The European Union has worked for years in favor of the reduction of technological waste and now they have taken another step. The European Union has approved a standard that requires the charging port of smartphones, tablets, portable consoles and any battery-powered device to use the USB-C connector from autumn 2024 .
This implies that any medium-sized battery-powered electronic device makes use of the USB-C standard. Apple will be the main loser, since it will not be able to continue selling its products with a Lightning port . It is true that the EU had already warned Apple many times to stop using its own connector.
The European Union will force the use of the USB-C connector for charger
For years the EU has been debating finding a universal device charging port. There have been other attempts, but to date they had come to nothing at all. There had even been good attempts to get Apple to stop using Lightning and use a USB connector.
The new rule is clear and forceful. Any smartphones, tablets, handheld game consoles, e-readers, headphones, and other medium-sized devices that have a charging port sold in the European Union must use the USB-C connector.
Why is this connector chosen?
The USB Type-C standard is characterized by supporting up to 240 W of power delivery and data transfer speeds of up to 40 Gbps . Two features that are more than enough for any current device. In addition, it is the standard with the highest data transfer speed and the one that can supply the most energy.
It has been argued that making use of the USB-C port could unnecessarily kill innovation. The reality is that this conclusion is a bit absurd, since the standard can be improved without major problems. In the future revisions may appear that offer greater data transfer. Regarding the energy supplied, currently, except for gaming laptops (and very few) require more than 240 W of energy.
Also, its main strength is that it is a reversible connector. Previous USB connector standards had a certain position, but in this case it does not exist. It has a rectangular design with rounded ends, so there is no longer a correct connection position.
And Apple, to your ball
Naturally, Apple has been and continues to be against this measure. The reason is their policy of creating a very closed and highly centralized ecosystem. Something that is evidenced by the manufacture of their own chips based on ARM designs.
Recently, the company has begun to focus, as they say in their advertisements, on security and privacy. To do this, in MacOS 13 , it is further limited to the USB-C interface , making it impossible to transfer data without the express permission of the user.
According to Apple data, the restriction with MacOS 13 affects all computers that use an Apple Silicon chip (M1 and M2 processors). Those that connect USB-C or Thunderbolt accessories (makes use of the USB-C connector) must be accepted by the user before starting communication. A limitation that does not affect power adapters, external monitors or authorized HUBs.
Apparently, the measure is in favor of user privacy and security, but nothing is further from the truth. It seems like a new limitation from Apple to prevent us from using any cable or device on their laptops. This could mean in the future that, given the EU measure, the user will have to buy cables manipulated by Apple.
Put simply, a chip to cable with USB-C interface. This means that if the system does not detect the chip, there will be a connection or performance restriction. So it would be a method of extorting the user and a way to bypass the European Union measure.
