The European Union has given manufacturers a firm deadline for most electronics sold in the region to support USB-C charging. As of December 28, 2024, all new phones, tablets, headphones, portable speakers, and many other types of devices will have to use this standard for wired charging. There’s no effect on devices that can only be charged wirelessly.
In case you missed it, the EU passed legislation mandating USB-C chargers for mobile devices by 2024 in October of this year.
🔌The Directive (EU) 2022/2380 related to the #CommonCharger for mobile devices is published in the #OfficialJournal
It will enter into force on 27/12/2022📱 https://t.co/BeZS5J2tYc
#ThisIsTheEU #Sustainability #IMCO #SingleMarket pic.twitter.com/3IuTarhkVs— EUR-Lex (@EURLex) December 8, 2022
The EU said before that the rules would go into effect by the end of 2024, and when it put the law in the Official Journal, it stuck to that date. EU member states have until December 28, 2023, to come up with rules for the bloc’s USB-C charging directive. One year from now, they’ll have to start following those rules.
The EU also claims that devices that support fast charging will charge at the same rate. So, users will be able to charge their devices at the same speed with any charger that works with their device.
Even though the company didn’t have much of a choice, Apple says it will follow the rules and put USB-C charging ports in the iPhones it sells in the EU, unless it switches to fully wireless charging. Technically, Apple wouldn’t have to use USB-C charging in iPhones until 2025, but reports say the company may make the switch as soon as next year.
Since the law was just a suggestion, the media has been talking a lot about how this will affect Apple, but it won’t just affect them. If their products charge faster than 15W, other device makers will also have to make sure their products are USB-PD compatible.
Also, this rule only applies to wired charging, so Apple could just remove the charging port from its iPhones and use wireless charging instead. That wouldn’t break these rules, and it’s been talked about a lot already.
On April 28, 2026, the same rules about using USB Type-C will also apply to laptops. The next step is for EU member states to pass and publish by December 28, 2023, the laws, rules, and administrative rules that are needed to follow this directive.
Here’s the official text from the European Parliament on the deadline for USB-C wired charging on new phones: To know more, visit here:
[Member States] shall apply those measures from 28 December 2024 for the categories or classes of radio equipment referred to in Part I, points 1.1 to 1.12 of Annex Ia, and from 28 April 2026 for the categories or classes of radio equipment referred to in Part I, point 1.13 of Annex Ia.