Apple AirPods and other accessories should get a USB Type-C port by 2024: report

By 2024, Apple may be planning to implement the USB Type-C charging standard on a wide variety of its products, including upcoming AirPods models and a number of Mac-related peripherals. This may be in line with its intention to transition its iPhone and iPad product lines to the USB Type-C standard to comply with a recent directive issued by the European Union that requires the more widely adopted USB Type-C standard for smartphones, tablets and cameras from 2024.
This rumor was revealed in an article by author Mark Gurman in his beloved Power On weekly on Bloomberg. He claims in the newsletter that Apple has prepared for the possibility that the European Union may impose a single charging standard to increase interoperability and reduce environmental waste caused by the disposal of chargers.

Since 2024, every smartphone, tablet and camera sold in the European Union must include a USB Type-C charging connection, under a recently enacted law. Given that Apple now uses the Lightning standard for its iPhone and much of its iPad lineup, this should only have a substantial impact on Apple. The majority of Android devices currently adhere to the USB Type-C standard, making them compliant with future legislation.

This suggests that the iPhone series will sooner or later move away from the current Lightning charging method, as new Apple iPhone devices must have USB Type-C connections to be sold in Europe from 2024. Even though AirPods accessories and Apple’s Macs are exempt from EU regulations, the Power On newsletter speculates the company may have a plan in place to simultaneously transition them to the new standard.

The goal is to improve interoperability even within the Apple ecosystem; the same plug and charging cord will work with iPhone, iPad, AirPods and Mac accessories. Despite this, Apple has made it clear that it will strongly encourage wireless charging for all of its products in the future, with the possibility of eventually releasing an iPhone without a charging port.

The Lightning standard is used for electrical charging in many Apple products, including the iPhone line and newer AirPods variants like the AirPods Pro (2nd Generation). However, they also support Apple’s MagSafe technology for safe connection to wireless charger and Qi wireless charging.

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