The Council of the European Union finally approved it directive that will introduce a single port of loading. From 2024, it will be mandatory for a wide range of electronic devices to have a USB Type-C port, a widely distributed and compatible standard that will save you from buying another charger because it can be used with the vast majority of them.

Common charger increase consumer comfortas “It will enable the harmonization of charging interfaces and fast charging technologies and significantly reduce e-waste”, associated with the manufacture, transport and disposal of chargers, explain the long-awaited directive from the Council. And very necessary in the face of resistance, for commercial reasons, from some manufacturers.

In order for the consumer to know exactly what he is buying, the directive introduces a pictogram which will indicate if a charger is offered for the new device, as well as a label which will indicate the charging power. Following the approval of the directive, the Commission will work on the harmonization and interoperability of wireless charging of radio devices, an increasingly popular feature.

Devices affected by common charger

The new rules will apply to a wide range of devices such as:

• Mobile Phones.
• tablets and e-books.
• digital cameras and game consoles.
• headphones, earphones and portable speakers,
• wireless mice and keyboards,
• portable navigation systems.

Also all laptops will also be affected by this new legal regulation, even if it will be necessary to wait for its binding nature 40 months after the entry into force of the Directive.

The unique charging port looks like Apple

without naming it everyone looks at the apple for Numantine’s defense of the use of its proprietary Lightning port in iPhones or AirPods. There is no technical reason to justify this, and in fact Apple has other devices in its catalog with a USB Type-C port.

If Apple wants to sell mobiles in the European Union, it will have to jump unless it takes drastic measures, such as relying exclusively on wireless inductive charging technologies and also solves wireless data transmission so that it does not have to mount the required port.

Not a few have criticized Apple’s hypocrisy in this matter the pursuit of commercial advantage. The company decided not to include a charger in its mobile phones based on the argument “environmental care” and a contribution to the reduction of CO2 emissions and the extraction of rare earths.

In our view, this is a commendable decision, but it does not correspond to being the ultimate opponents of programs such as the single European charger that concerns us, or third-party repair programs that would also allow for cost savings for consumers and reductions in stratospheric levels’ e-waste’.

We will see the decision of Apple and the rest of the manufacturers. The directive approved last night will be signed by the President of the European Parliament and the President of the Council and will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union. It will enter into force 20 days after publication, although the new single port of loading rules will come into force 24 months after the rule comes into force. We can only say: It’s about time!