Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), the world’s most valuable company, has proven powerless against Brussel and will finally capitulate to the USB-C standard for all future iPhone releases.
While the rest of the civilised world has acknowledged the benefits of a one-cable-fits-all approach to device charging, Apple has gone with its bespoke Lightning port ever since 2012.
Lightning has been something of a unique selling point for Apple, with the added benefit of costing £19 for every inevitable replacement.
Apple cables and dongles are famously pricey – Credit: Apple
However, Lightning has been on borrowed time ever since the bloc’s common charger mandate was signed into law in October 2022.
Under the mandate, “all mobile phones, tablets and cameras sold in the EU will have to be equipped with a USB Type-C charging port”, with laptops following in 2026.
Research conducted in 2021 suggested that EU citizens spent up to €250 million a year on unnecessary charger purchases.
Apple was not cited in the research, at least not directly, with the directive stating: “Those manufacturers that have invested heavily in proprietary charging technology appear less keen, since the high charging performance of their bundled phones and EPS (external power supply) is an important part of their marketing strategy.”
There was little doubt that the tech titan would be most burdened by an enforceable charging mandate, hence the company has been highly outspoken on the topic.
"Strict regulation mandating just one type of connector stifles innovation rather than encouraging it, which in turn will harm consumers in Europe and around the world,” Apple said to the BBC back in 2021 when the mandate was announced.
Regardless, Apple has since conceded that it will need to comply with the new mandate.
“Obviously, we’ll have to comply,” Apple’s marketing chief Greg Joswiak puffed last year. “We have no choice.”
In fact, the iPad Air incorporated USB-C in 2020 followed by the 10th generation iPad in 2022.
However, the real money maker for replacement cable purchases is definitely in the iPhone space, a cash cow that is now coming to an end.
At long last, the torment of asking for an iPhone charger to black stares will soon be a grim remnant of the past.
Apple will officially unveil the iPhone 15 on September 12.
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