Apple AirPods, Mac Accessories May Have USB-C by 2024

Apple's Lightning port and cable will soon be a thing of the past.

The Cupertino-based tech giant is reportedly set to make the transition from using its original Lightning port and cable to USB-C by 2023 and 2024, per Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

Apple's switch may be motivated by the European Commission's decision to have all phones, tablets, and camera use only one type of charging port to reduce electronic waste, per The Guardian.

Apple USB-C Switch Details

Gurman mentioned in his report that he expects Apple to have USB-C ports on all its Mac accessories and wireless earbuds as early as 2023 and 2024, respectively. The company's newly released wireless earbuds, the AirPods Pro 2, will also sport a USB-C port and cable come 2024.

Meanwhile, Apple's upcoming iPhone line, the iPhone 15, will feature a USB-C port rather than Apple's Lightning port at its release.

However, Apple's charging port switch isn't caused by the European Commission's decision at all. Forbes mentioned in its article that the Commission said that only devices released after 2024 are required to feature USB-C charging ports by default.

This requirement means that Apple can still choose to install its Lightning ports to its devices until 2024.

USB-C vs. Lightning Port - What's The Difference?

Apple's switch from Lightning to USB-C ports is a much-awaited event for Apple customers. Lifewire mentioned in its report that USB-C ports are better than their Lightning counterpart in every way due to wider compatibility, as well as faster data transfer and charging rates.

USB-C ports were found to be capable of facilitating transfer speeds of up to 40Gbps while Apple's Lightning port can only do 480Mbps.

Similarly, USB-C ports have native power support for 100W/3A and up to 240W/5A, making charging devices with this port faster, per Make Use Of. Whereas in Lightning's case, it has native support for 12W/2.4A - a slower charging rate than its counterpart.

USB-C ports are also found to be more durable than Lightning, though the latter offers a more stable physical connection than the former.

Apple's Last Laugh

However, it seems that Apple is turning to a more futuristic way of charging to solve the problem made by the European Commission's decision.

Although the company has installed USB-C ports on some of its devices, such as its 12-inch Macbook in 2015 and 12-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models in 2018, the port's adoption rate was found to be slow.

This pace may be due to Apple's wish to make the transition from using ports to charge its devices and accessories to wireless charging, as The Verge points out.

As such, Gurman believes that the USB-C's time with Apple will only be short, making the company exempt from the Commission's new law, per MacRumors.

Another reason why Apple could still be hesitant to install USB-C ports to its devices is that it still wants to keep the company's Made for iPhone program running and partly for better waterproofing of its devices, per Screenrant.