Phones, tablets, e-readers, consoles, keyboards, cameras and wireless headphones: all these products are required to adopt the universal USB-C charger from December 28, 2024. Standardization for laptop PCs is set for December 26 April 2026.
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The USB-C universal charger is mandatory
The reason for this obligation? An initiative discussed since 2009, validated by Brussels in 2022, then transposed into French law. The regulations also require harmonization of the charging power at 100 W for compatibility between all brands. So far, some manufacturers offer more powerful chargers for their own devices.
Another new feature: the mandatory dissociation between the sale of the device and its charger. Physical stores and online stores must display a pictogram on the packaging to clearly inform whether they are present in the box or not.
For the Ministry of the Economy, this is a convergence of “digital and ecological transitions”. For Brussels, savings on a European scale will be 250 million euros per year, with a reduction of 11,000 tonnes of waste.
Apple has long fought not to abandon its Lightning, arguing that this request from the European Union will slow down innovation before finally complying. In the midst of an ecological crisis as the Cupertino company communicates on the use of recycled materials for its products, it seems logical that USB-C is now present since the iPhone 15 but also for some of its Macs and iPads.
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