Apple Could Beat EU Mandate With A USB-C iPhone 15; Completely Wireless iPhone, iPad Still in Development
Apple is apparently planning to launch the iPhone 15 and the entry-level iPad with a USB Type-C port. Cupertino could also release a new iMac and a Mac Pro next year as well. Only a few days ago, the European Union signed off on a regulation that would make a USB-C charging port mandatory on devices including tablets, smartphones, speakers, handheld gaming consoles, etc. This change will take two years to come into effect for the above-mentioned devices and a similar mandate for laptops will come into effect in 2026.
Behind the scenes, Apple has been preparing for a similar scenario. It has shifted a number of its devices, including several iPads and MacBooks to USB-C. Apart from these devices, the iPhone uses a lighting cable, the new MacBook makes use of the second-gen MagSafe charger and the Apple Watch uses the original MagSafe for charging. However, soon, only a Type-C cable would suffice for all these devices.
According to the latest Power On Newsletter from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple wholly plans to follow the EU mandate and include a Type-C on its future iPhone. However, Apple still promotes its ‘lightning’ port, despite its slow USB Type-A data transfer speed, in public. Mainly because Apple doesn’t want the public to dictate its future actions as it’d set a bad precedence. In reality, Apple could introduce a USB-C iPhone 15 before 2023 and an entry-level iPad with USB Type-C before the end of this year, as per Gurman.
USB-C iPhone and iPad could also become completely wireless
In addition to the USB-C iPhone and the iPad, Gurman also expects Apple to release a new iMac and Mac Pro next year. The latter would finally complete the Apple computer lineup and fill up the space between the current 24-inch iMac and the Mac Studio, at least in terms of performance. Additionally, the Apple Watch is exempt from the new EU law, so wireless MagSafe is safe for the future.
Speaking of wireless, Gurman also suggested that Apple could also be working on some form of the canceled AirPower wireless charger. He also suggests a very safe release window of sometime in the next decade for the wireless charger, but probably sooner than that. Gurman also thinks that Apple will start transitioning iPhones and iPads towards inductive charging only, like the Apple Watch, in the future.
Apple held out on including a USB-C port on the iPhone for many years because it wanted to say that adding the port was its idea and not a government mandate. For a company that claims it cares deeply for the environment and plans to go carbon neutral by 2030, the optics of this decision, if true, look really bad. Regardless, the upcoming iPhone 15 looks on track to be the ‘best iPhone ever,’ for real this time, provided Gurman’s prediction comes to fruition.
