The European Union came to a provisional agreement requiring different portable electronic devices sold within its borders use the same USB-C charging port. That means companies using proprietary technology, like Apple, will need to make some big changes.
June 10, 2022 at 7:00 a.m. EDTMy phone uses a different charging cable than my laptop, which uses a different cable than my PC's keyboard, which — for some reason — uses the same charging cable as my toothbrush.This week, the European Union came to a provisional agreement requiring products like those sold within its borders use the same USB-C charging port. That means companies using proprietary technology — like Apple — will need to make some big changes.
Apart from mandating a “common” charger, the E.U. also hopes to standardize charging speeds for gadgets — like smartphones — that support faster charging.Much of the conversation around the E.U.’s decision has focused on Apple, and for good reason: The company’s iPhones have used the proprietary Lightning charging system for almost a decade, and it doesn’t appear to have many options apart from replacing it entirely.
This whole saga is unfolding in Europe, and , the E.U. can’t directly control how companies act, or what they do, outside of Europe. So does that mean those of us outside of Europe won’t feel the effects of this shift?It’s not unheard for businesses to decide that operating with one set of standards in Europe and another for the rest of the world doesn’t really make sense.