Malcolm Owen
The European Commission is examining if it should push smartphone producers like Apple to collaborate on a single mobile phone charger that would work with all smartphones, due to an apparent lack of progress by vendors in moving towards creating a common charger.
A proposal first suggested a decade ago, the European Commission wants mobile device producers to use a single charger, one that would work regardless of the device connected to it. Up until now, it has been voluntary for companies to work on the problem, but Reuters reports EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager is keen for progress to be made on the scheme.
"Given the unsatisfactory progress with this voluntary approach, the Commission will shortly launch an impact assessment study to evaluate costs and benefits of different other options," according to a response from Vestager to an EU lawmaker on August 1.
The Commission did get a collection of device vendors, including Apple, to agree to work on the initiative in 2009, with the view to harmonizing chargers for new smartphone models in 2011. After the initial memorandum of understanding expired in 2012, some of the companies signed letters of intent in 2013 and 2014, supposedly keeping the project alive.
The push for a single charger would benefit consumers as there would be less of a need to keep a variety of chargers on hand for the different devices they own. The Commission also believes switching to a single common charger would eliminate more than 51 thousand tons of electronic waste disposed by consumers every year.
In the decade since the agreement, there has arguably been some level of commonality between chargers, with many consisting of a USB port on a plug and a USB cable that connects to the device, which in many cases can be used by other hardware. There is, however, still a disparity between devices at the point where the accompanying cable connects to the smartphone, with Apple using Lightning while Android devices employ either microUSB or USB-C.
While it is likely Apple will continue to use Lightning as the connection on its iOS devices for some time, there is the possibility that the chargers for the next iPhone generation could have a USB-C port.
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27 Comments
I Hope Apple gives the middle finger to the EU. Hopefully they remove the Lightning port within the next few years .
Not sure other producers will be willing to raise standard for their chargers and Apple wont be willing to lower them.
EU is getting too nosy. I will not want to downgrade to those cheapo high risk chargers where corners are cut so badly that puts we, consumers at risk. Look at the number of electrical-induced fires in my country due largely to those cheapo low quality chargers across diverse appliances, PMD, etc.
EU, if u wanna do it, do it by raising the bar of all lower grade chargers to meet those of high standards like Apple's. Not the other way round!
The chargers are already standardized and the data they quote is out of date. All chargers are USB today.
In the near future, they may become USB-C except in the EU, where standardization won't allow improvement to the next generation of charging.
Standardizing the syncing or charging cable is hardly an issue of waste - you just keep using it. And in today's world, the charger as well.