ＥＵ、スマホ充電器の端子統一を義務付けへ　米アップルに打撃

【ブリュッセルＡＦＰ＝時事】欧州連合（ＥＵ）は２３日、スマートフォン充電器の端子統一を義務付ける方針を発表した。広く使用されている「ｉＰｈｏｎｅ」で独自の接続ケーブルを採用している米アップルにとって打撃となる。（写真は資料写真）
　充電ケーブルの端子を「ＵＳＢ－Ｃ」に統一する義務化が、ＥＵ加盟国と欧州議会に承認されれば、スマートフォンの世界市場全体に影響が出る可能性がある。
　欧州委員会のマルグレーテ・ベステアー執行副委員長（競争政策）は発表に際し、「欧州の消費者は以前から、互換性のない充電器で家庭の引き出しがいっぱいになっていることに不満を募らせてきた」と指摘した。
　アップルは先に、共通充電器は技術革新を阻害し、電子廃棄物を増やす恐れがあると主張していた。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/09/24-14:38）

The European Union announced on Thursday that it will impose a universal charger for smartphones, setting up a clash with Apple and its widely used iPhone.
The European Commission believes a standard cable for all devices will cut back on electronic waste, but Apple argues that a one-size fits all charger would slow innovation and create more pollution.
The bloc is home to 450 million people, some of the world's richest consumers, and the imposition of the USB-C as a cable standard, once approved by member states and European Parliament, would affect the entire global smartphone market.
European consumers have been frustrated long enough about incompatible chargers piling up in their drawers, said EU executive vice president Margrethe Vestager in a statement.
We gave industry plenty of time to come up with their own solutions, now time is ripe for legislative action for a common charger, she said.
Consumers currently have to decide between phones served by three main chargers: Lightning for Apple handsets, the micro-USB widely used on most other mobile phones and the newer USB-C that is increasingly coming into use.
That range is already greatly simplified from 2009, when dozens of different types of chargers were bundled with mobile phones, creating piles of electronic garbage when users changed brands.
- 'Inconvenient' and wasteful -
The EU said the current situation remained inconvenient and that European consumers spent approximately 2.4 billion euros ($2.8 billion) annually on standalone chargers they bought separately.
Thierry Breton, the internal market commissioner also pushed back against the industry's argument that innovation would be harmed.
He told reporters that US tech giants are always making this argument, that (EU law) is against innovation ... It is not against innovation. It is for European consumers, it is not against anyone.
Apple, which already uses USB-C connectors on some of its iPads and laptop computers, insists legislation to force a universal charger for all mobiles in the European Union is unwarranted.
We remain concerned that strict regulation mandating just one type of connector stifles innovation rather than encouraging it, which in turn will harm consumers in Europe and around the world, Apple said.
- 'Ample time' to switch -
Some in the industry argue that phones already in use with a legacy charging cable will lose their resale value if it cannot be replaced, and add to the glut of digital waste.
The European Commission had long defended a voluntary agreement it made with the device industry that was set in place in 2009 and saw a big reduction in cables, but Apple refused to abide by it.
In the commission's proposal, which could yet be considerably changed before ratification, smartphone makers will be given a 24-month transition period, giving ample time for companies to fall in line, the commission said.
Apple said that it believed the two-year transition period was a worry for the industry and too short to prevent the sale of existing equipment.
EU consumer group ANEC cautiously welcomed the proposal but urged that the plan be expanded to wireless charging systems, which are increasingly being adopted by phonemakers.
It is therefore important to avoid any fragmentation in this area as well, the group said.