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On this day 11 years ago, the European Commission promised a unified charger for all smartphones. This never happened. Here is the reason why. #commoncharger
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Back in 2009, Commissioner Verheugen got the major mobile manufacturers in the room and made them promise to unify the hodgepodge of charging plugs that previously had made it impossible to use chargers made for other devices.
The EU's initiative had some success - almost all Android devices shifted to micro-USB, which still is today the de-facto standard for inexpensive devices.
But of course there is one notable exception - Apple. Using a loophole in the voluntary agreement they had signed, they did not switch to micro-USB, but rather created their own plug standard called Lightning.
They use it to this day.
They use it to this day.
At this point, the EU should have stepped in. But instead, the Commission kept selling their voluntary agreement with the industry as success. Here another pic from the genre 'cable selfie' popular back in 2011, here with Commissioner Tajani.
Behind the scenes, Commission officials knew that they would never actually get Apple to fold into a common standard. But they decided to do nothing about it. Here is my story on how the Commission failed to use its power to regulate. https://euobserver.com/science/144538
But this story is far from over. The European Parliament got very angry last winter when they realised that the Commission promise for a common charger would never be fulfilled. https://euobserver.com/science/146557
Apple meanwhile insists that ditching their dated Lighting plug for the now widely used, nearly identical USB-C would 'stifle innovation'. What it would do, for sure, is stifle Apple's billion-dollar sale in accessories. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-apple-charger/apple-pushes-back-against-eu-common-charger-warns-of-innovation-risks-idUSKBN1ZM2EV
After raised pitchforks in parliament, the new Commission of Ursula von der Leyen finally promised to do something about the charger mess. The Circular Economy Action Plan promises a common charger, which should have be announced by this fall. (Then Covid happened, of course.)
BUT, and this is a big but, one can already hear the Commission silently walking away from their commitment to a common charger. In a recent reply to parliament, Commissioner Breton talks about a common interface
"should this be made mandatory":
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-9-2020-000851-ASW_EN.html
"should this be made mandatory":
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-9-2020-000851-ASW_EN.html
So this leaves us at square one, no solution. Exactly 11 years on, European consumers were screwed out of an easy, universal phone plug. Old charging devices will keep landing on the trash heap. Apple keeps making money with a proprietary plug that no other company uses.
Ultimately, this is a story about one of the world's largest
corporations showing Europe the finger. It is about the EU being too weak to act when it is being crossed. Time to change this story.
corporations showing Europe the finger. It is about the EU being too weak to act when it is being crossed. Time to change this story.
