Confirmed: the iPhone 15 will have to have USB-C, as will new entry-level iPads
EU confirms all phones and tablets must switch to USB-C by autumn 2024
We’ve expected it for a while and known it would probably be the case since June. Now we know that Apple will have to move to USB-C on 2023’s iPhone 15 and any new entry-level iPads to bring it in line with Android phones that already use the standard – not to mention higher-end iPads and Macs.
Now the decision has been ratified and that means that new phones and tablets will have to comply by 2024, with laptop manufacturers needing to follow by 2026.
It’s probable that the UK Government won’t bother to introduce a similar measure, but Apple is hardly likely to make UK-specific devices, so a move to a universal standard seems inevitable and we welcome it – it’s one of the things we said we wanted to see in iPhone 15. Because it’s an EU ruling, it will almost certainly apply to Northern Ireland as a result of the post-Brexit arrangements.
Moving to USB-C is long-overdue on the iPhone, though the threat of a portless iPhone is still possible; MagSafe would have to get a lot faster than the current 15W to make that a practical possibility though.
“This is a victory for common sense” says CCS Insight chief analyst Ben Wood. “Although Apple has a huge installed base of lighting cable powered devices, the ubiquity of USB-C across all consumer electronics products means that harmonising on USB-C makes perfect sense.”
“Irrespective of whether the UK government mandates the move to USB-C or not, UK consumers will get the technology by default. It will make no sense for consumer electronics manufacturers to offer devices with anything else.”
Dan Grabham
Editor-in-Chief