Apple is planning to switch all the ports in its product line-up to USB-C by 2024, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.
In his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman said that although the company has publicly spoken out against strict regulation mandating the use of a single type of connector for electronics, it has been working behind the scenes to migrate all its remaining devices to USB-C.
Gurman said the iPhone 15 was already a lock-in to get USB-C in 2023, making it the company’s first smartphone to offer the connector.
The only iPad that still does not offer USB-C, the entry-level model, should also get the port by the end of 2022.
Apple then plans to transition the outstanding accessories that still use other Lightning connectors — AirPods, Magic Mouse, Magic Keyboard, and Magic Trackpad — by 2024.
This comes after the European Union passed regulations mandating that electronic devices use USB-C as the standard.
EU lawmakers recently signed off on the proposed law, which will take effect in 2024. It now awaits approval by the different members of the EU.
The planned iPhone SE 2024 model is expected to be launched before the deadline, and Gurman said it could still feature a Lightning connector.
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The law determines that new electronic devices such as phones, tablets, portable gaming consoles, speakers, cameras, earphones, keyboards, and computer mice must offer USB-C charging.
All laptops sold in the EU will also need to provide charging through USB-C ports by 2026.
Apple fans and prospective switchers have long called for the company to adopt USB-C on the iPhone, as Apple’s Lightning connector has stagnated in terms of charging and data transfer speeds.
Several Apple devices already offer USB-C charging, including MacBooks and most iPads.
Several hardware hackers have also shown it is possible to replace the Lightning connectors on various iPhones with USB-C.
There has been speculation that Apple could go completely portless on the iPhone before the law comes into effect.
However, such a move seems some time away, given that wireless charging technology still has significant shortcomings, including lower power efficiency and charging speeds.
Apple’s MagSafe wireless charging (not to be confused with the MagSafe 3 connector standard on new MacBook Pros) can only charge up to 15W — the same as the Qi standard available on most smartphones that support wireless charging.
Both of those are much slower than the wireless charging speeds offered by Chinese smartphone makers like Xiaomi and Oppo using their proprietary technology.
Nonetheless, Gurman expects Apple to eventually switch to wireless-only charging once it comes up with its own system to achieve satisfactory performance.
Source: My Broadband
