European Union ready to mandate USB-C for smarthones

The European Parliament had voted towards establishing a universal charging connection for smartphones. The voting had undertaken in January 2020 and since then people have been waiting for it to be passed as a law but now it seems like it is one step closer. A legislation has been put forwards by the European Commission that would have the USB-C as the common charger for all mobile devices. This will enable to have a universal standard no matter what the smartphone it is.

The European Commission while reasoning about the legislation said that the decision is being taken for convenience and to avoid e-waste. The tech products landing up in the landfills has become a major issue so bringing down the number of cords needed by an individual would to a certain extent help. There are also chances that it would also encourage companies to decouple the smartphones with chargers. This move has already being taken by the big smartphone companies like Google and Samsung.

While looking at it from a practical point, it would simplify how the residents of EU charge their devices. Every house hold has a number of chargers as a person tends to change their smartphones at least once in 3 to 4 years. Majority of them are not used and the ones which are used, eventually end up in the bin when it stops working. Many of the smarthphone manufacturers have now switched to USB-C with just the iPhone standing out as the last one to remain as an exception. For Apple, even if the legislation come to effect, it would still avoid a transition to USB-C for its smartphone line up.

The proposed legislation also covers the universal standard for fast charging. Companies are already on their way to ditch the chargers from the new smartphone boxes and the move seems practical and environmental friendly. Apple has expressed concerns that the legislation restricts the innovation instead of encouraging it.

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