Apple says EU push for universal phone charger would 'stifle innovation'

The European Parliament has renewed its push for a phone charger standard through an amended draft law, and it won't surprise you to hear that Apple has raised objections. The iPhone maker has issued a statement arguing that rules dictating a common connector in phones "stifles innovation" and would hurt the public more than it helped. To support its claims, the company commissioned a study from Copenhagen Economics claiming that a common charger move would cost €1.5 billion (about $1.7 billion), more than negating the €13 million ($14.4 million) in potential environmental benefits. It even suggested the EU might create an environmental problem by "disrupting" hundreds of millions of people who use Apple devices with Lightning ports.

Apple also felt that rules weren't necessary when the industry was already consolidating around USB-C, either through port changes or through cables (as with the iPhone 11 Pro). The industry has consolidated from "30 chargers to three, soon to be two," Apple said. It still hoped the European Commission would look for a solution -- just not one that hurt the industry's (read: Apple's) "ability to innovate."