New phones, tablets, headphones, portable speakers and many other types of electronics will need to adopt the IEC charging standard by December 28th, 2024.
Electronics that don’t have USB-C ports by then will not be eligible for sale in the EU after that date. The December 28th date was published on the Twitter account of EUR-Lex, the official EU Law database and home of the EU Official Journal.
The new EU ruling on USB-C - known as the common charger law - was approved into law by the EU in October.
While most electronics makers already use USB-C, the law change will have the biggest impact on Apple, which has preferred using its own proprietary Lightning port for many years.
There is a loophole to the law, which exempts devices that only charge wirelessly. However, Apple has already confirmed that it will adopt the new USB-C port on future models of the iPhone.
Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, Greg Joswiak, revealed in October that the company will comply with the new EU guidelines.
"Governments do what they have to do,” Joswiak told the Wall Street Journal. “Obviously, we'll have to comply. We have no choice. But we think the approach would have been better environmentally and better for our customers to not have a government be that prescriptive."
For laptop makers, the EU's deadline is extended until April 2026. To improve compatibility, hardware companies will also be compelled to ensure that the same charging speed is available no matter what charger is used.