Share of smartphone models with USB-C charger by price tier 2019

In 2019, 100 percent of smartphone models released by Samsung, Huawei, LG, and Xiaomi more expensive than 300 euros, were capable of charging over USB-C. For smartphone models released in 2019 with a minimum price of 200 euros, 90 percent of these came with a USB-C socket. As suggested by the source, there is strong indication that USB-C penetration in Europe will continue to rise: the weighted average selling price of a phone in Western and Eastern Europe has been estimated to be over the 300 euros price mark.

EU mandate for a common smartphone charger

In 2009, following a request made by European Commission (EC), vendors including Apple, Samsung, and Nokia signed a five-year memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop a common specification of smartphone charger. In February 2020 – close to six years after the initial MoU expired – the European Union (EU) voted to recommend a single, universal USB-C charger for all mobile phones and portable devices sold in Europe. The legislation is expected to be tabled in the third quarter of 2020.

USB-C as standard

USB-C is the emerging standard for charging and transferring data, featuring an orientation-agnostic connector that’s the same on both ends. As such, the proliferation of USB-C connections in smartphones is expected to increase dramatically. In 2019, 33 percent of non-Apple smartphones were capable of being charged with USB-C, with forecasts predicting that this is likely to rise to 46 percent by 2020, before jumping again in 2021 up to 62 percent. Beyond 2022, there is a margin of uncertainty, although some predictions suggest that USB-C charging will account for 100 percent of non-Apple smartphones by 2025.