Most of us don’t believe that as consumers we should be punished by the companies we help to thrive. That has been the case since laptops, smartphones, iPads, smartwatches, and wireless earbuds have been invented. Not only are we bound to carry a different charger for Apple and Android devices, but also if we own several devices from a specific company, we have to constantly struggle with the annoying task of stuffing our backpacks, purses, and bags with one charger for each device. It feels like a chore and an unnecessary step that could be easily eliminated. 

The clutter-creating chargers can cause issues when students are unable to charge their iPads during school. Failing to find a compatible charge that will charge the student’s device could lead to the student missing out on homework or even a test.

“It would be nice to have less clutter and more space in my backpack,” said freshman Ava Christensen.

“It is kind of annoying carrying two chargers to school every day,” said freshman Maggie Craig. She brings two chargers to school each day: one for her phone and one for her iPad, even though they are made by the same company.

Apple is the prime example of too much charger variation. The company  for most of the  products they put on the market require specific chargers such as the Lighting charger introduced in 2012 and the USB-C charger launched in 2014, not to mention that chargers that work with past generations of smartphones don’t work with newer models. According to an online survey of 155 students, 66.5 percent use the USB-C charger for their iPads and 33.5 percent use the Lightning charger.  For the iPhone chargers, 73.5 percent carry Lightning, 22.6 percent USB-C and 3.9 percent neither. 

 Consumers on social media platforms voice their opinion about how the company profits from that practice, as well as making the customer pay an extra fee by not including the chargers within the product packaging which brings them more revenue.

From selling their wide spectrum of imposed chargers, which are currently not included with each device they sell, Apple earned  6.5 billion dollars in the past year, according to a report by Indiatimes.com.

In Europe, the charging difficulties are about to change due to the EU Parliament’s latest rule that will launch a universal charger for all devices. The one-for-all USB-C charger will be compatible with Apple, Android, and any other operating system technology device product. According to the report, consumers will be saving money and space, and this will help reduce waste. That could potentially help the economy because the income saved could be used towards other purchases. Apple is less than thrilled with this new rule passed by the EU Parliament. In the long run, it will likely hurt the bottom line of the company.

The resolution made European consumers pleased about reducing,  saving,  and removing clutter from their backpacks, purses, and bags; it shall not be long before the rest of the world follows. In America, we will benefit greatly from the use of a universal USB-C charger.  After all, modern technology devices should simplify our lives and not create unnecessary woes in our daily routine.