The deal would have the greatest impact on Apple, the only major smartphone manufacturer that continues to utilize a proprietary port rather than USB-C. In 2021, Apple sold 241 million iPhones worldwide, with approximately 56 million sales in Europe.
The guidelines are an attempt to reduce e-waste in the EU by making electronic device chargers compatible. Legislators anticipate that in the future, phones will not need to come with a charger because buyers would already have the necessary cord and wall charger at home. The EU estimates that over 12 million metric tonnes of electronic trash were created across the EU in 2016.
