The European Union decided that all charging thingies must use USB-C, at least for smaller gadgets such as phones, tablets, cameras, headphones and low-power laptops that are sold there. By the end of 2024, most electronics were already compliant, but as of today, they, they must be compliant.
From April 28, all devices sold in the 27-nation bloc must have the right slot and the right thingimajig. The rationale was to reduce e-waste and make live easier for consumers. American tech companies vigorously opposed the new rules, especially Apple, and the U.S. has not followed suit. But with the rules looming, USB-C has already emerged as the international standard for newfangled contraptions.
The EU first proposed the common charger rules in 2009 spent a decade nudging the industry toward compliance before drafting binding legislation in 2021. Apple's proprietary Lightning connector was the most implicated technology but eventually replaced the small but relatively flimsy connectors with USB-C: first in iPads, then iPhones in 2023.
USB-C itself is not new; the connector standard was finalized in 2014 by the USB Implementers Forum, a non-profit industry group whose members include Apple, Google, Microsoft and Intel.
If the standard makes life generally saner (and helps users empty junk draws filled with random chargers) USB-C yet has a few traps in store. The speed and power capabilities of any given USB-C device or cable can be hard to figure out, thanks to a myriad of sub-standards made worse by some of the most deranged branding in product history.
USB-IF introduced a new SuperSpeed+ transfer mode, USB 3.1, which supported up to 10 Gbps on one lane. To remain consistent in the naming, USB-IF rebranded the original USB 3.0 specification as USB 3.1 Gen 1 and named the newest USB SuperSpeed+ release to be USB 3.1 Gen 2. Products listed as USB 3.1 Gen 1 were capable of signaling up to 5 Gbps while products labeled USB 3.1 Gen 2 were capable of the full 10 Gbps released in the updated USB 3.1 specification. … USB 3.2, now offering support for 10 Gbps over 2 lanes for a total bandwidth of 20 Gbps. … Now, USB 3.1 Gen 1 became to USB 3.2 Gen 1, USB 3.1 Gen 2 changed to USB 3.2 Gen 2×1, and the new speed capable under the USB 3.2 version of the specification was named USB 3.2 Gen 2×2, with x2 referring to the number of lanes.
Previously: Already regretting assigning the new MacBook Pro review to Borges
