Apple Confirmed That the iPhone Will Switch to USB-C

After the European Union passed a law requiring all new electronic devices that use plugs for charging to support USB-C, all eyes turned to Apple and its lightning-powered iPhone. now we have our answer: Apple has confirmed that the iPhone will be switching to USB-C.

In an interview with Joanna Stern at The Wall Street Journal Tech Live, when asked about the future of USB-C on the iPhone, Greg Joswiak, Apple's senior vice president of global marketing was surprisingly candid: "Obviously, we have to comply; we have no choice."

However, it is clear that Apple is not happy with this move. Joswiak points out that the European Commission wanted to use micro-USB as a global standard over a decade ago and if it is implemented it will hinder the development of Lightning and USB-C. He argues that detachable cables solve the e-waste problem of power adapters and that mandating USB-C would hinder future charging innovation.

“We think the approach would have been better environmentally and better for our consumers to not have a government be that prescriptive.”

But switching to USB-C doesn't necessarily mean that transfer speeds are faster. Let me give you an example. The iPad 10, which was launched a few days ago, has replaced the USB-C connector, but its C and those of other iPads and Macs can only be described as identical in appearance, with significant internal differences.

According to The Verge, the data transfer speed of the USB-C port on iPad 10 is limited to the 480 Mbps that USB 2.0 can support, meaning that despite the USB-C port, the tenth generation iPad has the same data transfer speed as the ninth generation iPad with Lightning.

The same applies to the iPhone 15: even though regulations have forced a change to the USB-C port, the iPhone 15 standard version is just the same; only the iPhone 15 Pro series will have data transfer speeds of up to 40Gbps with the Thunderbolt 3 protocol.

There have been rumours that the iPhone will launch as a "portless" iPhone, with only MagSafe and wireless charging, but according to Joswiak's comments, this could be a few generations away. Once Apple launches the USB-C iPhone, it will probably continue to sell the older iPhone 13 and 14 Lightning phones, as the law only applies to new devices.

Apple has brought USB-C to the entire iPad range (except the older 9th generation models), Siri Remote and all mac computers. The main products retaining the Lightning port are iPhones, AirPods and Mac accessories, all of which are rumoured to be making the switch in the next year or two.

While the EU has given Apple two years to comply, there are strong rumours that Apple will not waste any time making the switch:The iPhone 15 is expected to drop Lightning in favour of USB-C when it launches in autumn 2023.