New iPhone, new charger: Apple bends to EU rules

Apple’s latest iPhone will almost certainly feature a USB-C charge point when it is unveiled on 12 September.

When it was introduced in September 2021, an Apple representative told BBC News: “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.”

Lightning to USB-C adaptors are already available from other electronics brands including Amazon, and all iPhones since the iPhone 8 which launched in 2017 have supported wireless charging.

As the current iPhone 14 now looks to be the last Apple device to exclusively use it, this could mark the beginning of the end of the Lightning cable – which retails on the Apple store for £19.

The changes are anticipated in the new iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro devices which are set to be unveiled next week at the firm’s annual autumn event.

Any of these charged using a wired cable will have to have a USB Type-C port, regardless of who makes the devices.

Laptops will also have to abide by the rules but manufacturers have longer to make the changes.