iPhone Without USB Type-C Port May Become Reality as EU Reportedly Gives Green Light to Apple

Apple reportedly planned to make the iPhone 17 Air its first completely port-free iPhone.

Written by Nithya P Nair, Edited by Siddharth Suvarna | Updated: 19 March 2025 20:05 IST

iPhone Without USB Type-C Port May Become Reality as EU Reportedly Gives Green Light to Apple

Apple's iPhone 14 and older models feature its proprietary lightning port

Highlights

Apple reportedly considered launching iPhone 17 Air without any ports
The plan was reportedly dropped to avoid problems with EU regulations
Apple had used its proprietary Lightning port for over a decade

Earlier this week, we learned that Apple had originally planned to make the upcoming iPhone 17 Air its first portless phone with wireless charging support and cloud data syncing. The brand, however, reportedly backed off the idea considering potential concerns from European Union regulators. The EU had pushed the iPhone maker to change the charging ports of its smartphones from the lightning connector to USB Type-C. Now, a new report suggests that dropping the USB Type-C port for a completely portless phone would be legal.

As per a report by 9to5Mac, dropping the USB Type-C port for a completely portless phone would be compliant with the EU law. The publication quoting Federica Miccoli, European Commission press officer, states that portless phones are permitted.

EU, in its Common Charger Directive, mentioned this as an answer to this question — Can radio equipment that can only be recharged via wireless charging be made available on the market without incorporating the harmonised charging solution?

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"Yes, since, such radio equipment cannot be recharged via wired charging, it does not need to incorporate the harmonised (wired) charging solution"

The law reportedly lets the EU take action in favour of wireless charging standards, as opposed to proprietary ones.

"Regarding wireless charging, the Commission will promote the harmonisation of wireless charging in order to avoid future fragmentation of the internal market and any negative effects on consumer and the environment. The Commission will monitor the evolution of all types of wireless charging technologies (not only inductive), particularly market developments, market penetration, market fragmentation, technological performance, interoperability, energy efficiency and charging performance".

As stated in recital 13 of the Common Charger Directive, "the Commission should take action towards promoting and harmonising such solutions to avoid future fragmentation of the internal market".

Mark Gurman had claimed recently that Apple initially planned to make the iPhone 17 Air "Apple's first completely port-free iPhone". Apple reportedly decided not to go this route to avoid potential consequences from EU regulators.

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EU's USB Type-C Mandate

EU in recent years mandated that all mobile phones and other electronic gadgets sold in the EU must be equipped with a USB Type-C charging port by the end of 2024. The regulation had significant implications for firms including Apple who had used its proprietary Lightning port for over a decade. Apple switched to USB Type-C ports with the iPhone 15 series in 2023.

Apple iPhone 16e

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Display 6.10-inch

Processor Apple A18

Front Camera 12-megapixel

Rear Camera 48-megapixel

RAM 8GB

Storage 128GB, 256GB, 512GB

OS iOS 18

Resolution 1170x2532 pixels

More Apple mobiles Apple mobiles price in India

iPhone 16

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Display 6.10-inch

Processor Apple A18

Front Camera 12-megapixel

Rear Camera 48-megapixel + 12-megapixel

RAM 8GB

Storage 128GB, 256GB, 512GB

OS iOS 18

Resolution 1179x2556 pixels

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iPhone 15

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Big upgrades over the 14
Excellent ergonomics, build quality
Very good all-round performance
Apple ecosystem benefits

Bad
Relatively slow charging
Expensive
Still a 60Hz display

Read detailed Apple iPhone 15 review

Display 6.10-inch

Processor Apple A16 Bionic

Front Camera 12-megapixel

Rear Camera 48-megapixel + 12-megapixel

RAM 6GB

Storage 128GB, 256GB, 512GB

OS iOS 17

Resolution 1179x2556 pixels

More Apple mobiles Apple mobiles price in India

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Further reading: Apple, iPhone 17 Air, EU

Nithya P Nair

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Nithya P Nair is a journalist with more than five years of experience in digital journalism. She specialises in business and technology beats. A foodie at heart, Nithya loves exploring new places (read cuisines) and sneaking in Malayalam movie dialogues to spice up conversations. More