Apple Offering Micro USB Adapters to European Customers

Tuesday October 4, 2011 2:20 PM PDT by Jordan Golson
In 2010, the European Union introduced a new policy to require new phones sold in Europe to support charging via MicroUSB, in an effort to standardize charging systems across all mobile phone makers.

Apple has begun offering Micro USB Adapters for the iPhone, shipping October 14 to EU customers. The adapter costs £8 or €9 and should also be included in the iPhone 4S when it ships later this month.
"Introduction of the universal charger will make life much simpler for EU consumers," said Dennis Abbott, a European Commission spokesperson. "When you discover you've left your charger at home or work, you will be able to use someone else's, knowing it will fit your phone. How cool is that?"

The industry agreed that the new charger will be for all smartphones and all "data-enabled" phones - and will use a micro-USB connector. The new universal chargers will not cover older mobile phones.
Support for micro-USB charging via an adapter, rather than plugging directly into the phone, is allowed by the EU policy. Apple isn't required to include an actual micro-USB port directly on the iPhone.

93 comments


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jayducharme
100 months ago
That's probably the most elegant adapter Apple's ever made. It's compact and unobtrusive. I wish they made their HDMI adapter like that. Also, it's strange that most iPhones are black, yet all their accessories are white.
Rating: 7 Votes
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NathanA
100 months ago
"When you discover you've left your charger at home or work, you will be able to use someone else's, knowing it will fit your phone. How cool is that?"

What happens when you leave your adapter at home, though? :P

Or required to include the adapter either?


Apple IS including the adapter, as the article stated, with the 4S. They also are selling it to anybody who bought an iPhone before the adapter's existence.

-- Nathan
Rating: 6 Votes
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rmwebs
100 months ago



Suck it Europe


Nice input there buddy...


----

Glad this has finally been done...very useful for the car really as most satnav's use MicroUSB now so you can share the power cable for a quick charge!
Rating: 6 Votes
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theBB
100 months ago

This is not that great an idea, how many will actually carry the adpter. I have had adpaters on phones before and when you need them you don't have them. More than likely it will sit on a cable with your computer and when your are out everything will be packed up at home and no one will have one on them.

I think the environmentally friendly idea is to make phones, so that you do not have to buy a new wall charger or a car charger with every new phone. I don't think it was ever about making it easy to for you to charge your phone when you left your charger at home by mistake.
Rating: 5 Votes
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Beaubarre
100 months ago

needs an adaptor - kind of defeats the purpose!

The point of the legislation is that in the future, the smartphones in EU won't be selling with a power adaptor as most likely everybody will already have one, which would reduce massively the waste associated with the redundant power adaptors.

Of course phones with another power plug like the iPhone will still ship with their proprietary adaptator because Apple cannot count on the owner having that specific power adaptator.
Rating: 5 Votes
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ArcaneDevice
100 months ago

I really don't understand why so many europeans bend over and take anything the EU dishes at them. What happens when USB becomes obsolete? Ever given that some thought?


How long has USB been around?

How many times have Apple changed the dock connector specs since it was introduced?

Since micro-usb was introduced Apple have switched from Firewire to USB, changed voltage specs on dock connectors and changed dock port shapes. There's more chance Apple will leave older dock specs in the dust and force everyone to upgrade to ThunderDockWire or some such than a standard which almost every consumer electronics company in the world is already using becoming obsolete.

I don't understand why users bend over and take whatever Apple dishes at them. Especially when it usually means you have to spend money to get legacy products that work perfectly well to be compatible. :rolleyes:

As for forgetting the adapter, what if you forget your dock cable? Same thing. Spurious argument.
Rating: 4 Votes
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OllyW
100 months ago
A nice and simple solution. I can't imagine why such a fuss was made when the standardised charger was first proposed.
Rating: 3 Votes
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Biolizard
100 months ago
One of the few things the EU can be genuinely proud of achieving, this mandated micro-USB charging law :)
Rating: 3 Votes
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NightFox
100 months ago

This is how communism in the 21st century begins


Ah yes, "The People's Charger"
Rating: 3 Votes
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theBB
100 months ago

The entire point was to reduce the need for adapters and for power plugs and wires like that to be shared. Apple is in clear violation of the spirit of the law.

Actually, it is more like Apple is in violation of your (mis)understanding of the spirit of the law. As explained before, the law was intended to reduce the need to buy a new charger with every new phone purchase. Simple passive adaptors fit the bill nicely.
Rating: 3 Votes
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