USB-C charging will be mandatory for phones and other handhelds sold in the EU by autumn of 2024, according to a decision by the European Commission reached on Tuesday.
The decision is seen as a blow to Apple’s Lightning port. Reports indicate Apple could already be working to convert to USB-C in iPhones.
“European consumers were frustrated long with multiple chargers piling up with every new device,” said the European Parliament’s rapporteur Alex Agius Saliba in a press statement. “Now they will be able to use a single charger for all their portable electronics.”
The provision affects phones, tablets, e-readers, digital cameras and other devices.
Lawmakers in Europe see the common charger as a way to reduce e-waste and improve convenience. One estimate put the annual cost to consumers for charger purchases at 250 million euros.
Apple is the only major smartphone maker to continue to use a proprietary port called Lightning, which has been in use for a decade. About 240 million iPhones were sold by Apple last year, with 56 million in Europe.
Lawmakers claimed the provision was not meant to hurt Apple.
Apple could decide to convert to wireless charging instead of using the decade-old Lighting charging port. However, TF International Securities Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo tweeted in May that Apple is prepping USB-C for iPhones as early as the second half of 2023, basing his insight on a survey of component makers.
In the past, Apple has said the EU provision would stifle innovation. The company also has said forcing a switch would create e-waste and not reduce it.
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