Apple has "no choice" but to begin making iPhones with a USB-C port, rather than one to fit its Lightning cables, an official has confirmed. Greg Joswiak, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, tells the Wall Street Journal that "we'll have to comply" with new regulations in some countries requiring smartphones and other devices to have a USB Type-C charging cable, even if Apple believes they'll limit innovation. Earlier this month, the European Parliament approved a proposed law requiring USB-C chargers for most portable electronic devices sold in the 27 member states of the European Union by late 2024, and for laptops by early 2026, per USA Today.
Democratic Sens. Edward Markey, Elizabeth Warren, and Bernie Sanders have called for similar rules in the US, while Brazil's government is demanding Apple adopt USB-C chargers or face millions of dollars in fines, per Mashable. Though backers of the EU law say it will reduce electronic waste, "we think the approach would've been better environmentally, and better for our customers, for the governments to not be that prescriptive," Joswiak says. He adds that "the Europeans are dictating timing for European customers." Ben Wood, chief analyst at CCS Insight, told USA Today earlier this month that the iPhone 15, coming next year, will almost certainly have a USB-C port. (More Apple stories.)
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