Apple has directly confirmed that iPhones will switch to USB-C ports from the Lightning that is currently featured on every iPhone since 2012. At The Wall Street Journal, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing Greg Joswiak said that the company must comply with new European Union laws.
Speaking at The Wall Street Journal‘s Tech Live event with Joanna Stern, Joswiak said that Apple has no choice but to comply with new EU laws: “Obviously, we’ll have to comply; we have no choice,” the senior executive stated. Joswiak made it clear that Apple is not satisfied with the EU’s actions regarding initiating bills forcing the company to adopt USB-C ports for all products.
Earlier this month, the European Union passed its proposal to force electronic manufacturers to adopt the USB-C port as the new standard for all devices, including Apple’s own iPhones and AirPods products. This followed the passing of the proposal in April by the European Parliament forcing Apple to switch from Lightning to USB-C.
Currently, the law states that “all mobile phones and tablets” will have to use USB-C by “autumn 2024.” Joswiak refused to answer whether Apple will feature the modern port on iPhones outside of EU territory as well as when will the move occur. The executive gave a long explanation of how Apple has always preferred to go its own way and trust its engineers rather than be forced to adopt hardware standards by politicians.
The company would rather create a port-less iPhone rather than replace the charging port now. However, rumors already cite the iPhone 15 as the first Apple smartphone to adopt the new port standard. In May, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo stated that Apple will adopt the USB-C on next year’s iPhones, the reason being transfer and charging speeds, although iOS software must depend on it.
