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EU Votes For Universal Phone Charger

Posted by Soulskill on from the guilty-as-charged dept.

SmartAboutThings writes "The European Union has voted in favor of a draft legislation which lists among the 'essential requirements' of electrical devices approved by the EU a compatibility with 'universal' chargers. According to a German MEP, this move will eliminate 51,000 tonnes of electronic waste. The draft law was approved by an overwhelming majority: 550 votes to 12. At the moment, according to estimates, there are around 30 different types of charger on the market, but manufacturers have two years at their disposal to get ready for the new restriction."

3 of 358 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Dumb by TWX · · Score: 5, Informative

    Yep. Apple has been the most significant holdout.

    At this point every other phone I've worked with that's newly produced has either had mini-USB or micro-USB connections.

    --
    Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
  2. Re:Dumb by phoenix_rizzen · · Score: 4, Informative

    The EU mandated microUSB charging ports on phones, thus reducing the "cable clutter" that existed 5-odd years ago.

    Now, the EU is mandading the other end of the charging cable, the actual, physical charger is plugs into. Meaning, you'll only need a single charger, with a USB port in it, to charge your flip phone, your 4" mini-smartphone, your 6" phablet, and your 10" tablet.

    Right now, each device has it's own charger, with it's own specs (how many volts at how many amps). And you generally can't charge a tablet using an older phone charger.

    So you end up with a handful of different chargers in your drawer that you have to pick through to charge each device, or you end up with a drawer full of chargers you never use as you just plug everything into the most power charger you have (generally the one for the tablet).

    Standardising on a single charger would eliminate all the extra chargers gathering dust in people's junk drawers.

  3. Re:Too bad it won't apply to everyone by Neil_Brown · · Score: 4, Informative

    Apple complied in 2011 by including a Lightning->micro-USB adapter in the box with all of its European models, and has done so for the last three years.

    They certainly sell an adapter, but it is not supplied in the box, at least in my experience of devices bought from Apple stores in the UK.