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USB-C charging ports become standard across EU Saturday (timesofmalta.com)

submitted 6 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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All mobile phones, tablets, earphones and a wide range of other portable consumer electronics will need to be sold with USB-C charging ports from Saturday, the EU has announced.

First introduced around a decade ago, USB-C charging ports are reversible and capable of accelerated data transfer and charging speeds, the latter known as 'fast charging’.

In a statement on Friday, the European Parliament said that as of the following day, all such devices sold in the EU must have a USB-C charging port, with laptops set to follow suit in late April 2026.

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[–] FooBarrington 10 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

It's not the government deciding on a standard, it's a cross-industry consortium of involved/affected companies deciding together. Why should we accept that some companies refuse to follow common standards, massively increasing electronic waste and making people's lives unnecessarily more annoying?

Would you also prefer if you had to buy an Apple™ Wall Plug to be allowed to charge your Apple™ devices? After all, why should the government be allowed to set those standards?