The European Union (EU) regulators are said to be pushing to have Apple change the iPhone chargers to be uniform with those of Android handsets. The EU wants uniformity across the mobile devices chargers.
The EU has been pursuing uniformity of mobile charging standard for more than a decade now. One of the concerns the regulator has over the many types of mobile charging is the electronic waste that comes afterwards. It is estimated about 51,000 tons of old plugs and cables are thrown away by consumers each year.
Other than the EU demands, consumers too have been asking to have uniform charging standards across the platform. As it will open up more choices for the consumers to choose from the best cables and chargers maker in the market. Currently, iPhone users have little choice other than using the cables and chargers made by Apple.
Critics argue device makers deliberately make fragile cables and chargers so that consumers can come back buying more over the years. That is how they (OEMs) remain in high-profit making business over the years. Apple’s case seem extreme as they have (to a large extent) monopolized the accessories market for the iDevices.
Some argue that Apple did not become the most valuable company on Earth by simply selling expensive iPhones every once in a year. They make big business out of the broken accessories that customers often need to replace; since they are allegedly fragile in the first place.
The EU regulator is said to be currently conducting ‘an impact assessment study,’ which will determine whether Apple needs to be arm-twisted into producing cables and chargers uniform to those common in the market.
Margrethe Vestager told Reuters that the regulator will “evaluate costs and benefits of different other options.”