MEPs voted in favor of a long-planned proposal to force Apple and all tech companies to use USB-C as a regular charger and add a new requirement for a wireless charging standard.
Maltese MEP Alex Agius Saliba said on Wednesday that the European Parliament’s Internal Market and Consumer Affairs Committee voted 43 in favor, 2 against and no abstentions in favor of the adoption of the Common Chargers legislation. The proposal announces that only USB-C can be used in Europe†
To justify this decision, the parliamentarians mentioned that mobile chargers represent a large amount of electronic waste. They claim that Mobile device chargers generate 12,000 to more than 14,000 tons of e-waste annuallye. Legislators estimate that one billion of these accessories are shipped annually in Europe alone. To counter this, some manufacturers such as Apple or Samsung have stopped offering free chargers with their smartphones. This strategy has already saved Apple $6 billion.†
Apple may need to switch to USB-C in 2024
The committee wants all mobile phones, tablets, headsets, e-readers, low-power laptops, keyboards, computer mice, headphones, smartwatches and electronic toys to integrate USB Type-C connectivity into their future devices. However, some devices on the list, such as health trackers, watches and other small devices, may be exempt.
So if this proposal were accepted this summer, Apple may therefore be forced to abandon the Lightning port of its iPhones and switch to USB-C† The agreement will then have to be examined by the European Parliament and the Council. This system would then come into effect in mid-2024a time needed to transpose the measure into the national legislation of the 27 Member States and to give manufacturers time to comply.
It is now several years that the European Parliament has considered standardizing charging ports to avoid their multiplication. It is unknown whether this could prompt Apple to use USB-C in its smartphones, or whether the US giant rather go 100% wireless† On this subject, the new revised proposals also include a call for interoperability of wireless charging technologies by 2026 †
