Apple Responds to Europe's Decision to Push Universal Phone Chargers
Apple is against a European Union initiative that would standardize chargers for all types of smartphones and devices.
The European Commission is considering legislation to cut back on electronic waste, after a previous voluntary approach didn’t meet its expectations, according to an EU official.
European lawmakers have been complaining that users are often required to carry different chargers for similar devices. The iPhone maker’s so-called lightning charging cables for Apple products don’t plug into devices made by Samsung Electronics or other electronics companies. Android devices are powered by USB-C connectors.
“We believe regulation that forces conformity across the type of connector built into all smartphones stifles innovation rather than encouraging it, and would harm consumers in Europe and the economy as a whole,” Apple said in a statement published Thursday.
Apple said forcing through regulatory changes would disrupt hundreds of millions of active devices and accessories in Europe alone and would create “an unprecedented volume of electronic waste.”
Apple said the industry is also standardizing on its own as companies move toward using USB Type-C through a connector or cable assembly.
“The amount of cables and chargers produced and thrown away each year is simply unacceptable,” Roza Thun und Hohenstein, vice chair of the European Parliament’s internal market committee, said in a parliamentary debate earlier in January. She urged the commission to unveil a legislative proposal within the next six months.
The commission is set to release the results of a study it launched assessing the impact of a common charger on consumers by the end of January.