Newsflash!
The USB-C chargers are ALREADY standardized and can be used from 100-240V and 50-60Hz currents.
Time to attempt some conversation that's not simply, "Ugh, not yet
another regulation..."
Yes, USB-C is already a broadly-adopted standard, and getting broader all the time. Everything that runs on a rechargeable battery ended up on Micro-B because that's what 99+% of non-iPhones were using, so production economies of scale made using those connectors
cheap. We've got one of those factors in favor of non-phone devices going to C (all the non-iPhones), but C connectors are not nearly as cheap as micro connectors, and I don't think they can be even at the same manufacturing scale. C is both larger and more complex. That can be mitigated by devices only requiring certain pins skipping the others, but that only gets you so far.
Now, I mostly just like running my mouth about stuff, and haven't read into the scope of the proposed legislation. Does it apply only to products using USB-family connectors? Smart devices? What about Bluetooth speakers? Mini-drones and other 5V rechargeable toys? How about all the DC-powered products that still use barrel connectors, or voltage/current specs outside the USB charging standards? I'm not convinced that a mandate like this can end up providing a net benefit. There are so many variables in consumer electronic devices that to be effective, the scope would be narrow enough to basically only include smart devices, the net effect of which would be to force Apple to ditch Lightning for C, and not much else, since C is nigh-universal on non-Apple smart devices already.
Despite all the talk about e-waste, I'm not convinced that it's worth pursuing all that hard until we figure out what to do about plastic waste (which e-waste admittedly contributes to).
