The European Union announced on Thursday that it will impose a universal charger for smartphones, setting up a clash with Apple and its widely used iP

EU to impose universal phone charger, in blow to Apple

submited by

Style Pass

2021-09-23 12:30:04

The European Union announced on Thursday that it will impose a universal charger for smartphones, setting up a clash with Apple and its widely used iPhone.

The European Commission believes a standard cable for all devices will cut back on electronic waste, but Apple argues that a one-size fits all charger would slow innovation and create more pollution.

The bloc is home to 450 million people, some of the world's richest consumers, and the imposition of the USB-C as a cable standard, once approved by member states and European Parliament, would affect the entire global smartphone market.

"European consumers have been frustrated long enough about incompatible chargers piling up in their drawers," said EU executive vice president Margrethe Vestager in a statement.

"We gave industry plenty of time to come up with their own solutions, now time is ripe for legislative action for a common charger," she said.