The European Commission on Thursday is expected to present a legislative proposal for smartphones, tablets and other electronic devices to have a common charging port to prevent accumulation of e-waste -- a move that would drastically affect Apple and its proprietary Lightning Port on iPhones.?
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Reported first by Reuters, the EU has been pushing to bring a common charger for devices for over a decade with an intention to not just save the environment but also make it convenient for users.
The commission has asked for the decoupling of the sale of chargers from the device as well as a proposal for a uniform charging port.?
A few years ago, Apple had highlighted that legislation forcing the iPhone to ditch the Lightning cable in favour of a uniform connector could deter innovation as well as create a ton of e-waste while also upsetting its customers.?
And it seems like it¡¯s only Apple who is really the one to be the most affected by this legislation, considering almost all Android smartphone makers have made the switch to USB Type C. According to a study conducted by the Commission in 2019, almost half the chargers sold with phones in 2018 were micro USB, whereas 29 percent had USB-C connectors.?
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21 percent -- all of Apple devices then -- were using a Lightning connector instead, except for a few MacBooks and iPad Pros using USB-C and Thunderbolt ports.?
It¡¯ll be interesting to see if this move will finally force Apple to adopt USB-C charging for its iPhones -- something it has already introduced with its newly unveiled iPad Mini as well as previously released iPad Air and iPad Pro models.?
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Do you think Apple will fold to offer USB-C on the iPhones or do you think it¡¯ll double down on MagSafe? Tell us in the comments below.?For more cool technology and science news, keep visiting Indiatimes.com.