Just yesterday there was one of the most anticipated moments in the technological world in recent months, a moment that also had a deadline. On September 23, the European Union had to decide on single chargers and, as expected by different analysts, it was in favor. Manufacturers of electronic products must, in Europe, mount a USB Type-C port for charging and this affects everyone, including Apple.
This move, which will cause Apple to have to make a decision on the existence of its Lightning port (perhaps remove it for charging and definitively opt for MagSafe), however, gives them the reason in something, since the EU decision did not speak only of the type charger. The decision also speaks of that manufacturers should remove chargers from boxes of the products they sell, something that Apple did last year and earned it not a few criticisms.
USB-C port for all and separate charger
With the arrival of the iPhone 12, Apple decided it was time to remove chargers (and headphones) from their phone cases. The North American firm then spoke of the environmental factor as the trigger for making this decision. By subtracting the charger from the equation (because we all already had chargers at home) the phone cases could shrink, wearing out less materials in its construction and also causing less transport.
After Apple, several manufacturers made the same decision as in the case of Samsung, or that of Xiaomi that allowed, however, to request the charger at no cost but that was not included in the box of their phones. Now, the European Union has agreed with Apple in its statement indirectly and will not oblige, but will recommend, manufacturers to follow the same path started by the Americans. A positive thing in exchange for a negative.
The European Commission indicates in its statement not only that USB type C should be “mandatory”, always in quotation marks, for manufacturers from now on in order to allow unifying loads, both in devices and features, but also wants remove the chargers from the boxes. The European Commission says that taking out the chargers it will be allowed to reduce the number of chargers that we have at home and that end up unused.
Separate the sale of a charger from the sale of the electronic device: Consumers will be able to buy a new electronic device without a new charger. This will limit the number of unwanted chargers purchased or not used. It is estimated that reducing the production and disposal of new chargers will reduce the amount of electronic waste by almost 1,000 tons per year.
In its report, the European Union indicates that Europeans have an average of three chargers at home of which only two are in use. By unifying charges, users will be able to use the same chargers for all their devices and thereby reduce the volume of electronic waste in each household (and in approximately 1,000 tons in total each year), something that will benefit the environment.
More information | European Comission