Joanna Stern was able to interview two of the most important people within Apple at a Wall Street Journal event: Greg Joswiakthe company’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing and Craig Federighi, senior vice president of Apple. The interview left some headlines, but started off with a bang: Lightning and USB-C.

These are the two connectors used by Apple itself. Lightning is available on all current iPhones and iPads and Macs via USB-C, but European legislation From 2024 it will force all devices to use the same chargerand Apple seems to have succumbed to it.

iPhone will have to stop using Lightning in favor of USB-C in Europe

“We will have to sleep”

Joswiak started by explaining this. USB-C and Lightning are the two most popular connectors in the worldand there are over a billion people using Lightning cables every day. According to Joswiak, Apple thinks they’ve struck a balance by using some kind of cable that can be disconnected from the power adapter so Lightning on one side can be the type of connector that works best for the user on the other. -C or USB-A.

joswiak said EU lawmakers and Apple ‘in a minor disagreement’ on the idea of ​​​​a common arrangement of chargers. He pointed out that although the EU has good intentions, regulation is somewhat difficult. Moreover, rightly so that EU legislators once tried to standardize the micro-USB connectorAn obsolete connector that many hate.

Had the micro-USB connector been standardized, this connector (USB-C) would not exist. Greg Joswiak.

But Joswiak finally confirmed it. Apple will have no choice but to comply with the new European Union regulation regarding the single USB-C port. While I can’t directly confirm it, I acknowledge that there is legislation that Apple will have to comply with.

For most iPhone customers, it’s just a matter of charging. And the Lightning connector charges very well. Greg Joswiak.

Craig Federighi and Greg Joswiak of Apple (@gregjoz) to join @JoannaStern also #WSJTechLive https://t.co/fNo2JGwMB4 to discuss products, privacy and power at the tech giant https://t.co/aGrTlZrUo4

— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) October 26, 2022

European legislation will begin to apply from 2024, so Apple may continue to release a theoretical iPhone 15 with a Lightning port. However, most rumors show that Apple will go ahead and replace Lightning in the 2023 iPhone of USB-C connectivityAs well as other accessories such as AirPods.