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USB-C to be mandatory for phones sold in the EU by autumn 2024
The EU have agreed legislation, alternate link, forcing all future smartphones sold in the EU — including Apple's iPhone — be equipped with USB-C port for wired charging by autumn 2024. The rule will also apply to other electronic devices including tablets, digital cameras, headphones, handheld video game consoles, and e-readers. Laptops will have to comply with the rule at a later date.
The legislation still needs to be approved by the EU Parliament and Council later this year, but this appears to be a formality. In a press release, the European Parliament stated clearly that the law will be in place "by autumn 2024." By this date, all devices covered by the law and sold in the EU will have to use USB-C for wired charging.
EU Agrees Single Mobile Charging Port in Blow to Apple
EU agrees single mobile charging port in blow to Apple:
Apple (AAPL.O) will have to change the connector on iPhones sold in Europe by 2024 after EU countries and lawmakers agreed on Tuesday to a single mobile charging port for mobile phones, tablets and cameras in a world first.
The political intervention, which the European Commission said would make life easier for consumers and save them money, came after companies failed to reach a common solution.
Brussels has been pushing for a single mobile charging port for more than a decade, prompted by complaints from iPhone and Android users about having to switch to different chargers for their devices.
iPhones are charged from a Lightning cable, while Android-based devices use 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.
"By autumn 2024, USB Type-C will become the common charging port for all mobile phones, tablets and cameras in the EU," the European Parliament said in a statement.
EU industry chief Thierry Breton said the deal would save around 250 million euros ($267 million) for consumers.
"It will also allow new technologies such as wireless charging to emerge and to mature without letting innovation become a source of market fragmentation and consumer inconvenience," he said.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by canopic jug on Wednesday June 08 2022, @05:51AM (4 children)
USB-C is apparently a suite of different styles of cables with different capabilities. Furthermore, the high voltage and current they can carry means that knockoff cables bring a very high risk of completely destroying whatever they are plugged into.
At least USB-A in all its forms was limited to 5V. As the last link there shows, it is not a cable as most think of one, but instead it is a full computer shaped like a cable and thus capable of being used against the integrity of the system which it is attached to and usually with direct memory access. The right sentiment is behind the legislation but industry lacking a suitable specification or standard to use.
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(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 08 2022, @07:29AM
Those aren't really new concerns. The last one was not only possible with other cables, but were also commercially available if you knew where to look. Neither is USB devices failing for various problems on their input and output protection or bad pin values, with either resulting in roasted devices/cables.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 08 2022, @08:39AM (1 child)
From your link
From you
Both are false. Devices that assume things and are not compatible with USB-C except for a plug, yes, maybe they will be broken, but that's what you get when you cut on design. And this cable thing is from 2015
https://forums.oneplus.com/threads/in-response-to-the-type-c-cable-discussions.412344/ [oneplus.com]
Regarding voltages,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quick_Charge [wikipedia.org]
So, this is already almost 10 years old. And it does a lot more than 5V. I've used it on a Motorola phone back in 2016. The phone would request 9V charging and charger delivered. That was all over plain USB-A to micro-USB cable.
USB-C just standardizes what was a bunch of proprietary standards already in play for many, many years.
The bottom line is, this directive is to mandate that one type of plug to be used. Like before there was a mandate to use micro-USB for charging. Why? Because we don't need 50 different charging plugs. Even better, phones don't even come with chargers anymore because almost everyone already has a few at home. That's a big plus and that's the point -- less garbage and waste.
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 08 2022, @09:50AM
To further your point, USB-PD definitely existed before USB-C and isn't proprietary. That common USB cable could already deliver 100 watts (5 amps at 20 volts) before USB-C and its accompanying PD versions. USB-C may have raised the maximum to 240 watts, but SPR could still do some serious damage. And the later revisions and versions are even safer, theoretically, since they require active negotiation and actual protection on both devices to meet spec instead of using passives and trusting the compliance of strangers.
(Score: 2) by darkfeline on Thursday June 09 2022, @01:30AM
USB C is a physical connector. There is only one. There is nothing preventing you from sending too much power over any connector (e.g., you could send 240V to a 120V standard US power connector). You should avoid plugging any questionable items into any electrical connection on your device, whether that be USB C, USB B, RJ45, Smartcard, etc.
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