Europe isn’t just picking on Apple with this vote, but you have to admit that it’s a pretty big reason. Most people remember the old “Anyone got an iPhone charger?” joke that mocked the lone iPhone user in a group of Android (and other phones) users. Not much has changed since those days; however, people are calling for change.
A lot of change will come if USB-C is a common port
According to Phone Arena, the goal behind this vote is so that all devices in Europe will use the USB-C port as a common port. This means that all devices that can, realistically, use the USB-C port to charge and transfer data will. All phones (whether they be budget or flagship), portable gaming devices, laptops, headphones, and other devices will use the same port. Now, this is a big task, as there are some limitations to this. Devices like smartwatches are too small to use USB-C, so they’re going to be left out. Also, you wouldn’t expect to power your ultra-powerful gaming rig using a USB-C cord, so there will most likely be a power ceiling.
There’s a bigger goal here
Europe has a broader vision than just pushing Apple to use USB-C. The thing is that there’s so much fragmentation in general when it comes to tech nowadays. Companies have their own proprietary apps, chargers, and accessories that they push their customers to use. This way, they can make more money by locking their users into their ecosystem. Europe wants to abolish this. The continent is looking for all devices to have some level of minimum interoperability by the year 2026. This means that all devices will be able to use the same chargers and cords. This way, it can avoid ecosystem lock-in and let users choose their chargers.
Don’t expect this any time soon
As with any legal change, especially one THIS big, it’s going to be a long process. The European parliament will vote next month to approve the draft legislation. After that point, it will then go through the usual process, so don’t expect to see any major milestones soon. If the draft legislation even gets approved, don’t expect to see any tangible changes at all this year or next year.
