Earlier this month, we reported that the European Union (EU) just passed a law requiring most electronic devices to use USB-C starting in autumn 2024. Europe is a big market for Apple, so this means the trillion-dollar company will have no choice but to comply.
9to5mac reported that Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, Greg Joswiak and Apple senior vice president, Craig Federighi confirmed that they will be switching to USB-C for the coming iPhones.
According to Joswiak, nearly 1 billion individuals use Lightning cables of some kind, making USB-C and Lightning the two most widely used connections in the world. Apple believes that it achieved a balance by employing a form of connection that can be disconnected from the power brick, allowing one side to have Lightning and the other to have whichever type of connector the user finds most convenient, such as USB-C or USB-A.
Joswiak added that the notion of a universal charger regulation has “been in this little bit of a disagreement” between Apple and EU legislators. Despite the EU’s best efforts, he pointed out that regulation of this kind is difficult. He specifically brings up the previous attempt by the EU to standardise the now-outdated micro-USB port.
It’s not known at this time whether USB-C iPhones will be exclusive to the European market or whether they will be coming worldwide. But it makes no sense to produce two sets of iPhones with different ports. Apple is already using USB-C for its iPads; the newest 10th generation iPad is also using USB-C.
If everything is going to plan, we might see iPhone 15 with USB-C next year and we guess Apple is also going to be selling Lightning to USB-C adapters for previous iPhone owners who still want to use the Lightning cable.
