Apple has incorporated the USB-C universal charging port into its new range of iPhones presented on Tuesday, over a year ahead of the deadline set by a European law it has long fought.
“USB-C has become the universally accepted standard,” Kaiann Drance, a vice-president of the California-based group, acknowledged at its annual marketing event.
The universal port is not the type of technological innovation Apple likes to push, but a law from Brussels requires electronics manufacturers to fit all new smartphones, tablets and cameras with a USB-C port by the end of 2024.
And “now the same cable can charge your Mac, iPad, iPhone and even your second-generation AirPods pro (wireless headphones),” Kaiann Drance added. “If the battery on your AirPods is too low, or the battery on your Apple Watch is running out of juice, you can charge them directly using the same cable.”
Apple executives unveiled four new iPhones on Tuesday with, as they do every year, brighter screens, more sophisticated lenses and more advanced computing capabilities. The base model, the iPhone 15, will start at $800, the same price as the iPhone 14 introduced a year ago.
Wider integration of the USB-C port represents a small revolution for Apple’s ecosystem of products and services, which is difficult to integrate with other systems.
“The common charger is common sense, and it’s within reach,” European Commissioner Thierry Breton commented on Tuesday in a statement sent to French news agency AFP.
The measure is expected to save European consumers €250 million a year.
