The European Union (EU) recently passed a resolution that will require smartphone and tablet manufacturers to adopt a shared charging cable standard. Specifically, the resolution received a staggering and overwhelming 582-40 votes.
In addition to the landslide vote, the European Parliament also asked the European Commission to think about a common wireless charging standard, as well as to find ways to collect and recycle more cables and chargers. Reducing electronic waste in the process.
Now, to be clear, the lawmakers who passed the vote didn’t specify the charging cable standard that manufacturers should adopt. However, considering that the majority of Android smartphone manufacturers are already adopting the USB-C standard, it’s possible that the European Commission will continue to use the charging standard moving forward.
That brings us to the elephant in the room: Apple and its Lightning port. The fruit company has, unsurprisingly, been against the idea of a universal charging standard. Having filed official feedback to the EU last year, arguing that such a ruling would affect its more than one billion Apple devices around the world, and that the ruling would cause unnecessary disruption to its customers.
That said, Apple falling in line with the idea of a universal charging standard is not beyond the realm of possibility. Back in 2018, the iPad Pro launched with a USB-C port, giving the tablet a serious bump in its flexibility.
(Source: MSPowerUser, Engadget, CNET)
