Apple may replace the lighting port with a USB Type-C port in its next iPhone lineup, which means the iPhone 15 will not have one.
*Apple is planning to include a USB Type-C port in future iPhones.
*By 2024, all phones in Europe must have a USB Type-C port.
*Apple is displeased with the inclusion of a USB Type-C port in its smartphones.
European Union Parliament approved new Law to use only USB-C charging ports by 2024
Apple has confirmed that it will remove the Lightning connector from its iPhones after European regulators decided that all smartphones should have USB charging as standard within two years.
New EU regulations require all phones sold after the autumn of 2024 to have USB-C charging ports. Other consumer electronics, such as e-readers, game consoles, laptops, and the vast majority of new Android phones, already have oval-shaped plugs.
Apple has already migrated a large portion of its product line to the standard, which can transmit up to 240W of power and 40Gbps of data over the same cable. The 12 MacBook was the first laptop to use USB-C charging in 2015, and iPads began switching from the Lightning connector in 2018.
However, the company had resisted the requirement to switch its phones to the standard, claiming that “strict regulation mandating only one type of connector stifles rather than encourages innovation.”, Joswiak declined to comment on the timing or whether the company would try to make USB-C iPhones an EU exclusive.
Given the company’s annual iPhone release schedule, it is likely that either the iPhone 15, due in September 2023 or its follow-up, due in September 2024, will be the first to include the connector. “The Europeans dictate the timing for European customers,” Joswiak added. As a result, consumers in Europe and around the world will suffer.”
The latest generation iPads and laptops presently contain USB Type C connectors.
