European Commission Calls For Development of Universal Mobile Device Charger

We've heard rumblings of this happening for some time, and it looks like the fire has finally been properly lit: the European Union is one step closer to passing a law that would mandate a single, universal charger for mobile device sin order to "reduce waste, costs, and hassle for users." It's a move that we certainly applaud, and we wish it would've happened years ago. The "common charger" for all phones would essentially stop fragmentation in one area of the physical make-up of phones.

The law would also impact car-door openers and modems, and the rules are being developed as to keep pace with form factor innovation and not hinder creativity on that front. The draft law was approved by 550 votes to 12, with 8 abstentions, and it will still have to be formally approved by the Council. If and when it passes, EU member states will have two years to transpose the rules into their own national laws, and OEMs will have an extra year to comply.


An interesting wrinkle in this is that even today, most every phone maker outside of Apple has gravitated to micro-USB. While Apple is not specifically mentioned in this report, they no doubt would be the focal point should it come to pass. Europe makes up a huge portion of total iPhone sales, and it's not likely that Apple would ship a version of the iPhone in Europe with one charging port, and another iPhone elsewhere with Lightning.