Future iPhones might not have a cable socket to avoid the need for compliance with the new European law
(Picture: Apple)Apple may have to switch its iPhone series over to the USB-C connector by December 28, 2024, if it wants to sell its phones in Europe. New phones capable of cabled charging will have to use a USB-C port after that date.
The European Parliament made the ruling last October with a vote of 602 votes to 13, but the date for its enactment has only just been announced.
This suggests Apple will have to adopt USB-C by, at the latest, the iPhone 17 generation. The ruling applies to “new mobile devices in the EU market” and, assuming Apple sticks to its usual September release window for new iPhones, the iPhone 16 will already be out by the time the legislation comes into force.
While this rule does not apply to the UK, it could well nudge Apple into moving the iPhone series to a USB-C connection globally.
A port-free iPhone 17?
The one other route Apple could take, and a far more contentious one, is to remove cabled connections altogether and create a port-less iPhone that relies entirely on wireless charging and AirDrop file transfers.
The European Parliament’s website says phones that are “rechargeable via a wired cable, operating with a power delivery of up to 100 Watts, will have to be equipped with a USB Type-C port”, which does not preclude a cable-free design.
Apple’s own history with wireless charging is not an unmarked one. It announced its AirPower wireless charging mat in 2017, delayed it, and eventually cancelled the project in 2019 after stating it did not meet Apple’s internal standards.
Its flagship wireless charging tech did not emerge until 2020, with the iPhone 12’s MagSafe charger.
Proprietary power
The characteristic this tech shares with the iPhone 14’s Lightning port is the reason Apple is not keen to use a common standard: it is proprietary. This enables Apple to charge a licensing fee for every accessory made that plugs into an iPhone, and is why some cheap non-licensed Lightning accessories eventually stop working without being damaged.
Apple has already switched to USB-C in the latest iPad models, owing to the unavoidable technical limitations of the now very old Lightning port.
An iPhone 14’s cabled socket would take around four minutes to transfer the data used in a 2-hour 4K Netflix movie, where the iPad Pro 12.9 could theoretically do so in under three seconds.
Apple has claimed forced common standards will stifle innovation, but it currently lags behind the competition in key connectivity areas at present. The iPhone 14 Pro supports 20W charging, the OnePlus 10T 150W charging.
