USB-C

From Fall 2024, the EU will require manufacturers of electronic devices like smartphones, digital cameras, tablets and headphones to use the same charger, ...

The rules on standardized charger ports only apply to devices using wired charging, the EU said, meaning those only charging wirelessly will not have to include a USB-C port. Such rules would slash e-waste, save money and be far better for consumers, who the bloc says are “frustrated” with “incompatible chargers piling up.” U.S. tech giant Apple, which has invested in its own “Lightning” connector and resisted moving to the technologies used by other smartphone makers, has been a particularly fierce opponent, arguing that standardization would harm consumers and stifle innovation. However, the legislation will also allow the European Commission to develop standards for wireless charging in the future as it becomes more prevalent, according to the press release.

European Union co-legislators have reached provisional agreement on a common charging solutions for smartphones, laptops, tablets and other small and medium ...

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EU lawmakers have agreed on proposed legislation that would force all smartphones, like Apple's iPhone, to use the universal USB-C port for charging.

EU lawmakers say this is due to the difficulty in creating a standard charger that applies to laptops with different power requirements. “We have a standard that is being developed, and we have a dedicated team that will keep a close eye on all this and adapt as time goes by. The legislation still needs to be approved by the EU Parliament and Council later this year, but this appears to be a formality. In the years since, Android manufacturers have converged upon micro USB and then USB-C as the common charging standard of choice, while Apple went from offering phones with its proprietary 30-pin connector to Lightning. The EU estimates that the legislation could save consumers 250 million euros per year on “unnecessary charger purchases” and cut down on around 11,000 tonnes of e-waste annually. Now they will be able to use a single charger for all their portable electronics.” The legislation also includes provisions designed to address wireless chargers in the future, as well as harmonizing fast-charging standards.

The European Union has reached a landmark agreement to force a wide range of consumer electronics, including the iPhone and AirPods, to feature a...

Both Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and Bloomberg's Mark Gurman have said that Apple is testing a version of the iPhone that has a USB-C port instead of a Lightning port. It will enter come into force 20 days after publication in the EU Official Journal and its provisions will start to apply to new devices after 24 months. The proposal, known as a directive, will force all consumer electronics manufacturers who sell devices in Europe to ensure that all new phones, tablets, laptops, digital cameras, headphones, headsets, handheld videogame consoles, and portable speakers feature a USB-C port, regardless of the manufacturer.

By autumn 2024, USB Type-C will become the common charging port for all mobile phones, tablets and cameras in the EU, Parliament and Council negotiators agreed ...

Many expect that the company will opt for this at some point, to allow slimmer, sleeker devices, with better waterproofing, but it seems we’ll see a USB-C iPhone before that more dramatic move. Although we do expect Apple to comply with the law, it would have another option. Bloomberg reports that while Apple is internally testing an iPhone design with USB-C instead of Lightning, the change won’t come before next year.

The European Union has come to an agreement that will require all smartphone manufacturers that sell in Europe to use the common USB-C port.

By that point, all devices that fall under the law’s umbrella and are sold in the European Union must have USB-C for wired charging. The Parliament says that the new obligations will lead to consumers re-using chargers which will help save up to 250 million euro a year on “unnecessary charger purchases.” Additionally, disposed of and unused chargers are estimated to create 11,000 tons of e-waste annually. “Mobile phones, tablets, e-readers, earbuds, digital cameras, headphones and headsets, handheld videogame consoles, and portable speakers that are rechargeable via a wired cable will have to be equipped with a USB Type-C port, regardless of their manufacturer.

The plan extends to additional consumer electronics using wired charging, including digital cameras, tablets, and, at a later date, laptops. Today's ...

It is unclear how Apple will respond to the EU policy. Once approved, the policy will also apply to handheld video game consoles, e-readers, earbuds, headphones, and headsets. The next step will be for the EU Parliament and Council to formally approve the agreement.

The European Union on Tuesday reached an agreement that will require all new smartphones, tablets and laptops to use a common charger by 2026.

Companies will also be required to sell devices without a charger to reduce the number of chargers in circulation. By 2026, the law will apply to laptops. But the new law had been opposed by companies including Apple, which said that it would prevent new charging technologies from developing.

The EU has paved the way for all smartphones to be legally required to use a USB-C port for charging, a move that could bea headache for Apple, whose iPhone ...

Laptops will have to be adapted to fit the requirements 40 months after they come into force. The EU’s agreement will apply from autumn 2024 for all smartphones sold in the bloc, a decision that could substantially impact Apple as the iPhone uses Apple’s lightning port for wired charging. The EU has paved the way for all smartphones to be legally required to use a USB-C port for charging, a move that could be a headache for Apple, whose iPhone is the only main brand smartphone without this type of connection.

European lawmakers have mandated that mobile devices (looking at you, Apple) must charge using the same standard connector cable.

“What’s interesting is that the legislators in the EU are able to almost shape global technology trends,” Wood says. The GDPR, the EU's sweeping online data privacy legislation, caused what amounted to a global redesign of the web’s user experience. Wireless charging is already supported across the whole iPhone lineup. There are more than 1 billion iPhones in the world, and every model of iPhone Apple has released since 2012 has come with a Lightning port. Standardization around USB-C as the tech industry’s main connection interface has been a long time coming, with many manufacturers making the switch years ago. This move to standardize charging ports was executed as a way to limit e-waste—consumers will be able to buy devices without a charger in the box if they so choose—but also to make it easier for people to wrangle the energy needs of their many devices.

Cellphones and handheld electronic devices in the European Union will be required to have a USB-C charging port by 2024.

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The law puts Apple in a difficult position, as the company has clung to its proprietary ports on iPhones and MacBook computers.

