Europe plans to make USB-C port mandatory on iPhone, other devices

Apple uses the USB-C port on MacBook and iPad, but its iPhone still uses the Lightning connector.

The European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, has said that it will be mandatory for smartphone manufacturers and manufacturers of other electronics to include a USB-C charging port on their devices. This could be a major setback for Apple, which has been using its proprietary Lightning connector on the iPhone despite huge criticism. At the same time, it is not going to impact other brands as much, because nearly every Android phone today has a USB-C port. The motive behind this plan is to reduce electronic waste by giving people an option to re-use their existing chargers and cables for any phone, including the iPhone.

Apple uses the USB-C port on the MacBook and iPad, but its iPhone still uses the Lightning connector. There has been a huge criticism against Apple for not giving users a choice in how they want to charge their devices. But with the new rules in Europe, Apple is likely to be forced to change the charging mechanism of the iPhone. However, there is no immediate information available on what the iPhone maker will do.