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The Universal Charger for Mobile Devices Becomes a Reality in Europe

The Universal Charger for Mobile Devices Becomes a Reality in Europe

From this Saturday, all new electronic devices must incorporate a USB Type-C charging port

J. González

Sábado, 28 de diciembre 2024, 08:10

Neither microUSB, nor lightning, nor type A. It's over. From this Saturday, the universal charger for technological devices is mandatory in the European Union for all manufacturers, although the sector had already adapted a few years ago. This marks the end of a long and tedious legislative process, spanning a decade of negotiations and two of adaptation, which will conclude in April with the inclusion of laptops.

From this Saturday, all mobile phones, digital cameras, headphones, handheld gaming consoles, portable speakers, e-readers, keyboards, microphones, and portable navigation systems sold in any EU country must have a USB Type-C charging port. No discussion and no distinction: a single, universal charger.

"European consumers will enjoy a future where a single charger works for a wide range of electronic products regardless of their brand," stated Anna Cavazzini, Chair of the European Parliament's Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee, on Friday.

The initiative, approved at the end of 2022, came with an environmental and "technological lock-in" mandate, as described by the MEPs in Brussels. The European Parliament and Council Directive 2022/2380 allows consumers to charge all their devices with a single cable, "without being captive to any operating system, and also enables the option to buy one with the new product or use the one they already have at home," the regulatory text assures.

In Europe, around 420 million mobile phones are sold annually, which, until a few years ago, meant having multiple chargers and cables for each manufacturer. On average, according to several studies, Europeans own three chargers for these devices, of which they only use two regularly. This translates to electronic waste equivalent to 11,000 tonnes or 250 million euros.

Moreover, users will be able to decide whether they want to receive a new charger when purchasing a new device, which should initially reduce the product's price and also environmental waste. In this regard, manufacturers will need to update their packaging to clearly indicate information about charging characteristics and what is included with each purchase.

However, the absence of a charger in the purchase of new devices is already a trend that major mobile device manufacturers adopted a few months ago without reducing the final purchase price.

Fast Charging

The regulation coming into force this Saturday also affects fast charging. From 2025, devices affected by this directive that incorporate wired fast charging above 15W (5V/3A) must include Power Delivery (PD) and "ensure that any additional charging protocol allows the full functionality of the USB power delivery protocol [...] regardless of the charging device used."

Additionally, the minimum power required to charge the device and the maximum power accepted must be included, as well as the text "USB PD" if the device supports this protocol.

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