Agreement between the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union,arriveIn the fall of 2024, the USB Type-C interface will become the standard charging interface for electronic devices such as mobile phones, tablets and cameras in the European Union.

The EU agency said the interim agreement establishes a single charging solution for some electronic devices. After the summer break, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union will formally ratify the agreement. After the agreement comes into force, the new regulations will be24 months later, the new regulation has been in the works for more than ten years.

market research agencyNicole Peng, vice president of Canalys, said in an interview with a financial reporter,The EU agreement will affect the hardware and software business of Apple and its component companies in the short term. But in the long run, it will unlock opportunities for the industry to transform. With years of reputation accumulation, charger suppliers certified by Apple are still It will be popular with consumers and therefore get a premium for the product.

This new EU regulation covers consumer electronics15 products, including wired charging mobile phones, tablets, digital cameras, e-readers and other electronic devices. At the same time, the above-mentioned EU agency also stated that the charging speed of fast charging devices should also be uniform, so that users can use any compatible charger to Charge the device at the same speed.

Kenting Law FirmWang Jie, the founder of the Wamp;W international legal team and a lawyer with many years of legal experience in technology companies, said in an interview with reporters that the EU's move can provide convenience for consumers' lives, reduce consumers' additional expenditures, and reduce the generation of electronic waste. Reduce carbon emissions.

According to a survey by the European Commission,The average consumer in the region has about 3 mobile phone chargers, the average household has 5.6 commonly used cables, and nearly 90% of households charge multiple devices at the same time each week.

The European Commission estimates that,Discarded and unused chargers generate about 11,000 tons of e-waste each year.The European Commission's internal market commissioner, Thierry Breton, said that helping consumers reduce the purchase of unnecessary chargers would save up to 250 million euros a year. Bringing more than 13 million euros in associated environmental benefits.

How will it affect the global consumer electronics industry?

Peng Luping believes that in the global consumer electronics market,Since Apple mostly uses Lightning rather than USB Type-C charger ports. After the EU reached an agreement on a single mobile charging interface, Apple and its component supply chain manufacturers have been greatly affected, and its charger sales business will be shrink.

According to Apple's financial report,In the second quarter of fiscal 2022, revenue from wearables, home appliances and accessories, including chargers, was $8.806 billion, up 12.4 percent year-over-year. In 2021, Apple sold 241 million iPhones worldwide, of which About 56 million units were sold in Europe.

Peng Luping further said that Apple's software revenue will also be hit relative to its hardware business.Apple is good at laying out the ecology, and will give official certification to some charger accessories manufacturers. Apple earns commissions through this process. After not selling Lightning chargers in Europe, its commission fee will be damaged." She said.

Apple has aMFi (ie "Made for iPhone") certification system, if a third-party accessory brand wants to launch Apple device accessories with stable compatibility, it must use Apple's MFi certified components. Before that, accessory manufacturers need to join MFi first Plan members. In May, Apple officially charged an annual fee of $99 to MFi accessory vendors. Apple's financial report shows that the service business is the relatively high revenue-generating business sector. In the second fiscal quarter of 2022, Apple's service business revenue reached $19.821 billion.

Peng Luping also said that in addition to Apple, other mobile phone manufacturers will also be affected.Although most of these mobile phone manufacturers use USB Type-C chargers, some companies use cheaper micro-USB products. After the EU harmonizes standards, their manufacturing costs will increase. In addition, the new regulations will push up the entire Market demand for USB Type-C, which will also drive upstream demand for raw materials, will be another factor driving up manufacturing costs," she said.

existTrendForce analyst Huang Yukun said that in the long run, the benefits of the EU agreement outweigh the disadvantages. "In the future, there will inevitably be a wave of consolidation in the global consumer electronics industry chain.

Market research institute Hengzhou Bozhi (According to data from QY Research, the global Type-C connector market will reach $2.2 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach $10.6 billion in 2028.

Peng Luping believes that the global consumer electronics industry is undergoing a transformation.Although the European Union has unified charger standards, Apple still has a high brand awareness with years of accumulation. The company can still formulate its own standards for USB Type-C chargers, give spare parts certification, and then reproduce the previous commissions. business model," she said.

Peng Luping also said that for component manufacturers, from a technical point of view, the transformation of the charger business will not be too difficult, and they will not only deploy one charger product before, which means that their transformation has been certain. Base.The strategy of component manufacturers should still lock the Apple supply chain. On the one hand, they can enhance their brand effect by obtaining Apple's certification, thereby avoiding the risk of falling into a price war. On the other hand, Apple's consumer group is large enough, If consumers upgrade, they will still have a high probability of choosing Apple products, which will drive the demand for spare parts," she said.

CanalysAccording to data from Apple Inc., due to factors such as the epidemic and the situation in Ukraine, global smartphone sales in the first quarter of 2022 fell by 11 percent year-on-year. However, Apple's product shortages grew against the trend, increasing its market share from 15 percent to 18 percent. According to media reports, Apple's new products have been equipped with USB Type-C ports for consumer electronics such as iPads and MacBooks.