Update (8/12/2022) – HA
Even grudgingly, Apple has already said it will follow European Union guidelines to adopt USB-C ports on future devices. Despite having already defined the standard before, a directive recently published by the bloc defined that all consumer products of the American brand, from phones to tablets and gadgets, must already be adapted to work with these ports by December 28, 2024🇧🇷 Products that rely solely on portless wireless charging won’t need to include USB-C.
Apple’s vice president of worldwide marketing, Greg Joswiak, had already confirmed that Apple would have no choice but to adhere to the new law. With that new deadline, Apple could wait until the iPhone 16 in September 2024 before transitioning to USB-C.
Reports suggest that Apple is planning to switch to the standard earlier, as early as the iPhone 15 in September next year. Other Apple products and accessories such as AirPods and Mac keyboards, mice and trackpads are also expected to follow USB-C’s lead soon after.
Update (10/26/22) – JB
iPhone 15: Apple did not like the law, but should launch devices with USB-C, reveals executive
According to new information revealed this Wednesday, Apple is adapting its production chain to deliver all iPhone 15 line with USB-C port🇧🇷
Greg Joswiak, the company’s marketing leader, said that the change should happen because of the law passed by the European Union.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, he commented:
Obviously we will have to comply, we have no choice.
Joswiak also made it clear that Apple isn’t happy with being forced to use the USB-C standard, as “USB-C and Lightning would never have been invented if Apple had switched to microUSB.”
The executive also pointed out that this change should “generate a lot of electronic waste”, since old standard cables will probably be discarded.
Original text (10/10/22)
iPhone 15 should use USB-C port, but fast charging may disappoint
It’s now EU law and Apple will be forced to ditch Lightning in favor of a USB-C port on the iPhone lineup and even other devices. However, anyone who believes that the company will wait for the deadline to modify its devices is mistaken.
According to Mark Gurman, Apple is planning deliver the USB-C port on the iPhone 15 line and this information is confirmed by several people working in the company’s supply chain.
The four models in the iPhone 15 lineup are expected to come out of the box with the new connector in 2023, even though Apple could wait until 2024 to implement the change.
The law is also expected to prompt Apple to start shipping USB-C to USB-A cable in the box of its devices. Thus, consumers with old chargers would not need to buy a new accessory.
The change, although welcome, brings a small disappointment for those who are fans of fast charging. That’s because, despite using USB-C, which already offers up to 200W of charging on Android, Apple will not increase the rates on its devices.
That is, we will not have charging above 30W. Furthermore, to make matters worse, Apple must follow regulations when it comes to the next iPhone SE, making the device still have lightning port in 2024🇧🇷
Finally, Gurman says that Apple sees this forced adoption of USB-C as a transition, since the company has not given up on completely eliminating wired charging from its devices.
For the analyst, the change should start to be introduced from the iPhone 16, and most likely only the most expensive models should adopt the novelty at launch.
As Apple does not comment on the subject, we point out that everything remains in the field of rumors.