Apple could be obtuse and wait until the iPhone 16, however I think that would be a huge mistake, if they do![]()
The European Union has set an official deadline for when all smartphones sold in its jurisdiction must have a USB-C port, including the iPhone.
![iPhone-15-to-Switch-From-Lightning-to-USB-C-in-2023-feature.jpg]()
The EU officially approved the common charger law in October, but a specific date for when the law would come into force was unknown. Now, in a newly published directive, the EU says all smartphones must have USB-C by December 28, 2024. Other consumer products, such as tablets and gadgets, will also be required to switch to USB-C under the new law. Products that rely solely on wireless charging with no port will not have to include USB-C.
Apple's vice president of worldwide marketing, Greg Joswiak "Joz," confirmed that Apple would have no choice but to adhere to the EU's new law. Joz didn't say when Apple would make the switch to USB-C and away from Lightning, but with the December 2024 deadline, Apple could wait until the iPhone 16 in September 2024 before transitioning to the newer port.
Reports suggest that Apple is planning to make the switch to USB-C earlier than the fall of 2024 with the iPhone 15 in September 2023. Other Apple products and accessories such as the AirPods and Mac keyboards, mouses, and trackpads are also expected to follow suit with USB-C shortly after.
Article Link: EU Sets Official Deadline For When iPhone Must Switch to USB-C
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EU Sets Official Deadline for When iPhone Must Switch to USB-C
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The British people are beginning to regret leaving the EU. Whether you agree with the EU or not, the brits were told a pack of lies to get them to vote the way they did.
Nor did he say that they would switch to USB-C. He just said they would comply. Which could be an iPhone that charges wirelessly only.
Yes. The Lightning port is a real joke now. USB 2.0 speeds (just a couple of iPad Pros are capable of USB 3.0 over Lightning) and the HDMI adapter contains a H.264 decompression chip because they can't pump native video over Lightning.
So in 2025 I am going to have to import my iPhone from the States. Okay.
The latest iPad has USB-C with USB 2.0 speeds. There is no reason why an iPhone with USB-C will have USB 3.0 speeds.
USB-C is only a connector, it doesn't require a certain transfer rate. You can make an USB-C USB 1.0 port and be spec compliant.
Wireless only is ********. Here's just one reason: Most people would not be able to use CarPlay anymore. And even those with wireless CarPlay might prefer the cable because wired is more stable and reliable than wireless transmission.
Not really.
Brexit and Ukraine have done wonders for its popularity.
well they made roaming go away ….. and quite a few other things better ….
But the iPad Pro has Thunderbolt, DP Alt Mode and USB 3. I'm hoping that Apple realises they will be ridiculed from here to the moon if they release an iPhone "Pro" in 2023 with a new connector but only USB 2 speeds.
You guess wrong as thunderbolt 4 uses the same connector, hence it’s perfectly acceptable.
The logic is, they get paid every time a third party lightning connector is sold, for me personally it's a none issue, although I can see how it might be an issue for some, mainly I suspect Android trolls.....from Apples point of view, it's not easy to write off $3 billion annually in pure profit, especially in the current economic climate 😏
I guess Apple can just leave the EU I suppose 🤷🏻♂️
Of course it is, it's not owned by any level of government! It's publicly traded, but that doesn't mean it's publicly owned.
Apple’s greed has (once again) screwed us all. Lightning is both mechanically superior and electrically-comparable to the Type C connector system. Apple foolishly decided to keep the connector system proprietary while participating in the USB Implementors Forum… they could have given Lightning to humanity, but instead chose to profit from a “walled garden” accessory ecosystem. It is as simple as that: greed.
I have dozens of 30-pin devices, dozens of Lightning devices, and now 3 Type C devices. The failure rate of the 30-pin system was greater than Lightning, by a noticeable margin. I personally have never had a Lightning port failure, only plug or cable failure (less expensive cable-side “repair”), and Lightning port failures I have seen on client devices have been overwhelmingly from physical misuse (dropping directly on a plugged-in device or carelessness), obstruction (pocket lint), or electrical damage (using damaged cables or cheap charger blocks), with legit port failure only a handful of times (and usually always covered under warranty). HOWEVER, of my three Type C devices, two have already had their Type C ports replaced under warranty; and I have seen similar failure rates over the past 5 years with client Apple “Pro” devices. It isn’t even close, Lightning is far superior to Type C in my experience. (Which makes sense, Lightning is a 1x mechanically simpler system.)
