Changes in EU legislation may force Apple to drop the Lightning connector

Apple may be forced to abandon the Lightning connector on future iPhones if new legislation proposed by the European Commission comes into force.

It is reported that the European Union wants to introduce a universal charging standard for smartphones to help consumers sort through the "zoo" of standards and reduce consumer electronics waste.

There has been no official confirmation yet, but a source says the EU executive is in the process of drafting legislation and it is expected to be introduced in September 2021.

This will mean that if Apple wants to sell its smartphones in Europe, it will have to adhere to this law and use charging technology similar to most Android phones. There is no guarantee that the EU will choose USB-C as the standard charging technology, but it has previously seen the technology as the norm for future smartphones as it is "widely available" on current Android smartphones.

The fact that the new legislation will be unveiled in September 2021 means that the new norms are unlikely to affect the iPhone 13. The model is expected to debut on September 14 along with the Apple Watch 7.

Editorial gg believes that the overall correct EU initiative looks a bit late: reducing the amount of "e-waste" is already strongly supported by most manufacturers, who have refused to bundle smartphones with chargers. And the ubiquity of wireless charging technology with some already incredible technical parameters may make charging ports simply irrelevant in a year.

Source: techradar