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The European Union will require all new smartphones and tablets sold within its borders to have a common charging port by the autumn of 2024 – and laptops by 2026 – under a new interim agreement that forces technology companies like Apple to catch up with other smartphone makers that have widely adopted a universal port in recent years.
The European Parliament and negotiators in the Council agreed on the law on Tuesday, saying in a statement that the move was aimed at “making EU products more sustainable, reducing e-waste and making life easier for consumers”.
The law, which has yet to be formally approved, requires all new smartphones, tablets, e-readers and portable speakers – among a long list of other small electronic devices – sold in the EU – to use a USB-C charging port. The laptop requirement will take effect in early 2026.
The small pill-shaped port is already used in many smartphones and laptops, as well as in Apple’s latest iPad and some of its previous generation MacBook laptops.
But the mandate puts Apple in a difficult position as it clings to its own Lightning port on its iPhones and charging cases for its AirPods. The Verge, a technology news site, called European law a “serious blow to Apple’s Lightning Gate.”
Just as California’s environmental and safety standards often lead to changes in the United States due to logistical difficulties and financial impracticalities in creating different products for different states, European charging port law can have a wide impact on handheld consumer electronics. worldwide.
In Germany, the largest economy in the European Union, the three most popular smartphones are all iPhones, according to consumer research site Counterpoint, with Samsung Galaxy phones using USB-C ports fourth and fifth. In France, the bloc’s second-largest economy, the iPhone holds the top four spots in the smartphone market.
Apple also recently returned its own MagSafe magnetic charger to its MacBook Pro and announced Monday that it will do the same with its thinner MacBook Air laptops.
The Post’s help desk has covered Apple’s announcement of new features for the MacBook and iOS 16. Read more here.
But Apple is clearly preparing for the crackdown: Bloomberg said last month that amid impending European law, the company was testing iPhone models that use USB-C instead of their own port.
Technology critics have complained for years about Apple’s persistence in maintaining its own ports, noting that while many device makers have complied with the USB-C port, Apple’s unique charging environment leaves consumers stuck in a tangle of cables. .
But the move could stifle innovation efforts to eliminate charging ports altogether, such as using magnetic contact chargers instead of ports to allow for ultra-thin devices, said Benedict Evans, an industry analyst. He wrote on Twitter that it was “difficult to see any significant benefit for consumers” from the law, which he said banned “certain ideas” such as using only magnetic chargers.
Apple did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday night. When the European law was proposed in September, the company said in a statement: “We remain concerned that strict regulation requiring only one type of connector stifles innovation instead of encouraging it, which in turn will harm consumers in Europe and around the world.
When Apple stopped providing cable headphones and wall plugs with its iPhones in 2020, it said the cuts were for environmental reasons, although some said it was better for the company’s end result.
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