The European Union recently passed a rule that requires phones, tablets, cameras, headphones and headsets, e-readers, keyboards, mice, mobile navigation systems, and portable game consoles and speakers to switch to standard USB Type-C chargers. At present, almost all Android phones come with USB Type-C chargers. However, Apple still uses its own lightning port to charge iPhones and AirPods. But this may change soon.
According to a report by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the next versions of the regular AirPods, AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max all move to USB-C, and that transition should be done by 2024. He goes on to say that the iPhone 15 may lock the USB Type-C charger in 2023. He also expects major Mac updates, including a new iMac and Mac Pro, to come with the USB Type-C charger next year. While the entry-level iPad may get a USB Type-C charger by the end of this year.
Apple pushed back on the shift to USB Type-C charger last year when it said that "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." Gurman says that he still believes that Apple's future is wireless and that some version of the canceled AirPower dream from 2017 will eventually come to fruition—well a decade from now.
Gurman says that the USB-C era will be far shorter-lived, especially for Apple. The iPod connector was around for about 11 years, and Lightning will have lasted roughly that same length of time on the iPhone, he adds.
At present, a user in the Apple ecosystem has to carry at least three separate charging cables. One needs to carry a lightning port cable for iPhone, a USB Type-C cable for iPad Pro and Macbook, and a separate MagSafe charger for Apple Watch. While a standard USB Type-C charger will be beneficial for Apple and its customers, it can't publicly agree with the EU because then it would seem that a government is guiding its product development plans and that would set a bad precedent, Gurman says.