Apple is likely to transition all three of its AirPods models, its Magic Keyboard, and Magic Trackpad to USB-C by 2024, says Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.
Earlier this week, the European Parliament voted to require a standard charger across all smartphones, as well as a wide range of other consumer electronic devices by the end of 2024, including products from Apple. In his latest “Power On” newsletter, Gurman said that Apple has been preparing to make changes to its devices to meet these new legal requirements.
Apple products that currently feature a Lightning connector, that will have to adopt USB-C if newer models go on sale in 2025 or later to comply with the new law, include:
- iPhone
- Entry-level iPad
- AirPods Charging Case
- Accessories, including: MagSafe Battery Pack, Magic Keyboard, Magic Trackpad, EarPods, and Beats products
Gurman claims that Apple’s iPhone 15 will feature a USB-C port in the fall of 2023. The entry-level iPad, the only iPad to still feature a Lightning connector, should switch to USB-C by the end of this year.
Gurman also speculated that if Apple releases a new iPhone SE model in March 2024 with a Lightning port instead of a USB-C port, it will be in compliance with EU law since it would launch before the end of the year. However, any new iPhone SE model released in 2025 or 2026 would boast a USB-C connector.
Gurman noted that all AirPods models, as well as the Magic Mouse, Magic Keyboard, and Magic Trackpad, will make the switch when new versions are released.
Gurman also thinks the USB-C era will be shorter than the tenure of the 30-pin iPod connector or the Lightning connector, “at least for Apple’s mobile devices.” Gurman still believes that “Apple’s future is wireless and that some version of the canceled AirPower dream from 2017 will still eventually come to fruition – well before a decade from now.”
He added that “at some point in the next few years,” Apple will probably begin transitioning entirely to inductive charging on the iPhone and the iPad, which will largely exempt both devices from the EU law mandating the use of a USB-C port.
