You’ll Never Hear ‘Do You Have an iPhone Cable?’ Again.

The iPhone 15 is here, with a significant charger revolution.

Apple has finally given in: the California giant has integrated the universal charging port known as ‘USB-C’ into its new iPhone lineup presented on Tuesday, a year ahead of being mandated by a European law it had long opposed. ‘USB-C has become the universally accepted standard,’ acknowledged Kaiann Drance, a vice president at the California-based company, during the annual marketing event held three months before the year-end holidays.

The universal port is not the kind of technological innovation that Apple typically highlights, but Brussels has mandated that manufacturers of electronic devices must equip all new smartphones, tablets, and cameras with a USB-C port by the end of 2024. ‘Now, the same cable can charge your Mac (computer), your iPad (tablet), your iPhone, and even your second-generation AirPods Pro (wireless earbuds),’ added Kaiann Drance. ‘If your AirPods’ battery is too low, or your Apple Watch battery is running out, you can charge them directly from your iPhone.

Apple’s leaders unveiled four new iPhones on Tuesday 12 September, as is the case every year, featuring brighter screens, more sophisticated lenses, and more advanced computer chips. The base model, the iPhone 15, will be available starting at $800, the same price as the iPhone 14 introduced a year ago. The most expensive professional model, the iPhone 15 Pro Max, will cost a minimum of $1,200, which is $100 more than its counterpart in the previous lineup.

“Common sense”

Widely incorporating the USB-C port represents a small revolution for Apple’s ecosystem of products and services, which has struggled to integrate with other systems, even though some of the company’s computers already had this port. Two years ago, when the European text was being discussed, the American company tried to oppose it by arguing that its ‘Lightning’ technology was already in use on more than a billion devices worldwide and that the new regulation would ‘stifle innovation’ and even ‘harm consumers’.

For the European Union, on the contrary, it’s about simplifying their lives and reducing the amount of electronic waste created as chargers become obsolete. ‘The common charger is a matter of common sense, and it’s within reach,’ praised European Commissioner Thierry Breton in a statement sent to AFP on Tuesday. The measure is expected to save European consumers 250 million euros annually.