Apple could be forced to scrap its proprietary charger as a new EU law has been provisionally drawn up.
Following the agreement of a provisional deal by the EU, Apple could be forced to use a universal charger for all its gadgets as soon as 2017.
EU lawmakers have drawn up a provisional legal document outlining a requirement for all mobile phone manufacturers to use a universal battery charger.
Currently smartphone manufacturers can use whatever charger they like for their mobile devices, although the majority use microUSB or microHDMI.
Consumers have been demanding an industry-wide standard for some years, but as yet nothing has been done to implement such a change.
However, this draft EU legislation will be voted on by the Members of European Parliament and the Council of the European Union in March 2014 and if it gets passed, each EU country will have two years to change the legislation into national law.
Smartphone manufacturers will then have a year more to implement the changes, meaning it would have to be complete by the end of 2017.
Apple is the main smartphone and tablet manufacturer to use a proprietary charger, with the latest one being the Lightning charger introduced with the iPad 4, iPhone 5 and iPad mini.
All of Apple’s new kit like the iPad Air and iPhone 5S use the lightening charger, so Apple may have to change the battery charger it uses for future iPhone and iPad devices.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
