The European Parliament wants to encourage technology makers to use the same charging ports across all devices to reduce waste and increase convenience, according to reports.
Insiders have said that at least some of the European Parliament members want to introduce new “binding measures” which would ensure that device markers create a charger that’s compatible with all portable devices, as a previous plan to “encourage” companies to adopt the same technology fell flat on its face, with Apple and others ignoring their initial request.
At present, legislators are suggesting Micro-USB, USB-C or the Lightning connector are voted as the preferred options, and that all future portable devices adopt that technology.
Apple weighed in on the subject last year, telling the European Parliament that introducing a unified charging port could “freeze innovation” and be “bad for the environment.”
Speaking at the time, the company said: “More than 1 billion Apple devices have shipped using a Lightning connector in addition to an entire ecosystem of accessory and device manufacturers who use Lightning to serve our collective customers.
“We want to ensure that any new legislation will not result in the shipment of any unnecessary cables or external adaptors with every device, or render obsolete the devices and accessories used by many millions of Europeans and hundreds of millions of Apple customers worldwide.
“This would result in an unprecedented volume of electronic waste and greatly inconvenience users. To be forced to disrupt this huge market of customers will have consequences far beyond the stated aims of the Commission.”
What are your thoughts on this story? Do you think it’s time Apple followed suit and added a new charging port to its iPhones? With MacBooks already adopting USB-C, perhaps making the switch would be a natural alternative and help to streamline the entire Apple ecosystem?
