USB-C, microUSB or Lightning? EU proposes 'universal' phone charger; Apple has concerns

The European Union recently released a proposal that makes the tech giants stick to a standard charging port for mobile phones, tablets, headphones and other day-to-day gadgets. Members of the European Commission have recently released a proposal to impose a universal phone charger and it seems like Apple is the main tech giant that has been affected. The EU Commission was already working on imposing this rule for the last 10 years. According to the executives of the EU, this proposal can help the world with environmental benefits and helps save millions in annual savings for users. 

What is Universal Phone Charger and why is Apple is not happy about it?

EU executive vice president Margrethe Vestager released an official statement to the media and said that European consumers have been frustrated long enough about incompatible chargers piling up in their drawers. She confirmed that the European Commission had given the industry plenty of time to come up with their own solutions and confirmed to take legislative action for a common charger. It seems that Apple is facing a lot of issues after their decision to opt for other lighting and USB-C charging ports for all the latest devices.

It means that Apple needs to replace all their new phones with a universal charging port. An official statement was also released by Apple revealing that they remain concerned about the strict regulation mandating just one type of connector stifles innovation rather than encouraging it, which in turn will harm consumers in Europe and around the world. According to the proposal, these smartphone manufacturers will be given a 24-month transition to switch to a universal phone charger for all their devices. 

Currently, the tech community is dominated by a total of three charging port options. According to a 2019 Commission study, half the chargers sold with mobile phones in 2018 were loaded with the USB micro-B connector. Next in-line comes the USB-C connector which was loaded in about 29 per cent of the devices sold in 2018. The last one includes a Lightning connector which was loaded in a total of 21 per cent of smartphones sold in 2018. Thus using a universal charger for various smartphones could help reduce the electronic waste that has already emerged as a great issue in recent years.

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