Technology

E.U. Rule Requires New Devices to Have USB-C Charging Ports by 2026

The European Union reached an agreement on Tuesday requiring all new smartphones, tablets and laptops to use a common charger by 2026.

This policy is an attempt to address the well-known consumer complaint that drawers fill up with chargers. Some are for Apple devices, others are for portable speakers and handheld gaming systems. This results in an extraordinary level of involvement in product design decisions by government regulators.

Policy makers said the move would reduce e-waste. However, the new law was opposed by companies, including Apple, which said it would hinder the development of new charging technologies. Under the law, European standards bodies are responsible for considering future charger designs for all devices.

By 2024, all new mobile phones, tablets, digital cameras, handheld video game devices, headphones, portable speakers, keyboards, mice, earphones, and other portable devices will require a USB-C charging port. .. European Commission announces.. By 2026, the law will apply to laptops.

Companies also need to sell devices without chargers to reduce the number of chargers in circulation. The European Commission, the executive body of the block in 27 countries, said that the discarded unused chargers produced 11,000 tonnes of waste each year.

“General chargers are the norm for many electronic devices in our daily lives,” said Thierry Breton, a member of the European Commission who helped negotiate the deal, in a statement.

The move by technology companies to comply with the law can have broader implications. After Europe passed the General Data Protection Regulation, a privacy law that came into force in 2018, many companies have applied this standard globally to their products. Other countries often follow Europe’s leadership in technical law, and similar legislation may be enacted elsewhere.

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