The EU has just given the green light to new laws that'll see all phone manufacturers use the same charging port.
👉 Background: We ALL know how annoying it is that most iPhones come with their own unique charger called a Lightning cable... But Android phones are different.
👉 What happened: Apparently the EU agrees! It just approved a law that requires phone manufacturers in the EU to use the same USB-C charging port in all devices.
👉 What else: The idea is that by standardising the cords, the EU can reduce electronic waste by 11,000 tonnes, but we have a feeling Apple won't be happy.
💡Companies like Apple rely on accessories as a handy revenue driver… and legislation like this threatens that.
💡Apple has a business division called Wearables, Home and Accessories that brings in around US$6.5 billion each quarter (that's more than Coles!).
💡 While Apple will likely survive without the revenue from its chargers, it'll need to say goodbye to control over what iPhone owners can do outside their cosy (and extremely exclusive) ecosystem.
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