Saudi Arabia passes law requiring USB-C charges for smartphones::From 2025, Apple’s iPhone and all Android smartphones sold in Saudi Arabia will have to have a USB-C charging port, with laptops to follow in 2026.
They are not pro-consumer. They are doing this because EU has done it.
Doing it when another country has already done it is still more pro-consumer than not doing it at all.
I disagree, because change is going to happen regardless what they decided. Had they been first, then we can say they did it to help consumers. This is more PR than anything else. EU is sufficiently big market so they can throw their weight around and force manufacturers to behave. Not sure Saudi Arabia has enough buying power to do that.
There are phones which aren’t sold in the EU which could have other connections. Now they can’t be sold in Saudi Arabia as well. It’s probably not a large number, but even if it’s 1,000 less phones that use a non-USB-C connection, that’s still 1,000 phones.
Don’t get me wrong, I agree Saudi Arabia is doing this for their external image, but you can’t deny it has some consumer benefit for their citizens, however small.
