EU Regulators Could Force Apple To Discontinue the Lightning Cable
Union frustrated at lack of progress in creation of single standard
The European Union will study whether there is a need for more motion to force the mobile industry to adopt a common charger that can be, used with any smartphone. European policymakers have been keen for a single standard for more than a decade. One of the main reasons why is the significant amount of electronic waste caused by unused chargers as well as inconvenience suffered by Android and iPhone users who are required to use different cables or chargers for different devices. Although much of the industry has since adopted the newer USB Type-C connector, Apple is still uses its proprietary Lightning cables which it originally launched with the iPhone 5 in 2012.
The Lightning charger is now used in all models of the iPhone and iPad, and Apple state this connector allows more freedom to design its devices.
EU Competition Commissioner, Margrethe Verstager, said in a statement that an impact assessment will be conducted in order to evaluate costs and options. It appears Apple has much at stake and this could affect the design of its future products.
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