EU Mandates Unified Phone Charger Interface

The EU plans to unify phone chargers for Android and iPhone. It is said to take enforcement measures, because Apple did not follow the previous promise, using the industry’s mainstream charger interface. The EU is considering adopting legal measures to enforce the requirements.

What are the reasons why the EU mandates unified phone charger interface?

First, 14 mobile phone brands including Apple, Samsung, Huawei and Nokia signed an agreement in 2009, agreeing to standardize mobile phone chargers that will be launched after 2011 – using Micro USB interface. Apple did not change the interface of the new product to the Micro USB interface, but changed the original 30-pin interface to the Lightning interface currently used on the latest mobile phones.

The second is that the electronic waste manufactured by the joints is still about 51,000 tons, which is not only inconvenient for consumers, but also harmful to environmental protection.

These reasons are true. From the current point of view, the EU wants to unify the mobile phone chargers for Android and iPhone. The most influential manufacturer is undoubtedly Apple. Current smartphone chargers are divided into Apple’s Lightning connector and Android’s micro USB or USB Type-C connector. Apple does not have the idea of a unified interface. If and unifying the interface, it is equivalent to losing its quality characteristics and damaging its own interests.

Currently, the charger interface between Android manufacturers is not unified, but mainstream manufacturers are transitioning from micro USB to USB Type-C interface. LG, Xiaomi, Samsung, Huawei and other mobile phones are beginning to use Type-C data cables.

There have been users who pointed out that the four USB-C ports on the MacBook Pro have to pay extra for the converter when connected to the iPhone 7. The unified charging interface not only helps to reduce the cost of the consumer to repeatedly purchase the charger, but also helps to reduce the environmental damage caused by the waste charger. From the perspective of environmental protection, the EU’s approach is actually commendable. For mobile phone manufacturers, the pursuit of commercial benefits is maximized, but the situation of e-waste is becoming more and more serious.

Micro USB interface is outdated, Type-C is becoming mainstream

The EU’s actions have not considered the technology update and upgrade too much. Currently, almost all companies are voluntarily adopting USB-C. On the Android flagship mobile phone, the USB Type-C interface has gradually replaced the Micro USB interface and the USB Type-C interface. Also used in many electronic devices, Android manufacturers have used USB Type-C interface on their tablets and mobile phones.

The reason why most manufacturers are using the Type-C interface is that it has many advantages, one of which can be reversed positive and negative insertions. The other is the transmission speed. The Type-C interface enables faster charging and fast transfer, and it can supply up to 100W of current charging.

If unified as a USB Type-C interface, Apple may also accept, on the one hand, the Type-C interface and the Apple iPhone interface basically do not need to make major adjustments in the structure, and will not affect the overall design of the Apple mobile phone. For Android vendors, USB Type-C is gradually becoming mainstream. If the EU mandates that all manufacturers use the micro USB interface uniformly, it is bound to be opposed by many manufacturers, because the USB-C interface is the current demand for upgrading smartphone products.

The current USB Association is advancing the popularity of USB-C. Although USB Type-C has become a universal interface standard, it does not actually provide perfect compatibility. Therefore, it is difficult to convince the EU to agree that all vendors use the USB Type-C interface.

However, from the point of view of the purpose of the unified interface, the unified use of the Type-C interface is obviously more in line with the current situation, and the difficulty of promotion is smaller, because it is less difficult to convince Apple to switch to this interface first, and secondly, if Apple Using the Type-C interface on the iPhone will guide the follow-up of other smartphone vendors, and the speed of the unified Type-C interface will be faster.