It is now final. The European Parliament has reached the final agreement approving the legislation that will make it mandatory that by autumn 2024 all electronic devices sold in the European Union to use the USB-C port.
USB-C charging port to be mandatory on all types of electronic devices, from mobiles to headsets to cameras
Although in practice this port is already used by the vast majority of manufacturers in all types of devices, one of the brands that will be most affected by this regulatory change is Apple, whose iPhone cell phone, one of the best-selling (during 2021 241 million were sold throughout the ,undi, 56 illion of them in Europe), still uses the proprietary Lightning port. This could change next year, as rumors have been swirling for some time now that the anticipated iPhone 14 S to be introduced then would include the USB-C port.
The decision has been announced via Twitter by the Committee for the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, highlighting the harmonization of charging technology (especially fast charging), fading the link between the purchase of a device and that of the charger.
We have reached a deal on the common charger! 🔌👏
✔️mobile phones, tablets, e-readers, digital cameras & more #USBtypeC
✔️harmonised fast-charging technology
✔️unbundling of sale of chargers from the sale of device🔴 Press conference at 12.30 CEST ➡️ https://t.co/TCBXxzIEdr pic.twitter.com/29JmeL0nxe
– IMCO Committee Press (@EP_SingleMarket) June 7, 2022
The regulation that the European Parliament will approve in time for it to come into force in the autumn of 2024 will apply to all types of portable electronic devices: cell phones, tablets, digital cameras, headsets, portable consoles, e-book readers… The only alternative will be wireless charging.
It is a legislative project that has been under negotiation for years within the European Union and must now be approved by the Parliament and the Council, although everything indicates that it will be a mere formality. By the end of the year 2022, the regulation would have been approved, with a further period of vacatio legis until autumn 2024 during which the law would already be in force but its effects would not yet be applied, as a transition and adaptation period.
That will be the deadline for manufacturers (such as Apple with its iPhone) that still use other types of charging ports to be able to adapt their devices. The aim of the European Parliament with this single charger is to put an end to the multiplicity of chargers, to facilitate that a single model can be used with different devices and, thus, contribute to environmental savings and sustainability by eliminating the need for each device to come with its own charger.
From the EU, it is estimated that the savings from the single connector will allow consumers to stop spending 250 million euros annually, in addition to avoiding 11,000 tons per year of waste related to chargers and cables.
