Apple will completely ditch the ancestral Lightning port on its iphones in favor of USB-C by the end of 2024,according to a directive passed by the European Parliament.That means iphones,AirPods,and more will all have a single port,and customers won’t have to buy extra Lightning cables. Apple’s Lightning era is over-Apple lost billions of dollars in profits by switching interfaces
EU industry chief Thierry Breton said it will also”allow new technologies such as wireless charging to emerge and to mature without letting innovation become a source of market fragmentation and consumer inconvenience”(UPDATE:In October the European Parliament has now approved the proposed legislation in a full vote,making it more certain that the Apple will have to replace the Lightning charger in Europe).While the news is undoubtedly good for consumers,the decision will also force Apple to decide the fate of its proprietary Lightning charging cable,which is still used exclusively for a handful of Apple products:most crucially,the iPhone.
Until now Apple had been allowed to ship its products with Lightning cables in Europe as long as it offered a USB-C adapter.It argued that banning the Lightning cables would actually create more waste because of the amount it’s already shipped,but the EU clearly thinks its calculations will work out in the longer term.
In early October,the legislation in the EU was formally adopted following a full vote of the European Parliament.The law was passed with an overwhelming majority,with 602 votes in favor,13 against,and 8 abstentions.Under the law,there are exemptions for products that are too small offer a USB-C port. IPhone was announced with the same 30-pin connector as iPod, so that it could take advantage of the ecosystem of accessories already available on the market. At first, this was never a problem for most users, especially since the iPhone was a niche. If you had an iPod, you were already quite familiar with that connector.
While users can benefit,it’s not good news for Apple.Some research shows that Apple earns more than 10 billion yuan from MFi(Made For iOS)certification fees every year,which is why Apple has been reluctant to give up the Lightning interface.
New leaks about the iPhone 15 confirm the news. Not only has the iPhone 15 been renamed,but the port at the bottom has been replaced with USB-C,which means Apple may have removed the charging cable from the package as well.
