Nearly everyone knows the feeling of buying a brand-new device only to learn that your charging cable from the older model isn’t compatible.
Well, the European Union has decided to tackle that by decreeing Tuesday that, by 2024, there would be a “single charging solution” for devices: the USB-C socket.
The devices covered include cellphones, tablets, e-readers, earbuds, digital cameras, headphones and headsets, hand-held video game consoles and portable speakers. Laptops are also covered, but manufacturers will have extra time to comply.
The EU law, which is part of a broader effort to make products more sustainable, will “make consumers’ lives easier,” said a media release about the move.
It came after the European Parliament and European Council reached a deal on the rules.
But what about Canada? Well, whatever charged that discussion in the EU, one marketing expert says North America should plug itself into it as well.
“This is definitely good for consumers, and this is precisely the role that government should play,” says Tim Silk, associate professor of marketing at the University of British Columbia.
Companies will try and differentiate themselves from the competition, he said, hence the various charging cables clogging up desk drawers in homes around the world.
Some of that is good because in the market you want choices and sometimes things have different capabilities that might be more appealing to a consumer, he said.
However, “you can end up very quickly with this fragmentation of systems and platforms of technology,” said Silk.
Still, he doesn’t see a similar move happening in Canada — at least not if this country is the one leading the regulatory charge. The EU taking the lead means that companies who want to serve that bloc’s consumers (there are about 448 million people in the EU) are more likely to comply.
“We’re not a sizable enough nation to have any regulatory pull,” said Silk.
If Canada went at it alone, the risk would be that firms would just decide not to do business here, he said. But if the United States led the effort, or it was a move done under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (the successor to the NAFTA free-trade pact), Silk said there could be success.
One benefit of having the EU go first on a move like this is that countries in North America can watch how it plays out, he said.
Apple appears to be one of the main targets of the new EU law. It’s one of the companies whose devices don’t have a USB-C socket, a standard many electronics producers have started using.
The company did not respond to an Associated Press request for comment on the EU move, but Apple has previously said that such rules would hurt consumers and stymie innovation. The company’s iPhones come with their own Lightning-format charging port, although newer models include cables that can connect a Lightning-ported device to one with a USB-C socket.
The EU rules also outlines standards for fast-charging technology and states that it will give consumers the right to choose whether to buy new devices with or without a charger, which the European Union estimates will save consumers 250 million euros ($335 million) a year .
The EU also wants to reduce electronic waste with the new restrictions and estimates discarded and unused chargers make up about 11,000 metric tons of e-waste each year.
The European Parliament and European Council are expected to give formal approval to the agreement after the summer break.
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