One option would be to produce USB-C iPhone exclusively for sale in Europe. This legislation leaves Apple with a few options of various palatability to Apple. The charging speed is also harmonised for devices that support fast charging, allowing users to charge their devices at the same speed with any compatible charger. Laptops will also have to be adapted to the requirements by 40 months after the entry into force. Mobile phones, tablets, e-readers, earbuds, digital cameras, headphones and headsets, handheld videogame consoles and portable speakers that are rechargeable via a wired cable will have to be equipped with a USB Type-C port, regardless of their manufacturer. All devices up for sale in the European Union as of December 28th, 2024, will have to have a USB-C port if they have ports at all. The legislation has been working through European parliament for the better part of a few years, but now it’s finalized and has an explicit deadline. The move is partly a measure to curb the production of e-waste in the form of various proprietary chargers and partly a consumer-friendly bid to enforce a universal charging port. An amendment to the EU’s “ Radio Equipment Directive” will soon require all devices sold in Europe to include a USB-C charging port if they include a charging port at all. Whatever Apple’s ideal timeframe to phase out the Lightning port may have been, the European Union has now given the tech giant a hard deadline. But increasingly, the lion’s share of Apple’s products could charge just fine if Lightning were to suddenly disappear.Īnd the European Union is forcing Apple’s hand. To be sure, there are some outliers: the oddball AirPods Max (which also notably don’t support Apple Music’s Lossless tier), and some desktop accessories. With these two trends taken together, you can start to see a revealing pattern: almost every Lightning Port device Apple has made since 2020 supports wireless charging as well. While official “MagSafe” certification confers some benefits, like a higher rate of charge for supported Apple devices, MagSafe chargers are built on the widespread “Qi” charging standard - which is, effectively, the USB-C of wireless charging. In 2020, Apple announced its wireless MagSafe chargers for the iPhone (distinct from its old MagSafe chargers for the MacBook, and also its new MagSafe chargers for the MacBook). The second indicator is the growing support for wireless charging. As a result of this slow push, the number of devices which sport a Lightning port is smaller than ever, essentially relegated to the iPhone, AirPod cases, and the AirPods Max. And just a few months ago, the iPad Mini’s Lightning port also disappeared in a redesign.Īpple’s MacBooks, meanwhile, have never sported the port, sticking to a 3.5mm jack for audio transitioned its iPhone EarPods to Lightning for the iPhone. In 2020, the iPad Air lost its Lightning for a USB-C port as well. In 2018, however, the 3rd generation iPad Pro came with a snazzy USB-C port. When the iPad Pro was first launched in 2015, it unsurprisingly launched with a Lightning port, just like its contemporaries the iPad Air (Gen 2) and iPad Mini 4. The first is the steady advance of the USB-C port. If you’re looking for hints that Apple has been preparing to abandon the Lightning port, you will find no shortage of them. Apple has been laying the groundwork to abandon Lightning for years… The switch to USB-C, and the resulting death of the Lightning port, was ultimately made inevitable by legislation in the European Union, mandating that all cable-rechargeable devices sold in the EU from 2024 need to have a USB-C port.Īpple’s impending iPhone 15 switch will get the job done with time to spear. For months, the drip-feed of info that has come out from various industry insiders has basically universally suggested that the switch to USB-C is coming, including late-breaking leaks that purport to have almost the entire presentation in advance.īut that’s only part of the evidence. One indication is the wealth of rumors and leaks. Now, as the big iPhone event looms just days away, it looks virtually certain: the iPhone 15 will be the first iPhone to not use a proprietary Apple cable. For the past few years, a stubborn rumor has circulated ahead of the release of the newest iPhone: that this will be the one without a Lightning port.
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