Apple is pulling the iPhone SE 3, the iPhone 14, and the iPhone 14 Plus from sale across the European Union (EU) to comply with the market’s USB-C charging mandate.
Admitting defeat, the company has now delisted its Lightning-equipped phones from its online stores in many EU member states, including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden. Others are following suit as we speak.
Earlier, Apple halted sales of those devices in countries that aren’t technically part of the EU but participate in the EU market, like Switzerland and Northern Ireland, excluding the United Kingdom which left the EU in 2020. Retailers are permitted to continue selling the iPhone SE 3, iPhone 14, and iPhone 14 Plus past the EU’s cutoff date until inventories are depleted.
The iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 lineups remain available to purchase across the EU, as those pohnes come equipped with USB-C ports for charging and data transfer.
Starting December 28, 2024, most consumer electronics (whether old or new) sold within the 27 EU member states must utilize the standardized USB-C charging port. The only exception to the rule are devices introduced to the EU market before December 28. Such products may be sold until supplies last, but retailers and third-party shops won’t be allowed to purchase any more units after December 28.
EU lawmakers have imposed a common charging solution to reduce electronic waste and make people’s lives easier. Apple has transitioned most of its devices to USB-C charging, but not all of them. The iPhone SE 3, iPhone 14, and iPhone 14 Plus are its final smartphones equipped with the proprietary Lightning port for charging and data, so Apple has decided to pull them from the EU market and lose a few months’ worth of sales.
That’s a bummer for people in the EU who don’t need the latest and greatest iPhone, but not for long—this spring, Apple is expected to unveil the next iPhone SE with USB-C. And after the iPhone 17 lineup is released in the fall, the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus will be supplanted by the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus models that have USB-C ports.
Directive 2022/2380, also known as the common charging solution, concerns all devices the EU defined as “radio equipment.” The definition includes mobile phones, tablets, cameras, earbuds, headphones, headsets, handheld consoles, portable speakers, electronic readers, keyboards, mice, and portable navigation systems that are “rechargeable with a wired cable and can operate with a power delivery of up to 100 watts.”
Starting April 28, the law will extend to laptops, which will also be required to use a USB Type-C charging port. Strangely enough, drones are excluded from the directive, although the European Commission can update the list of devices as times change. The law also doesn’t cover wireless charging. Computers like MacBook laptops that use both USB-C charging and Apple’s proprietary MagSafe solution are in the clear.
The charging mandate could solve market fragmentation and turn the dream of using a single charging solution for all electronic devices into a reality. It also deals with other things.
For example, there’s improved labeling to help shoppers make more informed purchasing decisions. It also requires the unbundling of charging bricks from retail devices and regulates features such as fast charging via the USB Power Delivery (USB-PD) protocol with “voltages higher than 5 volts, currents higher than 3 amperes, or powers higher than 15 watts.”
All smartphones sold by Apple, Google, Samsung, and other manufacturers are compatible with the USB-PD protocol. However, handsets like OnePlus and OPPO that incorporate non-standard solutions will need to adopt USB-PD to sell in the EU market.
Source: MacRumors
