Apple will “comply” with European Union regulations requiring electronic devices to be equipped with USB-C charging, said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing. This will mean that Apple’s iPhones, which currently use its proprietary Lightning charging standard, will have to switch to support USB-C.
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Apple will have to comply with a European Union law that requires electronic devices to have a common charging standard, known as USB-C, the company’s marketing chief confirmed.
“Obviously we’re going to have to comply,” Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, told the Wall Street Journal Tech Live conference on Tuesday.
On Monday, ministers from EU member states gave final approval to the common charger law, which means that by 2024, electronic devices, including mobile phones and tablets, will have to support USB- c.
The European Council’s stamp of approval comes after other EU legislative bodies voted in favor of the law, which has been in the works for about 10 years.
Apple’s iPhone uses its proprietary Lightning charger. According to the upcoming EU law, the iPhone should support USB-C.
Joswiak didn’t say when Apple would introduce USB-C to its flagship smartphone, but it should happen in 2024.
Analysts previously told CNBC that iPhones expected to launch in 2023 could be equipped with USB-C charging, and that Apple is likely to introduce the standard globally, not just in the European Union.
EU lawmakers argue the rules will reduce waste as consumers don’t need to buy a new charger every time they buy a device. The EU said this will reduce the production and disposal of new chargers.
Joswiak took a swipe at the EU over the charges bill, admitting the two sides have been at “somewhat of a disagreement”.
“We think the approach would have been better environmentally and better for our customers if it didn’t have such a prescriptive government,” Joswiak said.