Apple Exec Confirms USB-C for iPhone is Coming

Greg “Joz” Joswiak, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing, confirmed on Tuesday that the company will adopt USB-C on the iPhone to comply with new European Union (EU) rules mandating a common charger on all smartphones (and more) — reports Bloomberg.

Joz and Craig Federighi, the tech giant’s Senior Vice President of Software Engineering, sat down for an interview with The Wall Street Journal‘s Joanna Stern at the publication’s Tech Live conference in Laguna Beach, California.

Earlier this week, the European Council gave its final approval for the EU’s USB-C adoption law, which has been more than a year in the making. Come late 2024, all smartphones, tablets, headphones, earbuds, and other consumer electronics sold in the EU will need to have a USB-C port.

The Apple execs refused to say exactly when the company would drop its proprietary Lightning connector. However, most tipsters — including Bloomberg‘s own Mark Gurman — have pegged the massive change to roll out next year with the iPhone 15 lineup.

Apple has already ditched Lightning ports on Macs, iPads, and more, for USB-C, with the iPhone and AirPods remaining the only notable holdouts.

Gurman previously reported that Apple has been internally testing iPhones with USB-C ports for a 2023 launch. USB-C support for AirPods and Mac accessories, meanwhile, will follow by 2024, the insider previously said.

Among other things, Joz and Federighi also argued in favour of Apple’s return to the office during the conference, despite repeated employee pushback on the matter. Federighi said the iPhone maker is much more effective when everyone is back together.

P.S. - Like our news? Support the site with a coffee/beer. Or shop with our Amazon link. We use affiliate links when possible--thank you for supporting independent media.