The EU has set a deadline for switching to USB-C in smartphones — December 28, 2024
The final official deadline for new phones sold in the European Union — including future iPhones — to use USB-C for wired charging: December 28, 2024.
New USB-C legislation has been published in the EU’s Official Journal, making it formally binding. The rules will officially come into force in 20 days, and individual EU member states will have a maximum of 24 months to implement them.
The date is more or less in line with previous predictions, but until now it remained uncertain. When lawmakers initially agreed on the legislation in June 2022, it said it would take effect “in the fall of 2024,” but in October the definition was adjusted to “by the end of 2024.”
It is official ‼️#CommonCharger published in the 🇪🇺 Official Journal. The rules will enter into force before the end of the year & start to apply before the end of 2024! @alexagiussaliba @EP_SingleMarket
Reminder on what this means ➡️https://t.co/LjzLs56URf https://t.co/Rh8PHTG0KC
— IMCO Committee Press (@EP_SingleMarket) December 8, 2022
The legislation will cover not only smartphones, but also tablets, digital cameras, headphones and portable game consoles. Laptops are also due to switch to USB-C eventually — but not before April 2026. The rules only apply to devices with wired charging.
Apple, which uses proprietary Lightning, has previously publicly confirmed that it plans to comply with the new rules, but a company spokesperson made it clear that the company is unhappy with legal enforcement. Apple’s chief marketing officer, Greg Joswiak, said the company ‘will have to comply’ with the new rules and criticized them for ‘implications for e-waste and inconvenience for customers’.
