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Apple’s Lightning port gets execution date as EU counts down to common charger

In This Article

In This Article

Well, now it’s official. No new iPhone model packing Apple’sLightingport can be sold in the European Union after December 28 2024.

The EU has finally put a date on its new mandate which puts the final nail in the coffin of the charging and connectivity standard on the continent,The Vergereports.

While reports have suggested Apple will switch to USB-C as soon as next year’siPhone 15range, this almost guarantees Apple will drop its proprietary standard at this point.

It’s very unlikely Apple would seek to offer two different solutions, with USB-C inside the EU and Lighting outside of the EU in countries like the UK and USA. Especially given the company is slowly phasing out Lightning in other products like the iPad range. Apple has also been been reportedly keen on launching a completely port-free iPhone, which would rely solely on wireless charging.

The European Commission published this date today on its European Law website. Of course the ruling applies to all mobile devices and not just Apple. The difference is, the vast majority of Android manufacturers are already leveraging USB-C for charging purposes.

It is official ‼️#CommonChargerpublished 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_SingleMarketReminder on what this means ➡️https://t.co/LjzLs56URfhttps://t.co/Rh8PHTG0KC

The decision hasn’t been made just to spite Apple, but in the hopes of ensuring the standardised charging solution across the industry would dramatically cut down on electronic waste ending up in landfill.

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Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.

Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.

Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.

We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.