All smartphones, tablets and headphones sold new in Luxembourg must now be powered by a USB-C type charger, as in the rest of the European Union (EU). This measure aims to reduce waste and the multiplication of cables. E-readers, cameras, game consoles, headsets, as well as mice and keyboards must comply with this new standard. From spring 2026, it will also apply to laptops.
According to European institutions, discarded or unused chargers represent around 11,000 tonnes of waste per year in the EU. The new regulations should make it possible to reduce their annual quantity by almost 1,000 tonnes.
The decision should also have a financial impact, because the measure imposes standardization of fast charging on devices and requires new devices to be offered for sale with or without a charger. According to the European Commission, this should save 250 million euros per year; a relatively small amount at EU level (a little over 50 euro cents per capita).
The entry into force of the measure should not, however, be accompanied by a radical change. Discussed for several years, the standard has already been widely adopted by electronic device manufacturers. Apple, which equipped its phones with chargers developed by the brand, for a time showed its opposition to the adoption of this rule, accusing it in particular of “harming innovation”.
But the Californian company finally abandoned its standoff with the EU by marketing, from 2023, a new model (the iPhone 15) equipped with a USB-C port. From now on, all of its products (laptops, tablets and headphones) are compatible with the universal charger. Many competing brands, such as Samsung, Xiaomi and Google, have already adopted this type of charging port.
