New iPhone charging cable coming as Apple told to kill old one; will iPhone 14 get it?

Apple could be forced to move away from the iPhone lightning connectors that are used in the charging cable for iPhones, iPads, Airpods and more. iPhone 14 to get it? Find out.

Lightning connectors are Apple’s proprietary charging technology used in charging almost all of its devices, but iPhone charging cable is set to change. iPhone 14 to get it? Find out. (Pixabay)

Apple could be forced to move away from the iPhone lightning connectors that are used in the charging cable for iPhones, iPads, Airpods and more. According to reports, European Union legislators are forcing Apple's hand to get rid of its proprietary iPhone charging cables and move towards the USB Type C. Will Apple iPhone 14 get it when it is launched in October or November, 2022? Find out.

According to Bloomberg, Apple's lightning cable technology came into effect with the launch of the iPhone 5 way back in 2012, moving away from the 30-pin connectors used by the previous iterations of iPhones and iPods. And now, it seems the lightning connectors may be going away. This move will force the users' hand to buy all new cables for their various Apple devices, since almost all Apple devices as of now use the lightning connectors. The reason for this move? To appease the EU legislators. The EU voted to adopt the USB Type C format as the new charging standard for all electronic devices such as smartphones and tablets in April.

The EU legislation stipulates, “Mobile phones, tablets, digital cameras, headphones and headsets, handheld video-game consoles and portable speakers, rechargeable via a wired cable, would have to be equipped with a USB Type-C port, regardless of the manufacturer.” This move mostly affects Apple as most other electronics manufacturers such as Nintendo already use USB Type C charging connectors in its Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch Lite gaming consoles.

A spokesperson for Apple said “We are concerned that regulation mandating just one type of connector for all devices on the market will harm European consumers by slowing down the introduction of beneficial innovations in charging standards, including those related to safety and energy efficiency."

According to Bloomberg Expert Mark Gurman, the new charging cable won't arrive with the iPhone 14 lineup, which is expected to be announced in September, but instead, the switch is rumoured to take place in the second half of 2023.