Apple Says It Will Comply With EU USB-C Mandate For New iPhones And More

Apple will indeed put USB-C on a future iPhone as it works to comply with a new EU mandate that will require all phones use a common charger from 2024.

The news comes as Apple VP of marketing Greg Joswiak was speaking as part of the Wall Street Journal’s Tech Live event yesterday.

Joswiak was asked about the new requirement to use USB-C, meaning the death of Lightning. While Joswiak didn’t go so far as to say when Apple would move to USB-C, he did say that the company will “have to comply” with the EU’s requirements.

However, this is of little surprise. If Apple intends to sell iPhones in the EU from 2024 it doesn’t have a choice here, meaning USB-C was always going to be part of the iPhone eventually. We’re still left with questions, however.

Joswiak hasn’t said when the change will happen although Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has already pointed squarely at next year’s iPhone 15. He’s already reported that Apple is testing an iPhone 15 with USB-C.

We also haven’t yet had confirmation that USB-C will be used worldwide. While it seems unlikely that Apple would ship a USB-C iPhone in EU countries and Lightning in another, it isn’t beyond the realms of possibility.

Apple already ships an eSIM version of the iPhone 14 lineup in the United States alone, shipping models with physical SIM card trays everywhere else.

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