The EU is one step closer to the common-charger dream shared by millions of Europeans. This means that as unique as Apple has consistently tried to keep its products like its iPhone, it’ll soon be legally required to use the same USB Type-C charging ports on its iOS 16 devices as other brands.
‘The common charger will finally become a reality in Europe. We have waited more than ten years for these rules, but we can finally leave the current plethora of chargers in the past.
This future-proof law allows for the development of innovative charging solutions in the future, and it will benefit everyone – from frustrated consumers to our vulnerable environment.
These are difficult times for politics, but we have shown that the EU has not run out of ideas or solutions to improve the lives of millions in Europe and inspire other parts of the world to follow suit.’
The law was first proposed in 2021 as a way to reduce e-waste. This is so that consumers don’t have to purchase an endless barrage of charging cables to fit all of their devices. Under the new law, consumers also won’t have to purchase new chargers every time they acquire a new piece of portable tech.
The USB Type-C charger was selected as the de facto common charger due to the numerous advantages it has over other charger configurations, such as unified fast-charging capabilities.
As expected, the new legislation is going to affect Apple more than any other company due to its avoidance of USB Type-C charging ports on its devices in favor of the Apple-exclusive Lightning connector and port. Apple has spoken out against the law, claiming that losing the Lightning connector will actually create waste as it would make Lightning-compatible devices obsolete.
We’re not worried, portable devices see such frequent upgrades these days that devices don’t typically make it past the two-year use point. Apple, and other companies, have until 2024 to change their charging ports to the new standard USB Type-C, which is likely in time for the next iPhone range in any case.
In other news, you might think you’re downloading a legitimate piece of software, but, as we’ve found out, some iOS 16 and Android apps are complete scams.
