Samsung to establish their own consumer repair programs.
“It’s interesting that EU lawmakers are pretty much able to shape global technology trends,” Wood said. “Whether they are enforcing the correct maintenance, safety and environmental guidelines, or similar to general purpose connectors, the sheer size of the EU as a market of 500 million consumers means that any major consumer electronics company cannot ignore this.”
