Apple adding USB-C instead of Lightning to upcoming products – before going entirely wireless, report claims

European Parliament will force Apple to switch away from Lightning charger

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Apple is preparing to get rid of its Lightning port on all of its devices – before moving onto an even more significant change, according to a new report.

Last week, the European Parliament finally passed legislation that will force all technology companies to use a common charger – USB-C – in their devices. Almost all manufacturers have already switched to that technology, apart from Apple, which still uses its Lightning plug.

As such, Apple will be forced to adopt that same technology in any new devices made after 2024, if it is to sell them in Europe. That will affect its iPhones, iPads, and accessories such as the AirPods, all of which still use that Lightning connector.

Apple has already been preparing for that change, according to a new report from reliable Apple reporter Mark Gurman. The company is expecting to bring USB-C to the iPhone for 2023, he reported in Bloomberg, with the one remaining Lightning iPad also changing by the end of this year.

That would leave many of Apple’s accessories still to change. The AirPods – as well as Apple’s mouse, keyboard and trackpad – all still use Lightning for charging.

Apple does not necessarily need to make the change by 2024, since the ruling only applies to new devices. It tends to update its accessories less quickly than flagship devices such as the iPhone.

But Apple is nonetheless expected to make the change by the deadline, Mr Gurman reported. That is despite public pushback against the ruling, which he suggested was to ensure that lawmakers did not feel that it was easy to force Apple to make changes through laws.

The USB-C era may only last for a short while, however, compared with the 11-year rules of both the Lightning cable and the 30-pin port that came before it. That is because Apple will move towards a wireless future, Mr Gurman reported.

He suggested that Apple will move towards entirely inductive charging across the iPhone and iPad, “in the next few years”, so that they match the Apple Watch.

While European lawmakers have expressed an interest in wireless charging, and suggested they could introduce similar rules for that technology, they are yet to be announced.

Apple has already tried to introduce wireless charging products with AirPower, which it announced in 2017. But after delays and a lack of communication, it announced in 2019 that it was cancelling that product, apparently because it proved difficult to manufacture safely.