He wrote on Twitter that it was “hard to see any meaningful consumer benefit” from the law, which he said outlawed “some ideas” such as the sole use of magnetic chargers. In Germany, the European Union’s largest economy, the top three most-popular smartphones are all iPhones, according to consumer research site Counterpoint, with the fourth and fifth being Samsung Galaxy phones that use USB-C ports. But the mandate puts Apple in a difficult position, as it has clung to its proprietary “Lightning” port on its iPhones and the charging cases for its AirPods in-ear headphones.

At long last, European Union lawmakers have made a decision regarding whether to implement a universal charger for new electronic devices.

(This is expected to go smoothly, given Parliament’s history of prodding the Commission to settle on a universal charger.) The agreement will then be published in the EU Official journal, with enforcement beginning 24 months later. On the other hand, Apple had recently switched its iPads to USB-C and was reportedly testing a USB-C iPhone (likely to avoid losing a majority of its European market). Some think Apple should be a bit more motivated to move toward universal USB-C, given its move to “reduce e-waste” (and save $6 billion per year) by no longer including charging cables with new iPhones back in 2020. Not only will this help reduce the 11,000 metric tons of cables and adaptors tossed into landfills every year; it’s also expected to help consumers save up to 250 million euro per year as the need for multiple charging devices diminishes.

The UK government is not going to follow the European Union's requirement for the iPhone and all smartphones to use USB-C as a common charging system.

Subsequently, the UK has proposed breaking the deal it negotiated, but for the moment, Northern Ireland would be subject to EU product standards. Ireland remains in the European Union, though, which led the UK government to agree a special deal regarding Northern Ireland. However, both UK and EU officials say that the common charger requirement will apply to devices sold in Northern Ireland.

Apple's iPhone design could be facing big changes thanks to EU legislation that hopes to select USB-C as the single charging standard of choice.

(As a side note: although devices covered under the EU’s rules need to be able to charge over USB-C, they don’t have to use this as their only form of charging. That means MacBooks that charge over MagSafe — the laptop version that is — are still free to do so, so long as their USB-C ports can also charge them. Since Lightning is a proprietary connector, any accessory manufacturer that wants to support it has to go through Apple’s MFi program, which allows Apple to get a cut of the lucrative iPhone accessories market. On the laptop side of its business, the company started going all-in on USB-C in 2015 when it released a MacBook featuring just a single USB-C port alongside a headphone jack. But it’s significant given the rumors that Apple has considered going down that route with the iPhone. These rumors have been swirling ever since Apple introduced the MagSafe wireless charging standard with the iPhone 12 line. With an estimated 1 billion iPhones in use around the world as of early 2021, that’s a lot of charging hardware that’ll become redundant over time. There is at least one way that Apple could avoid having to ship USB-C ports on its phones, and that’s thanks to wireless charging. Last month, reputable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple could be ready to make the switch as early as 2023. Those rumors have faded away more recently, though, and a decision to stick with wired charging could explain why Apple seems relatively uninterested in building out an ecosystem of MagSafe accessories. New flagship iPhones tend to be announced in September each year, which means Apple’s 2024 iPhone range (likely to be called the iPhone 16) will launch right as the legislation is coming into force. The EU estimates the rules could cut down on 11,000 metric tons (over 12,000 tons) of e-waste annually and save customers €250 million (around $268 million USD) on “unnecessary charger purchases.” The EU’s legislation could finally force it to move on.

The EU will require device manufacturers to standardize on USB-C, a mandate that mostly effects Apple. The company, whose biggest selling product — the ...

For example, the quality and capability of USB-C chargers differ greatly, depending on the manufacturer. “But ultimately I suspect they will transition all of their products to the USB-C connector. Now they will be able to use a single charger for all their portable electronics.” And it could help consumers save up to $268 mllion a year on unnecessary charger purchases. “I’m sure Apple would prefer to stay on its proprietary connector rather than standardize on USB-C," he said. The unprecedented mandate is widely ecpected to affect Apple, whose products — including the popular iPhone series — use the company's proprietary Lightning connector protocol.

European lawmakers have struck a deal on a common charger for phones, laptops and other computer devices that aims to reduce costs to consumers – and to the ...

The European Parliament and Council still need to approve the agreement. And they shall apply to all." "A lot of focus is on smartphones," he said.

The requirement that all new devices that recharge via a cable offer USB-C charging starting in 2024 is about more than phones.

The 10W plug for a smartphone might technically connect to a 16” MacBook Pro (which ships with a 140W charger), but it often can’t provide enough power to keep the battery charged while it’s in use. The EU is playing this as a big win for consumers. Fortunately, the law will only apply to new products brought to market after the law goes into effect. However, because of the way the law was written, Apple was able to meet the requirements by offering a Micro-USB-to-30-pin adapter for around $15. There’s no such loop hole on offer this time. However, the chance that the design-focused company will choose to add a second port to its sleek smartphone is basically zero. A more likely option that has been touted for a while is that Apple will go fully wireless with the iPhone. If it’s not charged over a cable, it doesn’t need a USB-C port.

Today's deal is within about $0.50 of the all time low and is at the best price we can find. This no-frills hub solution expands a single USB-C port with 4K ...

This no-frills hub solution expands a single USB-C port with 4K 60Hz HDMI, a USB 3.0 jack (5V/1.5A), and a 100W USB-C port for just over $14. It might not be the most feature-rich or robust solution out there, but at this price it is worth consideration for casual users looking to expand a MacBook or other USB-C laden device’s capabilities in a budget-friendly manner. You’ll find deals on the brand’s power banks, USB-C chargers, MFI Lightning cables, and much more. Amazon is now offering its Amazon Basics USB-C Hub for $14.10 with free shipping for Prime members or in orders over $25. Regularly $40, this model has started to slide down in price since it launched in 2021 and has been selling for between $20 and $34 as of late.