Thanks, Tim Apple, for your greed, and the greediness of the Exec team you’ve surrounded yourself with… you’ve made us all worse off. You obviously didn’t even listen to your own engineers, much less push their connector system out to humanity when you had the opportunity. Monumentally stupid. #NotMyApple
I have dozens of 30-pin devices, dozens of Lightning devices, and now 3 Type C devices. The failure rate of the 30-pin system was greater than Lightning, by a noticeable margin. I personally have never had a Lightning port failure, only plug or cable failure (less expensive cable-side “repair”), and Lightning port failures I have seen on client devices have been overwhelmingly from physical misuse (dropping directly on a plugged-in device or carelessness), obstruction (pocket lint), or electrical damage (using damaged cables or cheap charger blocks), with legit port failure only a handful of times (and usually always covered under warranty). HOWEVER, of my three Type C devices, two have already had their Type C ports replaced under warranty; and I have seen similar failure rates over the past 5 years with client Apple “Pro” devices. It isn’t even close, Lightning is far superior to Type C in my experience. (Which makes sense, Lightning is a 1x mechanically simpler system.)
Thanks, Tim Apple, for your greed, and the greediness of the Exec team you’ve surrounded yourself with… you’ve made us all worse off. You obviously didn’t even listen to your own engineers, much less push their connector system out to humanity when you had the opportunity. Monumentally stupid. #NotMyApple
Would they?
The iPad Pro has Thunderbolt, because the iPad Pro has an M1 or M2 chip. Which has support for thunderbolt.
A-class chips don't have support for thunderbolt, so that is not going to happen.
It might get USB 3.0 support on the iPhone Pro - but I wouldn't hold my breath here. Apple clearly sees wireless transfer above wired data transfer. Otherwise they would've already added USB 3.0 support to the iPhone. Which Lightning actually can (see gen 1 and 2 of the iPad pro)
Not to get technical but Usb-C is a hermaphrodite connection since it gets both inserted into and inserts into at the same time. 👀Next up a new inclusivity law to prevent the popular use of the term male/female connector
In my opinion the obstacle for development is the status of the smartphone itself. Apple and their competitors have been milking the smartphone for years now, desperately trying to get as many people as possible to upgrade annually.
However, this is getting more and more difficult because how much innovation can you put into the current design? The only few bits of true innovation left are having 120hz display across all line-ups without a notch or hole punch and camera under display, as well as getting rid of the camera bump. Once that has been achieved, all they would be able to do are annual chip updates for camera and phone. And who would then still want to upgrade annually
Of course they are trying to delay that as much as possible, with a few more or less innovative updates happening every 2-3 years. And in all the other years they re throwing sth like a new MacBook Pro with ProMotion or an Apple Watch Ultra on the market so people stop focussing their attention on how mediocre the iPhone update actually was.
In fact, from my perspective having USB-c or portliness design might even be one of the best innovations in a long time, and we might have the EU to thank for this.
However, this is getting more and more difficult because how much innovation can you put into the current design? The only few bits of true innovation left are having 120hz display across all line-ups without a notch or hole punch and camera under display, as well as getting rid of the camera bump. Once that has been achieved, all they would be able to do are annual chip updates for camera and phone. And who would then still want to upgrade annually
Of course they are trying to delay that as much as possible, with a few more or less innovative updates happening every 2-3 years. And in all the other years they re throwing sth like a new MacBook Pro with ProMotion or an Apple Watch Ultra on the market so people stop focussing their attention on how mediocre the iPhone update actually was.
In fact, from my perspective having USB-c or portliness design might even be one of the best innovations in a long time, and we might have the EU to thank for this.
Get ready for all the broken ports! Never had a single Lightning port fail but had both sides of my 2017 MBPs USBC ports replaced and those ports got far less use than my phone ports. USBC is no where near as physically robust a connector as Lightning. I guess AppleCare FTW!
Tell us you are a USB expert without telling you are a USB expert... 😅
Yes. Unpopular because a bunch of fat, useless politicians get to decide what kind of toilet paper we are allowed to use, or how many times a day we are allowed to sneeze.
Nobody's forcing you to buy an iPhone. If you don't like its Lightning port, then don't buy it. There's no need for politicians to force the manufacturers into making something you like. The market should decide this.
I live in the EU and, while I admit it's nice to be able to travel freely and to buy goods duty-free, I loathe the despicable way in which Brussels politicians intrude into all the little aspects of our lives.