It's official: 2025 iPhone must include USB-C in place of the Lightning port

It’s official: 2025 iPhone must include USB-C in place of the Lightning port

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Time is running out for the Lightning connector.
Image: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The European Parliament picked December 28, 2024 as date after which iPhone and all other handsets sold in the EU must have a USB-C port. That means the iPhone 17 in 2025 will definitely not include a Lightning port.

But unconfirmed reports say Apple will make the change earlier than that.

Not a good time to stock up on iPhone Lightning cables

USB-C is already nearly universal in handsets, especially mid-range and high-end ones. But Apple has stubbornly stuck with its proprietary Lightning connector.

Then, in October, the European Parliament passed a law that makes USB-C the standard charging port across a wide range of consumer electronics. Apple says it won’t try to fight the regulation.

On Thursday, the official date was announced for when device makers must implement this change. Companies can continue to sell already released products after December 28, 2024 but they can’t introduce new ones. That means an iPhone 16 in 2024 can have a Lightning port, but nothing after that.

But it might not take that long. Reliable tipsters report that the iPhone 15 coming in 2023 will be the first with USB-C. Once iPhone stops using Lightning, accessories like AirPods will make the change, too.

There are benefits for users. Lightning was once the superior option, but that hasn’t been true since 2014. USB-C is faster and much more widely used. Plus, Apple fans will be able to share charging/data cables between iPhone and Mac.

Apple has clearly seen the writing on the wall and is already slowly phasing out Lightning. iPad once used the connector but with the new iPad 10 including USB-C, now only one iPadOS tablet has a Lightning port.