Apple Says iPhones Will Finally Get USB-C Ports
At long last, Apple says the iPhone will be getting USB-C ports. Earlier this month, the European Union passed legislation that requires all phones and tablets sold in the EU to use USB-C charging ports by 2024. It’s a move that has huge ramifications for a company like Apple, which sells iPhones with the same physical design in every region of the world. And all of those iPhones currently use Apple’s proprietary Lightning connector to charge and to connect accessories.
This week, Apple finally acknowledged that it will bring USB-C ports to the iPhone. Apple senior vice president of world marketing Greg Joswiak confirmed to Wall Street Journal reporter Joanna Stern that USB-C ports are coming. “Governments get to do what they’re gonna do,” Joswiak said at the WSJ Tech Live conference this week.“Obviously, we’ll have to comply. We have no choice.”
Clearly, Apple isn’t exactly happy about the ruling. This is a change the company has resisted for years. Apple’s overarching business ethos is to control every bit of its product line. It’s why the company switched from Intel chips to its own proprietary silicon and quadrupled down on its streaming service offerings. The goal is to keep customers under the Apple dome at all times. Having a proprietary charger on the iPhone was just another piece of that strategy. It meant iPhone users would have to get those charging cords straight from Apple, as opposed to taking that money to any other manufacturer of USB-C cords.
