European Commission: ‘USB-C should be mandatory’

For years there has been talk of one equal connection for smartphones and other devices. Now it seems that a battle is actually being struck; USB-C should be mandatory.

USB-C should become the standard

Since 2009 there has been talk of one type of connection for different electronic devices. This does not only concern smartphones, but also the connection for a camera, tablet, portable speaker and headphones. Many brands have already embraced the USB-C connection, but brands such as Apple and cheaper devices, this is not always the case. Apple still often uses the Lightning connection.

According to the European Commission, it is now really time to choose one standard, and that should come in the form of USB-C; a connection that we already see very often with smartphones. The committee’s story shows that consumers have an average of three chargers, two of which are actively used. Through agreements through an agreement, which manufacturers could join, the number of chargers has already fallen from thirty to three. Nevertheless, this must be done better, according to the European Commission.

Every year 2.4 billion euros would be spent on individual chargers. Discarded and unused chargers account for 11,000 tons of electronic waste, according to the figures. By opting for one standard, this should be reduced to at least 10,000 tons.

The European Commission says it is continuing to work on a choice that consumers should have; whether or not to receive a plug with their device. An interesting detail is that they also want the speed at which a device can be charged to be the same. Interesting because more expensive devices usually charge much faster than the cheaper ones. It is not clear (to us) how the European Commission intends to deal with this.

The fact that the European Commission wants to take this step is one thing. The committee’s proposals first go through the European Parliament and the European Council. Due to the transition period, it could just be 2023-2024 before the obligation comes into effect.