A USB-C port on the iPhone 15, rather than a Lightning one, is “essentially a lock,” says Mark Gurman in his latest Power On newsletter.
It has been widely speculated that Apple will choose the iPhone 15 to make the switch, a year before it becomes mandatory for all smartphones sold in the European Union, but Gurman’s statement is the strongest we’ve seen yet. now…
background
Apple has always gone its own way when it comes to iPhone connectors, which has proven beneficial in the past. When the industry standard was microUSB, a one-way connector and port that was almost universally hated for being awkward to insert, Apple had the much better two-way Lightning port.
However, the dreaded microUSB port has been replaced by USB-C, which is as easy to use as a Lightning port. Apple was an early adopter of this port on MacBooks, and most of its iPads have swapped Lightning for USB-C. The iPhone’s Lightning connector is now an anomaly in the lineup. Many Apple owners would love to be able to use USB-C chargers and cables for all their devices.
Apple will also effectively be forced to switch to USB-C for its 2024 iPhone lineup, as that’s the year it will become a legal requirement for all smartphones sold in the 27 countries of the EU While it’s theoretically possible that Apple could switch to the USB-C port only on European iPhone models, that would be an unnecessary complication, and it seems much more likely that it will make the switch worldwide.
iPhone 15 USB-C port
The legal requirement would start with the iPhone 16 in 2024, but there have been repeated reports that Apple plans to make the switch a year earlier, with the iPhone 15.
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in May that supply chain research pointed to Apple switching from Lightning to USB-C in the second half of 2023. Bloomberg reported the same month that Apple was internally testing a design ‘iPhone with a USB-C. Port C, but only said 2023 would be the earliest the company would make the switch.
However, the paper’s Mark Gurman goes further in his latest Power On newsletter.
Apple has been preparing for this law. I think the company will even beat the expiration date with its most visible products. The iPhone 15 is essentially a lock to get USB-C in the fall of 2023, beating the mandate by a year.
There are other possibilities
While the new law is clear, it has a couple of workarounds. Apple could technically meet the requirement to allow iPhones to charge via USB-C by including a USB-Ca-Lightning adapter in the package, but that doesn’t seem likely.
Some have also suggested that the Cupertino company could take the 2024 deadline as the time to jump to a completely portless iPhone, which can only be charged wirelessly. This would again comply with the law as it only applies to devices that support wired charging. But while most consumers would probably be happy with wireless charging and data transfer, there are still professionals who use the iPhone within their workflows and want faster data transfer and upload possible
AirPods, Magic Mouse, Magic Keyboard, Magic Trackpad
As we noted, the requirement also applies to a wide range of other products, which for Apple would mean switching to USB-C charging for AirPods, Magic Mouse, Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad.
Gurman stresses that the law only applies to new devices, so Apple is free to continue selling all existing models with Lightning for as long as it wants. But as soon as it produces an updated model, the USB-C charging requirement kicks in. It is not known when Apple would choose to update its Mac input devices, so these could move to USB-C at a later date.
Rendering: iPhone Concepts
FTC: We use automatic affiliate links to earn income. Month.
Check out 9to5Mac on YouTube for more Apple news: