Wednesday, October 5th 2022
USB-C Chargers Are the Future: European Union Signs Common Charging Standard Into Law
From 2024, all mobile devices in the European Union will have to use USB-C as the standard charging port, courtesy of a new law that was passed by the European Parliament. This means that mobile phones, tablets, digital cameras, headphones and headsets, handheld videogame consoles and portable speakers, e-readers, keyboards, mice, portable navigation systems and earbuds, all have to sport a USB-C port for charging in the near future. Many of these devices already do, with the main exception being Apple, although many lower-end devices still rely on micro USB, due to the lower cost. The European Parliament voted 602 in favour of the new law, with only 13 parliamentarians being against and eight that abstained, which shows that most EU nations were in favour of the move.
From 2026, laptops which adhere to the USB PD 3.0 standard, i.e. up to 100 Watts, will be required to charge via USB-C as well. As such, it seems like the EU didn't enforce support for USB PD 3.1, which goes up to 240 Watts. The EU is also planning on enforcing a common wireless charging standard, which is expected to come into effect by the end of 2024. It's not clear which standard will be chosen, but it's highly likely to be the Qi standard, as it's the most commonly used wireless charging standard.
Source:
The European Parliament
From 2026, laptops which adhere to the USB PD 3.0 standard, i.e. up to 100 Watts, will be required to charge via USB-C as well. As such, it seems like the EU didn't enforce support for USB PD 3.1, which goes up to 240 Watts. The EU is also planning on enforcing a common wireless charging standard, which is expected to come into effect by the end of 2024. It's not clear which standard will be chosen, but it's highly likely to be the Qi standard, as it's the most commonly used wireless charging standard.
105 Comments on USB-C Chargers Are the Future: European Union Signs Common Charging Standard Into Law
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Without broadly accepted standards, we end up coming up with more incompatible standards that don't solve any relevant problems.
USB Type-C is simply a physical connector, that is also used by Thunderbolt and DisplayPort, which is the first time as far as I'm aware, that we've had a single interface that can use common cables, for both data and video signals. With USB4 and Thunderbolt, both can be piped down the same cable simultaneously as well.
Is USB-C going to be the ultimate connector ever? I doubt it, for one, it's "limited" to 240 W for power, so some devices won't be able to use it for power delivery, unless you somehow use a pair of power bricks, or make some kind of non standard solution like this.
www.techpowerup.com/295314/340-watt-gan-charger-for-gaming-laptops-displayed-at-computex
I very much doubt this regulation will stifle product development, it just mandates USB PD as the common denominator for charging devices and that USB-C is the default interface for charging most consumer electronics. IT doesn't mean something better can't emerge in the future that can replace USB-C, just like USB-C replaced micro USB, which was at one point mandated to be the charging standard in the EU.
And FYI, the US and India are mulling to enforce USB-C as the standard charging connector as well.
Laptops and other things needing more than 240W can still use barrel plugs.
It did in fact cause issues with cheap cables, although most often that meant that your phone would trickle charge.
Obviously Qualcomm wasn't the only company to make a proprietary charging standard and we have multiple ones still, which is once again why this law was put in place, to make a widely available, common, fast-charging standard. If I get a trickle charge from a 180 Watt charger from Infinix, what good is that to me with a Pixel 6? Many of the xinese phone makers don't follow standards, so you can only charge their phones with their chargers. This is dumb.
www.gsmarena.com/infinix_zero_ultra_zero_20_go_official-news-56058.phpIn fact, nothing says you can't have a USB-C and a different type of charging socket on the same device.
Charging ports aren't something so critical that they need or should be regulated to a T, and that's my problem with it, it's going to be *required*, and not just be a standard to be followed or not. they could have done something different like sort of tax a company has to pay if their product don't follow a certain standard or whatever, but this is, imo, too much.
And I don't see how forcing companies to use a specific standard won't discourage said companies to try and come up with something better, why waste money on R&D for such a thing when you'll still have to use something else or have to somehow implement both in your product? Yes it doesn't mean better stuff can't emerge but it does mean it slows down the desire to seek better alternatives.
There are also many, many standards that are indeed enforced through law.
Most, if not all countries have laws regulating the type of power sockets we have.
For example, the EU standardised on a new socket for ceiling and wall lights called DCL and it's the only kind of sockets that can be legally installed in new builds now.
Brazil moved to the NBR 14136 standard for power sockets and connectors, which was made mandatory by law on the 1st of January 2010, so are you telling me this is not a legally enforable standard in your country?
I don't think you've quite grasped what standards are.
This is good and I am happy they did it.
I am all for standardized and intercompatible cables & chargers, but regulating connectors is just dumb. It hinders inovation, creates monopolies & has like no impact on e-waste.
Hope Apple just throws a USB/Lighting adapter in the box & tells the EU to FuuOff when they're threatening with fines.