According to the European Union’s final deadline, all new phones sold in the region, including future iPhones, will have to use USB-C for wired charging by December 28, 2024, The Verge is reporting.
The EU’s new USB-C legislation, which has just been published in the bloc’s Official Journal, the rules will officially enter into force in 20 days’ time. After that, individual EU member states will then have a maximum of 24 months to apply them as national law.
“[Member States] shall apply those measures from 28 December 2024 for the categories or classes of radio equipment referred to in Part I, points 1.1 to 1.12 of Annex Ia, and from 28 April 2026 for the categories or classes of radio equipment referred to in Part I, point 1.13 of Annex Ia.”
In addition to smartphones, the legislation will also apply to devices including tablets, digital cameras, headphones, and handheld video game consoles.
It is official ‼️#CommonCharger published in the 🇪🇺 Official Journal. The rules will enter into force before the end of the year & start to apply before the end of 2024! @alexagiussaliba @EP_SingleMarket
Reminder on what this means ➡️https://t.co/LjzLs56URf https://t.co/Rh8PHTG0KC
— IMCO Committee Press (@EP_SingleMarket)
According to the legislation, laptops will all be covered but not until April 2026. Moreover, the rules only apply to devices that offer wired charging, meaning those that only charge wirelessly would not be forced to use USB-C.\
Apple, which is the largest phone manufacturer to have not already adopted USB-C, has publicly confirmed that it plans to comply with the new rules.
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has recently claimed that next year’s iPhone 15 Pro / iPhone 15 Pro Max devices will feature a USB-C port with support for Thunderbolt 3 or USB 3.2.
iPad Pro models with the M1 chip and newer support Thunderbolt 3 for bandwidth of up to 40 Gbps.
Fifth-generation iPad Air is capable of 10 Gbps, and the fourth-generation iPad Air and the latest iPad mini are capable of up to 5 Gbps.
With the EU giving its final approval for the common charger mandate, a transition to USB-C on iPhones next year makes so much sense that Apple may as well come out and announce it already.
Apple has been testing iPhones with USB-C ports internally for months now. Earlier reports also pegged the first USB-C iPhone to launch as early as next year.
