How many different charging cables do you have at home? It is common to have numerous different cables in our homes to charge speakers, headphones, mobile phones, tablets, laptops... Have you noticed all the space they take up? Not only in the drawer at home but also in your mind because every time you leave the house for a few days, you have to remember which cable belongs to each device and take them all. This situation is coming to an end.
There are still quite a few days, yes, but less is better than nothing. The EU has agreed that, from autumn 2024, there will be a single charger for all mobile devices. This standard single charger will be USB Type-C, which almost all of you already know. This type of single charger also features per se a series of features that make its use very easy and simple for everyone. It is a reversible connector that has no specific orientation, so it does not need to be plugged in a particular way. This is very useful to speed up the charging process since you always "get it right" when inserting it.
The EU highlights that the new regulation could save up to 250 million euros per year on charger purchases. Additionally, it is estimated that 11,000 tons of electronic waste correspond to discarded and unused chargers.
Many devices will benefit from this change as it will affect phones, tablets, e-Readers, headphones, speakers, portable game consoles, and digital cameras. From Europe, they clarify that the new standard will not apply to products sold before autumn 2024. In fact, the regulation does not prohibit selling other types of cables as long as it is done independently, so those who still have devices with different charging ports by that date will be able to continue purchasing connector cables whenever needed.
Laptops are also included in the list of benefited devices. Additionally, in their case, a longer adaptation period to the new measure is allowed, with the deadline set for the end of 2025 to comply with this European regulation.
Some small mobile devices are exempt from the obligation to include USB Type-C. These are devices that are so small they cannot incorporate this type of port, such as smartwatches.
A wounded giant
The biggest affected by this measure is one of the giants. Apple has marketed its smartphones with Lightning cables over the past years, a cable manufactured directly by the Apple company.
The information and opinions of the analysts they point out that the company's next model will start selling with the introduction Lightning common and it will be from the model planned for autumn 2023 when they start implementing the new one single European charger.
