I'm sure there's a box or drawer full of charging cables in every household!
And that's actually only because every technology company wants to cook its own cable soup. Customer loyalty and stuff. Or rather, cable binding of customers so that they don't spend their money on a charging cable elsewhere. But finally, finally, finally it's over! From 2024 USB-C will become the standard charging port!
It only lasted a decade
In 2014, there was great hope after the introduction of the Micro-USB standard planned in 2010 didn't really come to fruition because there were still too many exceptions, Apple, for example, opted out and insisted on its own Lada cables. Because three years later, i.e. in 2017 , smartphones and tablets should be charged with standard chargers.
This was also very welcomed, but the problem was: At the time, there was never really an agreement about which connections should now be standard on the devices. Although some charging cables can now also be used for other devices, it's still far from being the best: my charging cables for the Sony smartphone and the Samsung smartphone still look rather grim in the drawer.
But an agreement has finally been reached: the European Parliament announced on Tuesday June 7, 2022 that a change to the Radio Equipment Directive will force manufacturers to use the USB-C port as a common charging port for a wide range of devices such as smartphones, tablets and cameras to use.
The agreement affects many devices!
Not only smartphones and tablets need to be charged, but also a variety of other devices... and yes, this agreement affects them too! E-readers, earphones, headphones, headsets, portable video game consoles and portable speakers that are charged via a cable – these devices will also have a USB-C port from autumn 2024.
Discarded chargers generate 11,000 tons of electronic waste every year; a huge tangle of cables that becomes smaller as a result. Consumers in the EU can save up to 250 million euros per year through standardization.
How much will manufacturers hurry?
However, the new EU requirements only apply to products that come onto the market after the law has been applied or approximately 24 months after its publication in the EU Official Journal. Laptop manufacturers have even more time: They have 40 months to adapt their devices to the new common charging standard.
However, the exception for laptops is understandable as it is more difficult to design a common charger for laptops with different charging requirements.
By the way, there are no extra cable sausages: According to Thierry Breton, Commissioner for the EU Internal Market, this rule applies to all manufacturers - yes, including Apple. “ We work for consumers, not companies, and we need to give these companies rules; Rules that are clear to enter the internal market “. The company is said to have already started testing to replace the in-house Lightning port with USB-C.
We will have to keep our charging cable boxes and drawers for a little while longer. But from 2024, standardization will begin... and we will be able to tell our grandchildren, who are listening with wide-eyed disbelief, about the wild, anarchic time when every device needed its own cable. Incredible!
Source: European Parliament
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