The reform passed by an overwhelming majority in the European Parliament on Tuesday, the first of its kind anywhere in the world, potentially strengthens the EU's role as a global standard-setter on telephone technology. The vote confirmed an earlier agreement among EU institutions Apple has until autumn 2024 to comply with new rules introducing a single charging port for most electronic devices. 

The new rules will make USB-C connectors used by Android-based devices the standard across the 27-nation bloc, forcing Apple to change its charging port for iPhones and other devices. It will also apply to laptops from 2026, giving manufacturers longer to adapt, although many already use USB-C.

The Tame Apple Press is furious that a democractic organisation should have a say about what goes on in Apple's board rooms, but has tried to claim that the impact could be positive if it encourages shoppers to buy the US company's new gadgets instead of ones without USB-C. Apple has been suffering lately because no one want's to buy its iPhone 14 cash cow which arrived expensive, slightly faulty and missing a lot of the promised features.

However,  it is a sad state of affairs that the only reason you might buy an iPhone is to get the same functionality that a budget Android phone has had for years.  

Alex Agius Saliba, the EU lawmaker who steered the reform through the EU assembly. Old chargers will not be outlawed, however, so that customers can continue to use older models.

Saliba told a news conference that outlawing old chargers would have had a disproportionate impact on consumers and the environment, but noted that the change is expected to lead to a gradual phase-out of older products.

In total 13 categories of electronic devices will have to adapt by autumn 2024.

The Parliament extended the original proposal from the EU's executive Commission which covered only seven types of devices. Lawmakers also added laptops from 2026.

Apple has in the past warned that the proposal would hurt innovation and create a mountain of electronics waste.

The change had been discussed for years and was prompted by complaints from iPhone and Android users about having to switch to different chargers for their devices.

The European Commission has estimated that a single charger would save about 250 million euros ($247.3 million) for consumers.

Half the chargers sold with mobile phones in 2018 had a USB micro-B connector, while 29 per cent had a USB-C connector and 21 per cent a Lightning connector, which is used by Apple, a 2019 Commission study showed.

Apple is working on an iPhone with a USB-C charging port that could debut next year, if it can get it to work Bloomberg reported in May.

The Commission has also been mandated by lawmakers to assess the possible regulation of wireless charging, but an EU official said no decision has been made yet, noting that the technology is not yet mature.