In this podcast episode, we're unpacking the story of the “Universal charging directive” that recently came into force in the EU. Our guest in the studio, Callum Booth, wrote a story on the initiative for The Verge — and will now discuss what it actually means for us Europeans, as well as share a few things that didn't make it into the piece.

In the second part of the show, Callum talks about The Great Uncoupling — a journey towards independence from his smartphone through… re-cluttering his life with more single-purpose devices.

00:00 Intro

01:15 The Universal Charging directive

05:55 What is Apple doing to comply?

08:40 What else is included in the regulation

10:45 Unification of fast charging

15:30 Bonus: Things that weren't included in the story

21:20 Is Europe overreaching with this regulation?

23:05 Part II: The Great Uncoupling

27:25 What you still need the smartphone for

28:40 The current progress in the journey

32:25 Real-life differences to note

36:15 Wrapping up

You can find Callum's newsletter The Rectangle on Substack: https://therectangle.substack.com/

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