European Lawmakers Demand Uniform USB Ports For Mobile Phones

The latest USB Type-C standard has been accepted by most manufacturers, except for Apple, which has other ideas.

USB Type C is definitely becoming the standard port for mobile devices.

(Photo: The Quint)

If the European Union lawmakers have their way, then a future with just a single standard of USB ports for mobile phones and tablets is not far away.

This call was made during a Parliament session on 13 January by the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), who want the technology manufacturers to develop a common charger for mobile devices, e-readers as well as tablets.

The call from MEPs comes amidst the need to reduce e-waste, as new USB standards mean, old technology becomes obsolete, forcing people to throw them away.

The aspirations of MEPs are in the right order but for manufacturers, it has been a challenge to adhere to a single USB standard, especially when you look at the fragmentation between Android and the iOS ecosystem.

Apple’s Not Sold on the Idea Yet

Apple doesn’t agree with the sentiments of the MEPs, stating that regulating use of a single USB connector restricts innovation for a company like itself.

“Regulations that would drive conformity across the type of connector built into all smartphones freeze innovation rather than encourage it. Such proposals are bad for the environment and unnecessarily disruptive for customers,” Apple was quoted saying in the statement to the European Union in 2019.

In fact, Apple says that over 1 billion devices have shipped using its lightning connector, as well as its accessory partners. Now MEPs asking the Cupertino-based giant to change its USB standard could create more e-waste problems, forcing the company to ship more cables to its consumers across the globe.

iPhones support lightning connector and unlikely to move to USB Type C anytime soon.

“This would result in an unprecedented volume of electronic waste and greatly inconvenience users. To be forced to disrupt this huge market of customers will have consequences far beyond the stated aims of the Commission.”

<a href="https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/initiatives/ares-2018-6427186/feedback/F18119_en?p_id=342389">Apple’s feedback to European Commission </a>

It’s pretty clear that Apple is the only one having issues in this regard. After all, most manufacturers have now moved to USB Type C as their go-to standard for mobile devices. Having said that laptop makers are still evaluating the use of USB ports for charging purposes. Only some of the compact devices like 2-in-1 notebooks have them as of now.

The prospect of a universal USB standard was first mooted in 2014 but even now, we’re nowhere close to having a final resolution on this subject. Most of this standardisation talk has been happening in Europe and the United States to some extent.

For a market like India, where e-waste is a rampant concern, it’s high time, the country’s government looks at minimising the spread of e-waste, which is a tall ask in a market, where you have more than 400 million smartphone users, who probably own huge piles of cables and store them instead of throwing them away.

Phones like the Realme X2 Pro support 50W charging with the USB Type C port.

With Android being used by most people in the country, the scope to rely on a single USB standard isn’t that far fetched. And we’re hoping the administration or even the tech fraternity considers this as a major concern and looks to act upon it at the earliest.