EU wants to cut down on electronic waste and force Apple to use USB-C in the process.
European smartphone users are a step closer to only ever needing to worry about buying one charger for all their devices. Earlier in 2022, the EU took the wraps off a pretty interesting plan: reduce electronic waste by mandating that all smartphones use USB-C, the near-ubiquitous connectivity standard. Yesterday, the European Parliament’s Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee voted to approve the Commission’s proposals,43 to 2, moving the legislation another step towards becoming reality. A full vote for all MEPs is now expected next month, confirming how to negotiate with EU Member States on the exact rules within the legislation. For anyone making Android smartphones in 2022, this news is pretty, well, non-news: almost all major Androids have a USB-C connection now.
