One charger for all devices?

It is a utopian dream that the European Union is pursuing in its call for a uniform charging cord — the USB-C. Just imagine dropping several chargers out of the portmanteau, travel bag or suitcase and packing only one charger for every conceivable device that a person uses in this day and age — mobile phone, tablet, e-reader, earbuds, digital cameras, headphones, video game consoles and portable speakers.

And don’t forget the smartwatch and the fitness tracker that goes with your smartphone and needs at least a weekly charge to fulfil the reading of all parameters, including your BP, step count, SpO2 and any others you care to observe in a daily check of health on the move. They are not yet in the privileged list of charging ports to be standardised but user demand may rise soon.

Decades later, they might even standardise the electrical socket and voltage so the tech bag may not need the globetrotters’ universal adapter plug. It’s not only the techie who knows how wires tangle up when the paraphernalia has to be gathered before the daily commute or even in a life of leisure. After all, people are thought to be using more than 10 billion portable devices these days, many of them needing access to the Internet too.

To make life simpler for the nerd and the commoner is a grand engineering dream but that seems a mission too far at least for Apple, which runs an ecosystem of its own with lightning connectors tethered to a custom charging port. Apple’s objection to strict regulation in such matters is the stifling of innovation. The claim is you don’t buy just a product but a lifestyle when you opt for Apple. True, because those prices make Apple one of the most valuable companies in the world.

The hyperconnected world is complex enough even with just two major systems — Apple and Android — driving most mobile phones. However, it’s a noble thought driving the EU Directive — to reduce e-waste, which may otherwise prove overwhelmingly toxic. Maybe, because the industry is dragging its feet that legislative action has cropped up. A common charging standard would, however, be humanity’s great contribution to common sense and we know that quality is not so common.