World News for Students of English

29-09-2021 07:00

The European Commission said on Thursday that it wants a single type of charging port to be used for all smartphones and tablets, as well as equipment such as cameras, headphones, portable speakers, and handheld video consoles.

The EU is hoping to pass a law that would standardize the charging port, with the EU’s industry chief Thierry Breton saying that with more devices, more chargers were sold that weren’t interchangeable or necessary, and the EU wanted to end that.

The law would target companies like Apple whose iPhones and other products use the company’s own lightning charging port. The EU hopes that the standardization will cut waste and be more convenient for people who own multiple devices. However, an Apple spokesperson said that strict laws requiring just one type of connector stifles innovation rather than encouraging it.

Annually, EU consumers spend more than 2.4 billion euros on charging accessories for phones that actually don’t come with devices. The law could save consumers 250 million euros a year by cutting the cost for buying those new chargers.

Difficult words: standardize (to make one thing the same as others of the same type), interchangeable (able to be exchanged with each other without making any difference or without being noticed), stifle (to prevent something from happening or continuing).

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