Current Events > senators call for a common charger standard in the US

(+) Yeah! (+)

The European Union might not be the only government body setting a common standard for device chargers. The Verge notes US senators Ed Markey, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders have sent a letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo calling on her department to develop a "comprehensive strategy" that would lead to a common charging standard. The EU acted in the "public interest" by settling on one port, the senators said, and the US ought to follow suit to reduce the environmental impact of chargers while improving convenience for users.

The politicians' arguments largely mirrored the EU's stance. A charger standard would theoretically reduce e-waste by letting people reuse existing cables and adapters for new devices. It could also help consumers money by sparing them from buying additional chargers, not to mention adding "sanity and certainty" to electronics shopping. This would prevent companies from locking you into proprietary cables that become obsolete, according to the group.

Raimondo hadn't responded to the letter as of this writing. The senators didn't specify USB-C as the standard, although that's likely to be the frontrunner. The EU will require USB-C starting in 2024, and the technology can accommodate everything from smartphones and earbuds through to high-end laptops. It also provides more consistent approaches to fast charging and accessory support.

Critics and some companies have long pushed back on charger standards. Apple most notably claimed a universal charger would hurt innovation by limiting the potential for technical advances, and would allegedly negate e-waste reduction by forcing legions of the company's users to replace their Lightning cables. Brands like Apple might not have much choice but to switch given the EU's move, however, and a US standard would only cement that decision.

As it is, there are rumors Apple will move to USB-C for both its 2023 iPhone lineup and this year's base iPad (all other iPads already use the format). A US charging standard might prevent companies like Apple from reverting to proprietary connectors later on, but the possible new regulation might do little more than enforce the status quo by the time it takes effect.

Fuck Apple

Call it the Fuck

I agree with this. Proprietary charging connectors are annoying in the long run.

I agree with this. Proprietary charging connectors are annoying in the long run.

Call it the Fuck Apple bill

Its annoying now.

• iPhone users having to buy new proprietary chargers for certain editions of the iPhone

• Tesla has its own proprietary connector, while pretty much every other manufacturer uses CCS
• Tesla is also in the early stages of allowing non-Tesla EVs to charge at their supercharger stations, but those car owners must by an adapter to allow the Tesla proprietary connector to plug into their cars. And even then, sometimes the charging port is in a spot where the cable from the supercharger won't reach.

For example, the Lightning Razer Kishi is $100 and would become useless. Can't even use an adapter.

but let anyone manufacture them.

My only concern with this is that we would all still be locked into the old micro USB if laws like this had been in place a few years back. The USB-C is superior but it would have taken years for the goverment to actually update the standards that would allow us to move on from the old micro USB.

Stndards are nice but they also make it hard to advance if those standards are actually laws.

Call it the Fuck Apple bill

My only concern with this is that we would all still be locked into the old micro USB if laws like this had been in place a few years back. The USB-C is superior but it would have taken years for the goverment to actually update the standards that would allow us to move on from the old micro USB.

Stndards are nice but they also make it hard to advance if those standards are actually laws.

We can say definitively at this point that a common charger won't happen unless governments force it. We're at almost 15 years of the iPhone using proprietary chargers.

Am I the only one that never really cared about this? You get a charger with the device. If it breaks you gotta go get a new one anyway.

Selling the device without the charger (I think Nintendo did this before?) is what's really bullshit

They arent wiping lightning cables off the face of the earth. This is only for new devices.

The iPhone 14 has been heavily rumored to switch to USB-C.

iPads and Macs have used USB-C for years.

Seems good, but a little tricky for when the standard improves. Would a USB-D or w/e need to get approval from the government, then new devices would be legally required to move to the new standard?

Call it the Fuck Apple bill