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Report: EU could pass legislation next week ending Apple's Lightning connector
- The EU may finally adopt legislation to standardize device chargers on June 7.
- The legislation would require USB-C for all smartphones and tablets, which would mean the end of the Apple Lightning connector in Europe.
- Lawmakers are undecided on when it will go into effect and whether to apply the law to laptops.
After years of toying with the idea and months of working to implement it, the EU looks poised to formally adopt legislation that would require all phone and tablet manufacturers to standardize on USB-C chargers.
The EU’s Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee voted 43—2 in April to proceed with legislation that would require manufacturers to adopt USB-C for device charging. The latest version of the proposal expands its scope beyond smartphones and tablets to include laptops, cameras, handheld gaming consoles, and more. According to Reuters, EU countries and lawmakers are on the verge of adopting the legislation as early as June 7.
Read more: The best USB-C cables you can buy
There are still some issues to be worked out. For example, it’s not clear if laptops will be included in the final version, despite lawmakers pressing for it. Similarly, lawmakers want the legislation to take effect as early as 2025, but individual countries and the EU Commission want a longer adoption period to give manufacturers adequate time to modify their designs.
Apple has been the biggest opponent of the legislation, as the company relies extensively on its own Lightning port on the iPhone and some iPads. In contrast, the Mac, iPad Pro, and iPad Air use USB-C. Google and other Android makers will be largely unaffected.