UK considering making USB-C the common charging standard, following the EU

Following moves by both the European Union and India to implement USB-C as the default charging port for all consumer devices, the British government has now begun a consultation on whether it should follow suit and implement a common standard for charging, and if this should be USB-C.

The consultation has been started by the Office for Product Safety and Standards which sits within the Department for Business and Trade, and it calls for manufacturers, importers, distributors, and trade associations to provide their input on the matter. Of course, should the UK decide against adopting USB-C and implement a separate standard, expect that device manufacturers just provide dongles to support this rather than having unique device versions.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards stated the following on this topic:

"We consider that it would potentially help businesses and deliver consumer and environmental benefits if we were to introduce standardized requirements for chargers for certain portable electrical/electronic devices across the whole UK. We are seeking views from manufacturers, importers, distributors, and trade associations as to whether it would be helpful to do so and, if so, whether this should be based on USB-C – as adopted by the EU."

The EU's version of the law will come into force by the end of the year, with a key focus on reducing e-waste from propietary cables and chargers, and this will impact a variety of devices including phones, tablets and headphones. This new law even pushed Apple into abandoning its Lightning cable in favour of USB-C with last year's iPhone 15 series of devices.

Meanwhile, India has asked for manufacturers in the country to make the same move by March 2025, 3 months later than the EU's deadline, but would still impact the same list of consumer electronics but specifying that feature phones are also covered by this requirement. Laptops will also be covered by both laws but these have an extended deadline of 2026 in both India and the EU.

Source: The Register