Apple has ‘no choice’ but to follow EU diktat on charging ports

Tech giant says decision will not help reduce electronic waste

Apple has “no choice” but to follow an EU diktat to change the charging ports on its upcoming iPhones, a company executive has admitted.

The European Union wants all portable electronic devices sold in the bloc to work with a standard USB type-C charger by 2024. 

Brussels believes this will cut electronic waste by 11,000 tonnes annually and save consumers £217 million a year. 

USB-C chargers are already common on rival Android smartphones. However, Apple uses a special kind of charging cable, which it calls its “lightning” technology, on its iPhones and headphones.

Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of marketing, said: “Obviously we’ll have to comply, we have no choice.”

He told a Wall Street Journal conference the decision will have the reverse effect of reducing e-waste as millions of current iPhone cables will gradually become useless.

"The approach would have been better environmentally and better for our customers to not have a government be that prescriptive,” he said. 

Apple has stopped selling new charging cables with its iPhones in order to cut down on packaging and waste.

The company has previously lobbied against the EU’s standard, arguing it will reduce innovation in electronic charging technology.

Mr Joswiak refused to say when Apple would begin to swap its iPhones to use USB-C cables: “The Europeans are the ones dictating timing for European customers.”. 

He also declined to comment on whether Apple will only change its charging technology for phones outside of the EU. Analysts have said Apple is ultimately expected to swap to using USB-C charging cables on all its future iPhones. 

The company has already moved its Macs, many iPads and accessories to USB-C from lightning and other connectors.

The UK Government signalled in June it would not force technology companies to follow similar rules.