If recent announcements from the European Union is anything to go by, we could be seeing a version of iPhone carrying micro-USB based charging systems starting January 2011. The EU has announced that starting next year, all the new smartphones sold in their market shall make use of a micro-USB port for charging.
According to Dennis Abbott from the EU, this is to ensure a uniform charging system that will ensure convenience for the customers. He said,
“Introduction of the universal charger will make life much simpler for EU consumers. 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?”
Apple is among the countries that had signed the Memorandum of Understanding with the EU in this regard last year and so we are likely to see the next generation of iPhones – at least those sold in the EU – come with micro-USB charging ports.
But considering that proprietary charging systems do not constitute a signficant revenue stream for manufacturers and also because different charging systems in different markets can make logistics seem scary, it is possible that Apple, and other smartphone manufacturers, would rather choose to offer a uniform micro-USB charger port in all of their markets.
As Abbott says, now ‘how cool is that?‘