In exactly two years, the recently proposed proposal, which was adopted by the majority, will enter into force legislationAccordingly, from December 28, 2024, electronic devices that can only be charged (and in some cases transmit data) can be sold within the European Union with a USB-C connector.
The law mostly affects the American company Apple, as it is the only company among the popular phone makers that uses its own Lightning connector instead of USB-C for iPhones and AirPods – Macs and iPads already use an EU-accepted port.
However, the union would like to have a greater say in what smartphones are being sold within the region. A new bill, which is before the European Commission and the European Parliament as a preliminary agreement, he wants to implement
It is necessary to provide mobile devices with replaceable batteries.
According to the European Union, this depends on environmental protection reasons, a with regulation Because they believe that the amount of electrical waste can be reduced. The only problem with that is that from a technological point of view, all of this would take manufacturers back to the early 2010s, when phones were much thicker, since the thin, clean design popular today is only possible with sealed batteries.
In addition, the the next web It also points out that if the EU adopts legislation and manufacturers adapt, the capacity of batteries used in smartphones is likely to decrease, as consumers will be encouraged to buy spare batteries that they can take with them wherever they go. It is still impossible to predict where all this will lead, but manufacturers will certainly not leave the decision without a word, since its implementation will require cardinal changes from them.
(Cover photo: Georg Hilgemann / picture alliance / Getty Images)
