Lawmakers in the EU parliament voted to pass a regulation act expecting all new compact devices to use one variation of charging port and wire type.
All smartphone producers will be obliged to use the universal USB-C charging point from the year 2024. As for laptops, they will have to start doing so starting in 2026. The vote was 602 in favor, 13 against, and 8 neither for nor against.
Representative countries are scheduled to ratify the rules on October 24, before they are signed by Parliament.
Jun., 2022, the UK authorities disclosed to the BBC News that it was planning on introducing a universal charging port law under the EU’s interim agreement.
Different rules for The UK and the Northen Ireland
However, in sight of the modern post-Brexit compromise, the new rules could be ratified in Northern Ireland. According to a December 2021 parliamentary report, under the Brexit deal in Northern Ireland, new requirements will also apply to devices sold in Northern Ireland and product standards with the rest of the UK Differences may arise.
The agreement operated on keeping Northern Ireland part of the EU’s shared goods and trade market, and the other parts of the United Kingdom detached from the EU. Discussions amid the UK and the EU on how to restructure and update the Northern Ireland Protocol stay unsolved and undetermined.
EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager blasted the new post with several rules on Twitter, saying that increasing the number of chargers would be wasteful and burdensome. However, Apple has always throughout history opposed the suggestion of a universal charger.
Apple’s answer
When it was announced for the first time in Sep., 2021, an Apple spokesperson stated to the BBC News that harsh regulations restricting the use of only one type of plug-in would stifle rather than encourage innovation, thus harming customers all around the globe and in EU as well.
The high-tech giant is a major smartphone manufacturer that uses a custom charging cable because its iPhone lineup uses Apple’s Lightning connector.
After the parliamental agreement of the new regulation law, Apple has not made an announcement yet. So both the authorities and the customers are expecting an answer from the company in the near future.
