The European Union has set a deadline of December 28, 2024, for phone makers to adopt a standard charging cord. The EU already decided that new portable electronic gadgets must utilize a USB Type-C charger by the fall of 2024.
The regulation has now been published in the EU’s Official Journal, and a precise date for the obligation has been determined. Apple, whose iPhones utilize an Apple-made charger, will be unable to sell new smartphones in the EU beyond the deadline unless they use a universal cord.
Apple is the most prominent company to employ a customized charging connector that is unique to several of their devices. Its iPhone series, for example, uses its own Lightning connection. Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, Greg Joswiak, previously told the Wall Street Journal that the company will “certainly” comply with the legislation.
According to the EU, the new law would apply to “small and medium-sized portable gadgets,” such as phones, tablets, headphones, and handheld gaming consoles.
Divergence in product standards
The deadline set by the EU has created a further Brexit tension point, as the EU regulation may also apply to Northern Ireland, according to both EU and UK officials.
According to a December 2021 parliamentary report, the “new requirements may also apply to devices sold in Northern Ireland under the terms of the Northern Ireland protocol in the Brexit agreement, potentially triggering divergence of product standards with the rest of the UK”.
The treaty works by keeping Northern Ireland inside the EU’s single market for goods, while the rest of the UK is outside it. A row between the UK and EU about how to reform the Northern Ireland protocol remains unresolved.
In June, the UK government informed the BBC that it was not “currently contemplating” copying the EU requirement for mobile phones and other portable electronic gadgets to use a universal charging cord.
The BBC has sought feedback from the government and Apple.