EU continues to promote standardization of mobile phone chargers

At present, most of the mobile phones in the market use USB Type-C interface, but Apple Corp is still unmoved.

EU regulators are investigating the need for legislation to force handset manufacturers to equip their phones with standardized charging interfaces. If the law goes into effect, all kinds of patented chargers, including non-standard Lighting connectors that Apple has configured for its phones, will be banned from making and selling.

For nearly a decade, the European Union has pushed the handset manufacturing industry to standardize the design of mobile phone chargers to reduce the amount of e-waste generated by their overabundance. In general, when customers buy a mobile phone, the manufacturer will give them a mobile phone charger, and when customers buy a new phone, they usually throw away the old charger. Ideally, the old charger will be recycled. But they are usually dumped into landfills with other waste, which the European Union claims produces about 51,000 tons a year. The long-term goal set by the European Union is that the purchase of mobile phones and chargers will eventually cease to be linked, and that the same charger will charge several generations of mobile phones.

In 2009, mobile phone manufacturers, including Apple, Samsung and Nokia, signed a memorandum of understanding, saying they would voluntarily standardize the design of the then micro-USB interface. For most hardware, this means that the phone itself needs to provide a USB interface and then charge through the USB Type-A interface on the charging line. For Apple, that means making a charger adapter because they want to keep this particular adapter.

Most of the new phones currently on sale are designed by USB Type-C charging interface. Apple, however, still chooses to be an alien, preferring to combine its patented Lighting connectors with industry standards.

However, regulators do not buy this voluntary behavior. In response to questions about mobile phone chargers, EU Competition Commissioner Margaret Westerger said, "Given the unsatisfactory progress of this voluntary enterprise approach, the Commission will soon launch an impact assessment study on the costs and benefits of different alternatives." This study will review the current situation and explore ways to solve the problem.

For most smartphone companies, mandatory USB Type-C interfaces have little impact, but for Apple it will be a headache. Apple phones with standard connectors are likely to be popular with consumers -- especially on laptops where the Type-C interface is becoming more common, which means that phones and computers can be charged with just one charger and a USB cable -- but Cupertino will lose its non-standard charging connection forever. The patent cost of the mouth.