All Apple AirPods and Mac accessories could feature USB-C by 2024
The iPhone 15 will also reportedly move to the charging standard.
Apple will more widely adopt USB-C across its product portfolio over the next few years, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. Writing in his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman says he expects the company to transition all of its wireless earbuds, including the recently refreshed AirPods Pro, to the charging standard by 2024. Additionally, Apple could refresh accessories like the Magic Mouse with USB-C – and a more intuitive design, one would hope – as early as next year.
The reported shift would put most of Apple’s products in compliance with the European Union’s upcoming USB-C mandate. Earlier this week, the European Parliament voted to make the port the common charging standard across the bloc. Once enacted, the legislation will make it so that any new phones, tablets and headphones released in the EU will need to feature USB-C for charging by the end of 2024. The mandate will extend to laptops in the spring of 2026.
In May, Gurman reported that Apple had begun testing USB-C iPhones ahead of the EU adopting the proposed legislation. At the time, he warned that if the company were to proceed with the change, “it wouldn’t occur until 2023 at the earliest.” He now says the iPhone 15 line “is essentially a lock” to receive USB-C next fall.
However, Apple’s switch to USB-C may be short-lived. Gurman expects the company to transition the iPhone and iPad “entirely” to inductive charging “at some point in the next few years.” He notes the company may see the technology as a way to get around the EU’s legislation since it doesn’t cover wireless charging.
Of course, if you’ve been following the Apple rumor mill for long enough, you’ll know that a portless iPhone is something the company has reportedly been thinking about ever since it removed the headphone jack from the iPhone 7 in 2016. Since then, however, Qi charging has created a few problems for Apple – including, most notably, the high-profile cancelation of AirPower in 2019.
