Lawmakers in The European Union has chosen one charging port to rule them all. And that charging port is USB-C.
On Tuesday, EU officials ruled that any portable electronic device sold within the EU must be accompanied by a USB-C charging port Fall 2024. The new mandate applies to rechargeable mobile devices such as phones, tablets, laptops, handheld game consoles, headsets, and cameras. This move to standardize charging ports is made as a way to limit e-waste — consumers will be able to purchase a device without a charger in the box if they choose — but also to make it easier for people to meet their energy needs of many devices.
“This is a small win over common sense,” said Ben Wood, chief analyst at CCS Insight. “Consumers are fed up with having so many different chargers, so many different ports.”
Standardization around USB-C as the industry’s primary connection interface a long time coming, with many manufacturers making the switch years ago. After all, USB-C often boasts faster charging and transferring speeds than competing standards, and cables are easy to find and use.
However, there is one big player who will really feel this verdict: Apple. All present Iphone and base model iPad uses the exclusive Lighting port, exclusive to Apple devices. Have over 1 billion iPhones around the world, and every iPhone model Apple released since 2012 has a Lightning port.
The most likely course of action for Apple is to switch to USB-C across all of its devices. It’s not like the company didn’t see this coming. It used the USB-C connector on MacBooks and most iPad models. Last month, Bloomberg reported that Apple has test new iPhone with USB-C port.
So with the EU forcing Apple to step in, it’s likely we’ll soon see a USB-C iPhone after years of speculation. However, a more radical scenario is also possible.
“Then there’s the nuclear option for Apple,” says Wood, which would be to pay homage to Jony Ive’s obsession with minimalism and ditch the charging port altogether and switch to nothing altogether. wire “.
Wireless charging is supported on the entire iPhone line. And while there are countless accessories and protectors that attach to iPhones via the Lightning connector, Apple has proven that it’s not afraid to make major design changes that break device compatibility. there; The company faced backlash for removing the iPhone’s headphone jack, but pushed ahead nonetheless.
Apple has not responded to a request for comment.
Nor is it the first time in recent history that an EU ruling has caused major changes for consumer technology companies. GDPR, the European Union’s sweeping online data privacy law, has led to a global redesign of the web’s user experience. A law passed in France last year required device manufacturers to include repairability ratings on their products, leading Apple and Samsung to set up repair programs for for their own consumers.
“What is interesting is that legislators in the EU can roughly shape global technology trends,” says Wood. “Whether it’s the right to repair, the safety and environmental principles they enforce, or things like this with universal connectors, the sheer size of the European Union as a being a market of 500 million consumers means that no major consumer electronics company can afford to ignore this.”
