EU Lawmakers Vote Overwhelmingly in Favor of Single, Common Charger for Smartphones

[Tsing]

image: Google



The European Parliament has voted 582 to 40 in favor of a common charger for mobile devices. This is great news for consumers from across the pond, many of whom have surely built up stockpiles of various charging accessories. The new rules are expected to make USB-C the standard when they go into effect in July.



A lot of reports are targeting Apple and the company’s proprietary Lightning connector, but it isn’t clear how the legislation will actually affect iPhone ports. That’s because the EU’s vote seems to concern chargers only, and Apple already utilizes USB-C-based power adapters. (Charging is merely performed with a USB-C to Lightning cable.)



The situation is doubly confusing because Apple had previously...

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[Dan_D]

I am too. Mostly because I like the idea of sticking it to Apple and forcing them to change to USB 3.1 Type C.

 

[Valve1138]

People still use wires to charge phones?

Wireless at home and my truck.

 

[Uvilla]

Well that's a start.
We need them to push for replaceable batteries amd standard format batteries.
It could be several shapes, but it should be standard and replaceable.
Its time, excuses are done.. reasons irrelevant.

 

[Grimlakin]

You mean like we used to have before people wanted waterproof phones?

Me.. I'll stick with my dunkable phone rather than replaceable battery. Admittedly I'm at an income level where a new phone every few years isn't that painful. But I don't see why we couldn't make a IP6 rated phone with replaceable batteries. I'm just betting they would build in **** performance to make people want to upgrade sooner.