New EU rule will require all phones and electronics to use a standard charger

Apple and other smartphone makers will be required to support USB-C as part of a single charging standard for mobile devices across the European Union by as early as the fall of 2024 under a new law announced Tuesday by EU officials.

This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/07/tech/europe-uscb-requirement/index.html

As much as I hate over-regulation.
This actually makes sense.

I believe apple anticipated this and has already switched over to usb c. I bought an ipad over christmas and it has the usb c.

You’re thinking adapter. This is about the cable. The cable is still lightening.

New ipads use usb-c, dont know if iphones have switched over yet.

The adapter for my air pods is lightning to usb-c.

Good to know. I need to replace my iPad soon. I can’t even get email on my current one, an outdated Air.

Phone hasn’t. Didn’t know they had switch anything from lightening to usb c. Interesting. I just bought one for my gf for Christmas. I’ll have to see what she has

How is that?

I hate having 5 different charging cords for different devices.
If everything was universal I would only need one.

That’s not convincing for me. I don’t support regulatory standardization for consumer convenience. I have to figure there are pros and cons for each type of connection…costs vs consumer demand & other trade-offs to consider.

I think the market ought to set the standard on stuff like this. The government can’t even claim safety here. Just reeks of overregulation.

Devils advocate.
What if every electrical device had a different plug and you had to have a different outlet in your house for everything that used electricity?
Or, back in the days of land lines, what if every carrier had a different plug?

My Kindle, which is 6-7 years old, has a type A connector (or maybe a mini A). As did the phones we replaced last year. I think my old camera is also Type A. Newer phones and camera are type C. So, I am in favor of universal connectors.

Yeah, regulations suck

This really isn’t a safety issue.

Sometimes electronics need different connectors BUT USB C is so flexible it should cover 99% of the use cases. This fall into we shouldn’t need a law to do the right thing.

Yes, I was making a joke. This is a consumer convenience issue.

It is more than that. It avoids abusing the consumer by using expensive cables that can’t be used with other devices. It also cuts down on E-waste. That is why I support it.

Hell, every FitBit I have had uses a different type of charger.
That is seriously annoying.

I have at least three that I commonly use: phone, Kindle, and iPad, all different.

Now that I have Air Pods, only have two that I regularly use since they are the same as my phone.
But on occasion I have two others that get used about every two weeks or so.