Faithful apple inc AAPL Customers now have the not-so-palatable option of relying on three different chargers if they choose to do so a whole range of Apple productsbut that could change soon, according to Bloomberg Markus Gurmann.
What happened: Apple’s iPhone and AirPods use Lightning, iPad Pro and MacBook use USB-C and Apple Watch uses MagSafe, remarked Gurman. The company recently introduced a second variant of MagSafe for charging its laptops, he added.
“But it’s a far cry from the clean, simple approach to technology that Apple takes,” the columnist said.
Apple was forced to simplify its charging strategy due to European Union pressure on device manufacturers to unify USB-C for reasons of interoperability and environmental benefits, Gurman said. After toying with it for the past five years, the EU signed into law last week requiring manufacturers of many devices to switch to USB-C for new products by the end of 2024.
Apple has been firmly opposed to regulation, arguing last year that strict regulation mandating only one type of plug is stifling innovation rather than encouraging it, which in turn will hurt consumers in Europe and around the world, Gurman said.
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Apple’s preparation: Apple has been preparing for the new law, and the company could even achieve a transition for its most visible products before the due date, Gurman said. The iPhone 15 is essentially a lock to get USB-C in fall 2023, beating the mandate by a year, he added.
The entry-level iPad, which doesn’t come with USB-C, will likely get the connector by the end of this year, the Apple author said. After that, only AirPods, Magic Mouse, Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad would need to be switched, he added.
With the law mandating the move to new devices, an Apple iPhone SE launching in March 2024 might not breach EU compliance….
