BRUSSELS, Sept 23 (Reuters) - The EU aims to have a common charging port for mobile phones, tablets and headphones under a European Commission proposal presented on Thursday in a world first, with the move impacting iPhone maker Apple (AAPL.O) more than its rivals.

The move has been more than 10 years in the making, with the European Union executive touting environmental benefits and 250 million euros ($293 million) in annual savings for users.

Under the Commission's proposal, a USB-C connector will become the standard port for all smartphones, tablets, cameras, headphones, portable speakers and handheld videogame consoles. Chargers will also be sold separately from electronic devices.

The EU executive will revise its eco-design regulation in the near future so that the external power supply is interoperable, which is the last step for a common charge.

The Commission said it was not targeting Apple and only acted because companies were not able to agree on a common solution despite a decade of talks, which have reduced the number of mobile phone chargers to three from 30.

Apple pushed back against the proposal.

"We remain concerned that strict regulation mandating just one type of connector stifles innovation rather than encouraging it, which in turn will harm consumers in Europe and around the world," the company said in a statement.

It also voiced concerns about the 24-month transition period for companies to comply with the legislation once it is adopted.

"My job is to kill off these sea snakes whenever I can," he told a news conference.

Breton also dismissed Apple's comments as old refrains.

"I have known these companies for years. Every time we put (forward) a proposal, they start to say 'oh, it will be against innovation'. No, it's not against innovation, it's not against anyone. Like everything the Commission does, it's for consumers," he said.

IPhone and Android users have long complained about having to use different chargers for their phones. The former is charged from a Lightning cable while Android-based devices are charged using USB-C connectors.

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, according to a 2019 Commission study.

The proposal needs the green light from EU member states and EU lawmakers following which companies will have two years to adapt their devices.

https://www.reuters.com/business/media-tele...ple-2021-09-23/

Inb4 apple kena sanction

Just require the company to supply power cable and provide 5 years warranty for the cable.....

Superior Usb-c is the future

Apole will remove ports soon.

All in on this. Usb c ke arah kuasa dunia

i agreed standardize charging and data port,.. last time use parallel port,... but parallel port too big,.. people use serial port as standard,..then maju liao use USB,... Apple die die dun wan use USB,...

USB-C is capable of supporting USB4, the latest and fastest USB specification. As a result, USB-C cables can transfer speeds up to 40Gbps. By comparison, Lightning cables are much slower and transfer data at USB 2.0 rates of 480Mbps.

Majority of phones out there: USB2.0 is fine

If have better spec only can say innovation, resisting just so they can use the old ones is nothing near innovation at all.

Apple rather do it portless than using generic USB-C, fark EU.

This post has been edited by msacras: Apr 26 2022, 07:55 AM

Yes, Apple please stop selling to EU to show who is the boss

yet they have products that uses USB-C

Cause tablets and laptops need connectivity with peripherals and etc, but phones mostly using touchscreen and do most connectivity with cloud/Bluetooth.

The main usage of lightning port is earphone and charging, which Apple are happy to opt for wireless alternative and charge you more for that.

This post has been edited by msacras: Apr 26 2022, 08:04 AM

why want to go lightning when USB-C can do all the same
this is the part EU and everybody are complaining about

right now only apple has different port for each of their product...not standardize
and they keep saying they wanna go environmentally friendly

actually is to milk more money

go wireless but need to separately buy prolly their own wireless tech(not qi wireless charging) = they will say no cable = environmentally friendly

Apple wants to control everything... like a cult

Finally the EU is telling Apple off.

The lightning port sucks compared to Type C. Apple kept for the Lightning port due to MFI licenses they sell to accessories makers for huge profits. If using Type C, they lose the accessories market.

https://www.quora.com/How-much-does-it-cost...ple-MFi-program

Actually, physically Lightning port is more resilient (especially female) and smaller.

Type-C on the other hand some very tight some very loose. And the female connector can get damaged or stressed if you insert the male cable off-angle.

This post has been edited by msacras: Apr 26 2022, 08:26 AM

using usbc for ipad proof that it's a superior port over lighting