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USB-C gets a bit more universal as the EU’s mandate goes into effect

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Fewer bricks, standardized “fast charging”

The most significant impact this USB-C requirement has had so far is on Apple, which, while initially resisting, has gradually shifted its products from its proprietary Lightning connector to USB-C. Its latest iMac comes with a Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse, and Magic Trackpad that all connect via USB-C. The firm stopped selling the Lightning-charging iPhone 14 and iPhone SE in the EU after December 28.

Section of the EU law regarding USB-C charging, with a plug showing

People who understand electrical terminology, and live in an EU member country, will soon have a better understanding of how many more cables they’ll need to buy for their newest gadget.

Credit: European Commission

People who understand electrical terminology, and live in an EU member country, will soon have a better understanding of how many more cables they’ll need to buy for their newest gadget. Credit: European Commission

In addition to simply demanding that a USB-C port be present, the Directive requires that anything with “fast charging”—pulling more than 5 volts, 3 amperes, or 15 watts—enable the USB Power Delivery (USB PD) standard. This should ensure that they properly negotiate charging rates with any charger with USB PD rather than require their own proprietary charging brick or adapter.

In Europe, devices must indicate on their product boxes whether they contain a charging plug or mid-cord brick. A different label will indicate the minimum and maximum power that a device requires to charge and whether it can support USB PD or not.

Can the EU make cables and cords get along?

The EU’s celebratory post on X is heavy with replies from doubters, suggesting that mandating USB-C as “THE charger” could stifle companies innovating on other means of power delivery. Most of these critiques are addressed in the actual text of the law, because more powerful devices are exempted, secondary power plugs are allowed, and wireless largely gets a pass. “What about when USB-D arrives?” is something no person can really answer, though it seems a vague reason to avoid addressing the e-waste, fragmentation, and consumer confusion of the larger device charging ecosystem.

How the Common Charger Directive will be enforced is yet to be seen, as that is something left up to member nations. Also unproven is whether companies will comply with it across their international product lines or simply make specific EU-compliant products.

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Apple’s headphone adapter for older iPhones sells out, possibly never to return

3.5mm, Apple, Apple Store, headphone jack, IPhone, Lightning, Tech / /

When Apple infamously ditched the headphone jack with the launch of the iPhone 7, it at least provided customers with a Lightning-to-3.5 mm adapter either right in the box or as a $9 standalone purchase in its online store. Now it looks like that adapter is being retired.

As MacRumors first noted, the adapter is showing as sold out in most regions, along with a few other Lightning accessories, like the even-more-archaic-seeming Lightning-to-VGA adapter. That includes the United States, where it is not possible to order the headphone adapter from Apple’s store.

Inventory has run out, and it seems unlikely Apple will make more to refill it.

This is likely part of a general phasing out of products related to the proprietary Lightning port, which was used in many Apple devices (including the iPhone) for years but has been replaced by USB-C in all of the company’s major products. A couple of older iPhone models offered at cheaper prices—the iPhone SE and the iPhone 14—are available today, but they will likely be replaced in just a couple of months.

Apple is selling a similar adapter for connecting 3.5 mm headphones to USB-C iPhones and iPads.

Nonetheless, many people out there still have older Lightning iPhones but haven’t yet made the jump to wireless headphones. Third-party options are out there that they can use—at least for now—but the popular Apple adapter seems to be following a similar script as other deprecated Apple accessories have upon their retirement.

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Some of Apple’s last holdout accessories have switched from Lightning to USB-C

Apple, Lightning, magic keyboard, Magic Mouse, Magic Trackpad, Tech, USB-C / /

One of the last major holdouts against USB-C has majorly loosened its grasp. All the accessories that come with Apple’s newest iMac—the Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse, and Magic Trackpad—ship with USB-C charging and connection ports rather than the Lightning ports they have featured for nearly a decade.


“These accessories now come with USB-C ports, so users can charge all of their favorite devices with just a single cable,” Apple writes in announcing its new M4-powered iMac, in the way that only Apple can, suggesting that something already known to so many is, when brought into Apple’s loop, notable and new.

Apple’s shift from its own Lightning connector, in use since 2012, to USB-C was sparked by European Union policies enacted in 2022. Apple gradually implemented USB-C on other devices, like its iPad Pro and MacBooks, over time, but the iPhone 15’s USB-C port made the “switch” somewhat formal.

The iMac and its color-matched accessories kept with Lightning until today’s new release. The back of the iMac has long featured USB-C ports, but the accessories were charged with USB-C-to-Lightning cables. This leaves the iPhone SE and iPhone 14 as the remaining Lightning-port-ed Apple gear that Apple still sells. Apple’s Vision Pro battery pack contains a kind of Lightning-style connector, although not a true Lightning cable. The forthcoming iPhone SE will, given the need to sell it in Europe, almost certainly feature USB-C as well.

It has been a slow, brokered, and uneven path, but it’s getting to the point where a collection of good USB-C cables and charging bricks can power most of your computing devices… except for those with very specific charging demands, like a Raspberry Pi or the cheap or old stuff that still takes USB micro. And some things just refuse to give up barrel chargers, like certain enterprise laptops and network switches.

Regardless, it’s a big day for those who only want one kind of cable on their desk.

Some of Apple’s last holdout accessories have switched from Lightning to USB-C Read More »