As you know, Apple will have to comply like all its competitors with the new European regulations which force all tech manufacturers to offer only universal ports in their products. A painful change, since Apple still uses its proprietary Lightning connector a lot – through which it receives significant royalties for each sale of cable and compatible device (even third party).
We already know that the first “USB-C iPhone” will probably be the iPhone 15, which should be released in the second half of 2023. But in its latest newsletter Power Up the very informed Mark Gurman (Bloomberg) now claims that Apple is on time to switch to USB type C the next generation of AirPods, but also many accessories for Mac.
Apple expected to complete transition to USB-C ports just in time for new rules in Europe
We thus expect to see a variant of the Magic Mouse, the Magic Keyboard or the Magic Trackpad arrive with a USB type C port instead of the Lightning connector. And apparently the new port isn’t the only reason to look forward to these products. Since they could also be subject to a redesign.
We hope in passing that Apple will finally change the location of the port on the Magic Mouse, desperately below the device – which prevents us from using the mouse for the moment during charging. The journalist also reports that the latest iPad Lightning, in particular the entry-level model, should switch to USB-C during their next refresh, which should take place by the end of 2022.
The Lightning port may still remain in products like the iPhone SE until their next iteration. The new regulatory obligations in Europe only apply to new products launched after the entry into force of the text in 2024. Mark Gurman also believes that these ports will not remain in the lineup indefinitely.
The journalist recalls the hopes that Apple seemed to place in AirPower technology, an advanced charging mat capable of exchanging data and recharging up to three devices simultaneously – iPhone, AirPods… and Apple Watch included. The problem is that the initial prototypes stumbled on a heat dissipation problem that seemed so insurmountable at the time that Apple preferred to cancel the release of the charging mat.
It seems, however, that the Apple R&D teams never really stopped working on the project, and that the firm will eventually reintroduce the technology, or a similar accessory. Probably in concert with early iPhones, iPads, AirPods and other accessories that lacked ports altogether.
