The EU could today announce it is pushing forward with long-discussed plans that will force Apple to ditch the Lightning Port on its iPhones. This unique socket has been part of the iPhone’s design for almost 10 years and changing it is sure to be hugely controversial. The reason behind the update is to introduce a single mobile charging port which will mean one single cable will refill multiple devices. The plans were first discussed by the European Commission (EC) – the legislative arm of the EU – over a decade ago but so far laws to compel this have failed to materialise. This could all be about to change today though, with Reuters reporting that lawmakers in Brussels are convening to discuss the plans that could see Apple drop the Lightning Port from its future iPhone line-up in favour of the USB-C cable.
Insiders have claimed the discussions between EU countries and lawmakers will be the second and final time the parties meet to discuss this, which is believed to be a strong indication of a desire to get a deal over the line.
Besides mobile devices, it is hoped the scope of the plan will be broadened to include laptops.
This could impact manufacturers such as Samsung and Huawei who in the past have not adopted USB-C connections for laptop charging.
Other topics on the table include wireless charging, with the EU wanting to decide on harmonising wireless charging tech.
While Apple was not available to comment to the Reuters report, the Cupertino tech giant had previously hit back at proposals to introduce one standard for mobile charging, saying it stifled innovation.
Speaking previously, an Apple spokesperson said: “We remain concerned 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.”
If Apple does end up having to drop the Lightning Port in favour of USB-C for future iPhones it won’t be the first time the tech giant has ditched cables users have long used.
The iPhone previously used a 30-pin connector which was dropped in favour of the Lightning Port when the iPhone 5 was first introduced in 2012.
Besides being used on the iPhone 5 all the way through to last year’s iPhone 13, the Lighting cable has also been used on 20 other gadgets across the iPad and iPod range.
This includes iPod Nano and iPod Touch devices as well as models in the iPad, iPad Mini and iPad Pro range.
The iPad Pro does now use USB-C instead of the Lightning Cable, with this switch happening back in 2018.