First it was the MacBook in 2015. Then it was the iPad in 2018. Now, in 2023, the iPhone has finally caught up and ditched Apple's exclusive Lightning port for USB-C.
During the annual event in September, the Cupertino, California-based company announced the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro along with updates to its Apple Watch devices. Apart from offering upgraded processors, new cameras and refreshed designs, one of the standout features of the new phones was the inclusion of USB-C charging ports.
The company is widely believed to have made the move in response legislation passed in the European Union last year required all mobile phones, tablets and cameras to have USB-C charging ports by 2024. Android phones and Windows-based laptops have relied on USB-C charging for years, and the iPhone was one of the last important devices that don't use the port until this week.
Northeastern professor of computer science and law Elettra Bietti said the new USB-C iPhones are a win for consumers. He sees the EU directive as part of a broader push for more standardization among consumer tech products and for greater transparency on the part of companies such as Google, Apple and Microsoft.
“I see it going hand in hand with other efforts in Europe, such as Digital Markets Actwhich are trying to make the tech industry more interoperable and unlock different pieces of the tech ecosystem and pipeline to make consumers more empowered to move between different vendors,” he says.
The goal of the USB-C legislation is twofold. With a universal port on their devices, customers will no longer need to purchase a range of different chargers. In addition, the hope is that there will be a reduction in e-waste, as customers will have to buy fewer chargers as a result.
“We all have at least three mobile chargers at home. Searching for the right charger, whether at home or at work, can be quite a hassle,” said Jozef Síkela, Minister of Industry and Trade for the Czech Republic. he said in a statement. “Furthermore, these chargers amount to 11,000 tons of e-waste every year. Having one charger that fits multiple devices will save money and time and also help us reduce e-waste.”
These efforts are not exclusive to Europe. Bietti notes that California has an account going through the legislative process that would require devices like laptops and phones to charge with USB-C by 2026.
That said, he says Europe, recently, has been at the forefront of regulating the tech industry.
“A key reason is that the European Commission and the European institutions in general are less tied to the whims of particular governments and particular factions in member state parliaments,” he says. “A lot of the EU's agenda is very policy-driven. It is based on cross-party compromises that have to do with the regulation of certain sectors of industry and strategic sectors and much less on disputes that are very local and based on local politics.”
There are certainly bills in the United States moving through the legislative process aimed at restricting and regulating big tech. Bietti points out that American Innovation and Choice Online Act and the Open App Markets Act;. The point is, they don't get the support they need.
“These bills that aim to separate certain intermediary functions on the Internet, create transparency or interoperability, or allow bills to opt-in or opt-out do not receive sufficient approval in Congress and are not passed at the federal level,” says Bietti. .
Still, some work is being done at the state level, Bietti says. Just look at California's USB-C bill.
So it's generally agreed that the iPhone going USB-C was the right move, but what are people supposed to do with all their Lightning cables that will soon be obsolete? Won't getting rid of them cause e-waste?
Bietti says there will be growing pains as consumers make the transition. But those cables would eventually become waste anyway when they stop working or when people upgrade their devices.
“There was waste in the past without standardization,” he says. “Standardization just leads to making some devices obsolete, which would be obsolete anyway because people change their devices on a regular basis.”
Cesareo Contreras is a reporter for Northeastern Global News. Email him at c.contreras@northeastern.edu. Follow him Twitter @cesareo_r.
