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?
"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.
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.
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