The European Union (EU) parliament has passed a new law requiring all new smartphones, tablets and cameras to be charged using USB-C as standard from late 2024 onwards.
EU lawmakers voted in favour of a measure that would push Apple to drop its outdated Lightning port on its iPhones for the USB-C one already used by many of its competitors.
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Makers of laptops will have extra time, from early 2026, to also follow suit. The EU wants to make life simpler for Europeans by banning the use of different chargers for each type of device. It hopes that the new rule will reduce costs for consumers as well as reduce landfills full of old chargers.
EU regulators have adopted landmark legislation that could significantly reduce the amount of electronic waste the bloc generates. The decision will put an end to the practice of sending hazardous e-waste abroad for recycling.
A new EU e-waste recycling scheme is expected to save at least 200 million euros ($195 million) per year and cut more than a thousand tonnes of waste every year. The EU move is expected to ripple around the world.
The European Union’s 27 countries are home to 450 million people who count among the world’s wealthiest consumers. Regulatory changes in the bloc often set global industry norms in what is known as the Brussels Effect.
“Today is a great day for consumers, a great day for our environment,” Maltese MEP Alex Agius Saliba, the European Parliament’s point man on the issue, said.
“After more than a decade; the single charger for multiple electronic devices will finally become a reality for Europe and hopefully we can also inspire the rest of the world,” he said.
Apple is set to follow its mobile phone rivals, ditching the traditional lightning connector for iPhones and iPads and switching over to USB-C.
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Apple refused to comply with EU legislation to make its lightning port mandatory on its iPhones, despite warnings that it would lead to disproportionate costs.
However, some users of its latest flagship iPhone models — which can capture extremely high-resolution photos and videos in massive data files — complain that the Lightning cable transfers data at only a bare fraction of the speed USB-C does.
The EU law will in two years’ time apply to all handheld mobile phones, tablets, digital cameras, headphones, headsets, portable speakers, handheld videogame consoles, e-readers, earbuds, keyboards, mice and portable navigation systems.