The EU will impose a single charger for "smartphones", tablets and consoles
European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, speaks during a press conference on a common charging solution for mobile phones at EU headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, September 23, 2021. AP - Thierry Monasse
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
The 27 EU countries agreed on Tuesday to impose in the Union a universal wired charger for
smartphones
, tablets, consoles and digital cameras within two and a half years, to the chagrin of Apple which opposed it.
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In fall 2024, mobile phones, tablets, e-readers, headphones and headsets, digital cameras, portable video game consoles and portable speakers, if rechargeable
via
a wired cable, "
must be equipped with a USB Type- C, regardless of their manufacturer
”, specifies the European Parliament in a press release.
"
Under the new rules, consumers will no longer need a different charging device and cable each time they purchase a new device, and will be able to use a single charger for all their portable electronic devices from small and medium size
,” he explains.
Laptops will be subject to the same requirement of a single charger "
within 40 months of the entry into force of the text
", i.e. by 2026 (the text to be published in the Official Journal of the EU after the summer, after formal approval by the Council and the European Parliament).
The regulations also provide for the charging speed to be harmonized for devices authorizing fast charging, to prevent it from being restricted when used with a device of a different brand.
Savings and less waste
By making it possible to decouple the sale of electronic devices and chargers, the text could allow European consumers -- who spend around 2.4 billion euros a year on purchases of chargers alone -- to save at least 250 million euros annually, according to the European Commission.
Unused magazine waste, estimated at 11,000 tonnes per year, could be reduced by almost 1,000 tonnes.
We have a deal on the #CommonCharger!
🇪🇺
More savings for EU consumers & less waste for the planet:
🔌 mobile phones, tablets, cameras… will have #USBtypeC
🔌 harmonized fast-charging technology
🔌 unbundling of sale of chargers
The EU general interest has prevailed!
pic.twitter.com/i2UAE7kzyI
— Thierry Breton (@ThierryBreton) June 7, 2022
The project, launched in 2009 by the Commission, had so far come up against strong reluctance from the industry, although the number of types of existing chargers has been greatly reduced over the years.
From around thirty in 2009, they have gone to three: the Micro USB connector which has long been fitted to the majority of telephones, USB-C, a more recent connection, and the Lightning used by Apple.
The Californian group, which claims that its Lightning charging technology equips more than a billion devices worldwide, had expressed its fierce opposition to the European text, believing that it would "
stifle innovation
".
Consumer associations, while welcoming the EU project, had for their part regretted that it does not concern wireless charging systems, which are in full swing.
►Listen again C'est pas du vent:
Waste electrical and electronic equipment: a plague for Africa
(with AFP)
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