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In the future, the clutter of electronic device chargers will disappear

EU requests single mobile charger from 2024

EU requests single mobile charger from 2024

The move is meant to offer convenience and savings for consumers on the continent

The EU has opted for the USB-C mobile charging port. Representatives from the 27 Member States agreed on 6 June that from the autumn of 2024 all electronic devices, regardless of their make, will have the ability to be charged with a universal charger.

The European Commission has been pushing for such legislation for the past decade and now it is set to become a reality. EU industry chief Thierry Breton said the deal would save about 250 million euros for consumers.

"It will also allow new technologies, such as wireless charging, to emerge and to mature without letting innovation become a source of market fragmentation and consumer inconvenience," he said, as quoted by Reuters.

Less waste or more waste?

It is well-known that the move to switch to USB-C charging port types will affect the operations of Apple, whose devices are charged with a Lightning cable. The motivation behind the introduction of a common charging device is that, apart from savings for the individual consumer, it will likely lead to waste reduction due to reducing the clutter of cables that people have to own.

Apple, however, has argued that the opposite is likely to happen, at least in the short- to mid-term. The legislation would, in their opinion, lead to the accumulation of electronics waste since older models of electronic devices would become obsolete more rapidly.

Nevertheless, the company is already working on an iPhone model with USB-C charging connector, to be debuted sometime next year.

Half the chargers sold with mobile phones in 2018 had a USB micro-B connector while 29% had a USB-C connector and 21% - a Lightning connector, a 2019 Commission study showed.

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