The Feds Are Considering Standardizing Chargers & Here's What It Could Mean For Your iPhone
Mo' cables, mo' problems.
A laptop charger. Right: A pile of phone chargers.
That mountain of chargers and cables lying around your house might one day be a thing of the past!
The Canadian federal government has announced that they are looking into standardizing charging cables for devices in Canada, which means that we could one day live in a country where people won't have to ask, "Hey, do you have an iPhone charger?"
As part of the 2023 federal budget released on, the feds are considering this option "with the aim of lowering costs for Canadians and reducing electronic waste."
"Budget 2023 announces that the federal government will work with international partners and other stakeholders to explore implementing a standard charging port in Canada," the budget reads.
While there's no released timeline or details on this development, it could mean that sometime in the future, there will be only one type of charger no matter the brand or model of the device.
This potential new regulation comes after the European Union announced in October that all small devices, such as phones, tablets, headphones and cameras sold in the EU, regardless of manufacturer, must use a USB-C charging port by the end of 2024.
By the spring of 2026, this regulation will extend to laptop computers.
According to the EU, this is a means to "reduce e-waste and to empower consumers to make more sustainable choices."
Along with this newly outlined plan in Canada's budget, the federal government is also looking into implementing a "right to repair" framework with the goal of limiting electronic waste in 2024.
The government says that home electronics and appliances should be "easy to repair" and that spare parts should be "readily accessible" so that customers have the option to repair broken items rather than throwing them out and buying new ones.
It also aims to make sure companies are not able to prevent repairs with "complex programming or hard-to-obtain bespoke parts."
The newly released 2023 Budget also proposes a crackdown on "junk fees" as well as a grocery rebate for millions of Canadians, new details about a federal dental care program and more.
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.