Apple Inc. may be on the verge of ditching its proprietary Lightning port and switching to USB-C, at least according to esteemed Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
Kuo claimed today on Twitter that its latest survey indicates that in the second half of 2023, new iPhones will switch to the USB-C industry standard. Kuo noted that the USB-C port could improve iPhone transfer and charging speed in hardware designs, but the final specification details will depend on iOS support.
In a second tweetKuo wrote that he expects existing USB-C-bound vendors in Apple’s ecosystem to become the market’s target over the next couple of years, driven by large orders of iPhones and the adoption of USB-C port accessories.
Given the timing, USB-C would debut on the iPhone 15 lineup. MacRumors reported that it’s unclear if USB-C will appear on all iPhone 15s or just certain models.
Apple has reportedly considered switching to USB-C since 2019, but it hasn’t happened yet. The Steve Jobs-built company has stubbornly stuck to its Lightning port before, claiming that the Lightning port standard is superior to USB-C. However, he may not have a choice in the near future.
In September, the European Commission proposed legislation that would require all smartphone makers to add USB-C charging ports to their handsets. The EC argues that consumers have been frustrated by incompatible chargers and that the industry has had enough time to fix the situation on its own.
Apple said at the time that “we remain concerned that stringent regulation mandating a single type of connector is stifling innovation rather than encouraging it, which in turn will hurt consumers in Europe and globally. world”.
Transfer to April and the European Parliament’s Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee voted in favor of the proposed legislation. And the proposal is not limited to smartphones. It would also require tablets, digital cameras, headphones, headsets, portable video game consoles and portable speakers to use USB-C for charging. The only exception is for devices too small to have a USB-C port.
The proposed legislation is up for a vote in the plenary of the European Parliament this month. If approved, talks then begin with EU governments on the final form of the legislation. Exactly how long the remaining process will take is unclear, but it’s possible that USB-C will be the mandatory standard by the end of this year or early this year. At least in its current state, the law would give Apple about two years to adopt USB-C.
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