1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,320 At some point, you've probably gone to plug in one of your newly purchased gadgets and thought to 2 00:00:04,320 --> 00:00:09,920 yourself, why doesn't everything just use the same charger as you struggle to jam in the connector 3 00:00:09,920 --> 00:00:14,720 the right way? Well, you're not the only one. In fact, so many people have had this frustration 4 00:00:14,720 --> 00:00:20,560 that the European Union itself is looking to force electronics manufacturers to use 5 00:00:20,560 --> 00:00:27,440 USB-C and only USB-C for charging. So what does this mean for the future of electronics? 6 00:00:27,440 --> 00:00:32,560 Let's start out by looking at what the EU's new proposal actually covers. Mobile phones, tablets, 7 00:00:32,560 --> 00:00:37,280 headphones and headsets, portable video game consoles, portable speakers and digital cameras 8 00:00:37,280 --> 00:00:42,240 are all in there. So most small electronics designed to be taken with you are covered, 9 00:00:42,240 --> 00:00:48,320 but laptops are notably absent, as are very low-power devices like earbuds and smartwatches, 10 00:00:48,320 --> 00:00:52,320 since these devices have charging and use characteristics that are quite different 11 00:00:52,320 --> 00:00:56,560 from the list of covered devices. And the proposal also leaves out products that don't 12 00:00:56,560 --> 00:01:02,880 rely on charging, so don't expect to see any USB-C-powered hair dryers, although that would 13 00:01:02,880 --> 00:01:08,000 be really cool. Now, as cool as it sounds to have a single charging standard for all your mobile 14 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:14,320 devices, why is the EU trying to force it through? I mean, even though USB-C isn't universal, 15 00:01:14,320 --> 00:01:18,000 the industry is, for the most part, moving in that direction already. And it's not like 16 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:22,080 there are a whole lot of other charging connectors out there other than micro USB, 17 00:01:22,080 --> 00:01:26,000 which is disappearing, and Apple's Lightning, which is still just holding on. 18 00:01:27,120 --> 00:01:33,440 You can't kill me! Well, according to the EU, 38% of consumers have said they've had issues with 19 00:01:33,440 --> 00:01:38,800 not having compatible chargers for their phones when they needed them, with 2.4 billion euros 20 00:01:38,800 --> 00:01:44,160 spent every year on extra chargers. The EU has gone on to say that the situation has resulted in 21 00:01:44,160 --> 00:01:51,680 a ton of e-waste, more like 11,000 tons every year. So it's not a huge leap for the EU to think 22 00:01:51,680 --> 00:01:56,640 the solution is to settle on just one charging standard. And not only that, the proposed law 23 00:01:56,640 --> 00:02:02,000 will also mandate that gadgets that support fast charging will use the standard USB power delivery 24 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:06,800 protocol in order to reduce confusion between different fast charging standards. The goal 25 00:02:06,800 --> 00:02:11,760 is to make it possible for users to get the same charging speed across a wide variety of chargers, 26 00:02:11,760 --> 00:02:17,200 and also to get information across to the consumer more clearly. A strategy that is clearly seen in 27 00:02:17,200 --> 00:02:23,120 the USB implementer's forums' latest table about which USB logos to use. Now, each charger sold 28 00:02:23,120 --> 00:02:28,000 must state both a minimum wattage as well as information on any fast charging protocols it 29 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:32,960 supports outside of the standard USB power delivery. And unsurprisingly, the law will also 30 00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:37,280 seek to reduce the number of chargers that are included with electronic devices by forcing 31 00:02:37,280 --> 00:02:42,400 manufacturers to sell versions of their gadgets without an included charging brick, which is one 32 00:02:42,400 --> 00:02:47,120 thing that Apple is a step ahead of them on. Now, as I hinted at a second ago, there's a giant 33 00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:51,440 Apple-sized elephant in the room, and you've probably already figured out that Apple, with its 34 00:02:51,440 --> 00:02:56,800 proprietary lightning connector, is fighting tooth and nail against the proposed law. The company 35 00:02:56,800 --> 00:03:02,000 raises the point that the law would only make the EUA situation worse by rendering a huge number 36 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:07,440 of existing lightning-only accessories obsolete. But their position is undermined somewhat by the 37 00:03:07,440 --> 00:03:14,480 fact they asserted the rule would stifle innovation. I mean, maybe, but we're talking about charging 38 00:03:14,480 --> 00:03:19,520 here, and not many people use cables to transfer data to and from a phone anymore. And when we do 39 00:03:19,520 --> 00:03:24,640 need to, USB-C is more than capable of handling it. Of course, Apple owns not only the lightning 40 00:03:24,640 --> 00:03:29,680 protocol, but also MagSafe for wireless charging. And this has led some to speculate that at some 41 00:03:29,680 --> 00:03:34,640 point in the near future, Apple may just skip USB-C completely and go straight to a portless 42 00:03:34,640 --> 00:03:39,760 iPhone with wireless charging only. The proposed EU law doesn't cover wireless charging at all, 43 00:03:39,760 --> 00:03:45,200 so it would, at least for the time being, get them out from under the EU's watchful eye. 44 00:03:45,200 --> 00:03:50,160 But wireless charging is, for now, still significantly slower than having the phone plugged in, 45 00:03:50,160 --> 00:03:53,920 so Apple might be at a competitive disadvantage if they do decide to go this route. 46 00:03:53,920 --> 00:03:58,640 But although the law is set to cut e-waste, it might not make a huge dent in the problem, 47 00:03:58,640 --> 00:04:04,080 as the EU is only expecting a reduction of a thousand tons per year… chump change. 48 00:04:04,080 --> 00:04:08,320 And if we advance beyond USB-C at some point, we might have to do this all over again 49 00:04:08,320 --> 00:04:13,680 with another change in the law, as the directive says nothing about a post-USB-C world. 50 00:04:13,680 --> 00:04:17,600 We have to go to zombie movies for that. If the EU doesn't act this proposal, 51 00:04:17,600 --> 00:04:23,280 which is expected to happen in 2022, each national government will have two years to make it law, 52 00:04:23,280 --> 00:04:27,440 and electronics manufacturers will have the same amount of time to switch their charging ports 53 00:04:27,440 --> 00:04:32,000 over to USB-C. Fingers crossed, this will end up being a model for the rest of the world. 54 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:38,080 If we can't agree on what shape our power outlets will be, well, maybe we can at least agree on this. 55 00:04:38,080 --> 00:04:45,600 Hey, thanks for watching this Techquickie, guys! Like the video if you liked it, dislike it if you disliked it, check out our other videos, and comment below with video suggestions, 56 00:04:45,600 --> 00:04:49,840 and don't forget to subscribe and follow Techquickie. We got the tech game, 57 00:04:49,840 --> 00:04:52,960 we got the quick, and then there's an E on the end for some reason.