Apple confirms the iPhone is getting USB-C, but isn’t happy about the reason why

Apple has given its most direct affirmation but {that a} USB-C-equipped iPhone is coming now that the European Union is mandating that every one telephones bought in its member nations use the connector if they’ve a bodily charger. When requested by The Wall Avenue Journal’s Joanna Stern if the corporate can be changing Lighting, Apple advertising and marketing lead Greg Joswiak answered by saying: “clearly we’ll should comply, now we have no selection.”

Stern introduced the legislation up throughout a chat with Joswiak and software program VP Craig Federighi on the WSJ’s Tech Stay convention, and adopted up by asking once we may anticipate to see USB-C on an iPhone. Joswiak replied by saying that “the Europeans are those dictating timing for European prospects.” At the moment, the legislation dictates that “all cell phones and tablets” should use USB-C by “autumn 2024.” Joswiak refused to reply whether or not the corporate would come with the connector on telephones bought exterior the EU.

However he made it abundantly clear that Apple isn’t pleased about being legally coerced into making the change. Earlier than acknowledging that the corporate should adjust to the legislation, Joswiak went into an extended clarification about how Apple has traditionally most popular to go its personal method and belief its engineers reasonably than be pressured into adopting {hardware} requirements by lawmakers. He cited examples round Micro USB and listening to help compliance as conditions the place Apple has been pushed to satisfy ill-considered necessities.

He additionally prompt that charging bricks with removable cables have largely solved the problem of standardization, and claimed that switching the iPhone to Lightning to USB-C would trigger a lot of e-waste. (Personally I don’t discover this argument compelling; I’ve to exchange most of my Lightning cables each few years anyhow, at across the similar cadence I purchase new telephones, as a result of they put on out or get chewed on by cats.)

Nonetheless, it’s telling what wasn’t talked about: a portless iPhone that depends solely on wi-fi charging, one thing that might theoretically be allowed. Joswiak didn’t say that the corporate was weighing its choices, or contemplating if there have been methods it may get round the necessity to put USB-C on the iPhone. As an alternative, we received a resigned, barely winding reply that result in what looks like an inevitable conclusion: USB-C is the long run port for connecting to and charging your iPhone.