EU Votes To Make USB-C

EU Votes To Make USB-C a Requirement for All Phones

The European Parliament has approved the policy that requires all companies to produce devices with USB-C charging ports if they aim to sell them in Europe. 

This law is expected to go into effect by the end of 2024 and includes tablets, phones, and cameras. The parliament has also confirmed that the law extends to laptops by 2026. They also stated that all mobiles that use a cable for charging speeds of up to 100W should come with a USB-C port. 

Furthermore, companies will not be able to make misleading charging claims as the devices with fast charging abilities will also be charging at the same speed. Therefore, EU phone owners can use a single cable for multiple devices and not run into the issue of purchasing numerous cables to charge their devices. 

Through this decision, EU consumers will no longer face the ‘lock-in’ effect, which occurs when you depend on a single manufacturer once you buy one item from them. 

The other purpose of this law was to reduce electronic waste and its impacts on the environment sharply. The European market will also cut unnecessary spending by ensuring that all phones use only one cable to charge. They estimated that the residents would save approximately €250 million as they would not need to purchase separate cables for their different devices.  

This division is a massive blow to Apple, which is famous for its Lightning port. Everyone is waiting in anticipation to see how Apple will respond. Apple recently released new phones that utilize a Lightning port, and if they want to continue selling in the EU, they will have to make the big switch to USB-C.

There have been rumors that Apple is working on a USB-C port for their new lineup of phones. So the iPhone 14 lineup may be the last few phones from Apple to have the Lightning port.  

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Abdul Wahab is a Software Engineer by profession and a Tech geek by nature. Having been associated with the tech industry for the last five years, he has covered a wide range of Tech topics and produced well-researched and engaging content. You will mostly find him reviewing tech products and writing blog posts. Binge-watching tech reviews and endlessly reading tech blogs are his favorite hobbies.