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The European Union's long-standing goal of standardizing chargers for smartphones and other devices is reportedly about to be formally proposed and could ultimately lead to law.
Despite Apple's arguments against the need for a legally mandated common standard for chargers, the EU is working on a draft law on the issue. The EU continues to claim that a common standard would reduce e-waste while Apple says that switching to this new standard would create more e-waste. According to Yahoo! Finance claimed Now a source allegedly familiar with the EU's plans says the legislation will be proposed in September. Further details are not known, but the proposals are likely to follow the EU's previous recommendations.
EU wants to force smartphone manufacturers to rethink
These included proposals in 2019 for different ways to achieve a common charger. It is possible that a manufacturer could be required to use one connector to make its charger compatible with others. The EU's push for a common charger began about 13 years ago. At that time, companies, including Apple, signed a voluntary letter of intent committing to work on harmonizing chargers. But, as we know, this has not happened, so the EU believes that if companies do not want to take the step themselves, they must be forced to do so. As a reminder, Apple stopped including a power adapter with the iPhone in 2020. Apple's problem, however, is that it uses its own proprietary Lightning connector for iPhones, and the EU is more likely to recommend the USB-C or USB 2.0 micro-B, which is widely used by other manufacturers.
Apple iPhone: Is a transition from Lightning to USB-C to be expected?
It's almost impossible that Apple will ever switch the iPhone to USB-C. Why? There have been rumors for several years that Apple is working on a portless iPhone that could be released in the next two years. This device will therefore rely on wireless charging. Unfortunately, you wouldn't be able to use it while charging, right? In addition, Qi charging can only be carried out at 7.5W. But there is now a solution to both problems - MagSafe.
MagSafe will play a bigger role in the future
The assumption that Apple will move from the Lightning port directly to a portless device was reinforced in the fall of 2020 when Apple introduced the iPhone 12 and the updated MagSafe charging technology. The MagSafe charging cable not only allows faster charging (15W) - on a magnetic basis - but also solves the problem of being able to use a device at the same time when it is being charged portlessly. After all, the magnetic charging puck is connected to a cable. This means that MagSafe will most likely play a much bigger role than it does at the moment. By the way, if you actually need a MagSafe charger, you can currently get one for 29 euros instead of 45 euros. buy from Amazon. (Photo by ALEXANDRE LALLEMAND / Bigstockphoto)
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