EU wants one type of charger with every mobile phone - Dagbladet.no

Mobile manufacturers may be forced to stick to the micro-USB connectors on all mobile phones and tablets sold in Europe.

requirement for a standard charging cable that works across all devices is said to prevent electronic waste, and to make it cheaper for consumers.

EU has for several years been working to get all the mobile manufacturers to use the same type of charge, to reduce the amount of electronic waste and costs for end users. Over the last few years the industry has more or less by itself largely gone over to Micro-USB as the common charging standard, just as the EU has wanted, writes Daily Mail.

Apple has chosen to stick to their own solutions, and last year launched a new charging connector called Lightning. This is not compatible with other non-Apple devices, and there’s even an electronic chip in it that will make it impossible for others to make copies of the cable without paying a licensing fee to Apple.

Now have a majority in Committee of the EU internal market voted for a new law that obliges mobile manufacturers to ensure that mobile phones sold in the EU can be used with a universal charger that goes to all phones.

– We urge member states and manufacturers finally to introduce a universal charger, to put an end to cable chaos that prevails in mobile phones and tablets, says committee member Barbara Weiler according digi.no.

Since virtually all manufacturers have long since passed to Micro-USB, there is much to suggest that this proposal into practice is aimed at Apple. The company sells albeit a Lightning to Micro USB adapter, but this is obviously not good enough for the EU.

Lightning cable is supposed to transfer files faster when connecting to a computer, and it can also plugs in both ways as opposed to a usb.kontakt.

Consumers can still use Lightning connector, but must purchase a separate adapter.