USB-C ports will be mandatory in the European Union from October 2024

The European Parliament, made up of the 27 member countries of the European Unionapproved today, Tuesday, a resolution that establishes the USB-C port as the charging and data method for all mobile devices

the news agency Reuters highlighted that the resolution was approved by the overwhelming majority of members of parliament, and Although the change will also apply to laptops, manufacturers will have until 2026 to transition to a USB-C port for those machines..

The resolution, finally, could force Apple, Inc.one of the world’s largest cell phone and mobile device manufacturers, to abandon its proprietary Lightning port and adopt USB-C ports for its line of phones iPhone and AirPods (and AirPods Pro) headphones. The Cupertino, California-based company has already adopted the USB-C port on its MacBook laptops and iPad tablets (Pro and Air).

Other manufacturers, such as Samsung, OnePlus, Oppo and Google will not have the problem of switching to USB-C, since they have been using this technology in their respective devices for several years.

The legislation approved by the European Parliament, the first of its kind in the world, seeks to minimize the entry of electronic waste into the world’s landfills by adopting a single standard for the provision and transmission of data to mobile devices. The idea is that users need a single cable and a single wall adapter to charge their cell phones, headphones, computers and other gadgets.

Under the reform, all devices offered for sale after October 2024 must adopt the USB-C port as the standard for charging and data transmission. Devices with other connectors, and their respective chargers, will not be prohibited, explained legislator Alex Agius Saliba.

Apple, which held a 23 percent control of the European smartphone market in 2021 to date, is the only smartphone maker to refuse to transition the iPhone from its proprietary Lightning port to USB-C. iOS is currently the second most dominant operating system in Europe with 31 percent of the market, which is led by Android with 67.83 percent.

As a temporary or permanent solution, Apple could include Lightning to USB-C adapters in models for sale in Europe. iPhones already include support for the Qi wireless charging standard, and starting with iPhone 12, for its MagSafe wireless charging standard.

The reasons why Apple has resisted so long to adopt USB-C in iPhones are varied, despite being one of the companies that collaborated in the development of the USB-C standard. One of the main ones is the proprietary nature of the Lightning connector that is used to charge and to transfer data.

Introduced in 2012 as a replacement for the old 30 connector pins, the Lightning port was (and remains) an extremely compact, reversible (can be inserted in any orientation) and higher mechanical strength connector compared to Micro USB connectors. Being compact, this allowed Apple to use larger batteries in its devices, which continued to grow with the removal of the analog headphone jack years later.

However, as a proprietary port, Apple collects royalties and licensing fees through the MFi program (Made For iPhone). This program grants accessories developers access to all technologies, technical documents and components such as AirPlay, CarPlay, Find My and Lightning port protocols for charging and streaming audio.

Consequently, Apple sets minimum quality standards for accessories, charges for certification of products that meet its requirements, and relies on a steady stream of revenue from an ecosystem that collects billions of accessories such as chargers, headphones, cables, and adapters. among many other products.

Selling these cables is another profit generator, and if other manufacturers want to build Lightning cables, they have to pay for a license and adhere to Apple’s quality standards. The adoption of USB-C in iPhones would mean that all those devices would become obsolete and, the company has argued, would contribute to an e-waste problem.

For obvious reasons, adopting the USB-C port on the iPhone would kill, overnight, the control that Apple exercises over its device development and production chain, which is known as vertical integration. Apple generally controls virtually every aspect of its products: development is done at its headquarters in Cupertino, the processors used in its products are designed by the company and manufactured by companies they designate, technical support is provided by Apple. performed by Apple and repairs can only be done at its official stores.

Adopting USB-C in iPhones would also mean the end of that revenue stream through the MFi program.since the USB-C standard was created, and is maintained, by the USB Implementation Forum, a group of over 700 companies that has been developing the standard for decades and of which Apple is also a member.