“The business” of port lightining: Europe aims for universality
The date is set for December 28, day when the new European directive called “universal charger” will take effect. It’s a definitive goodbye to this specificity of Apple: the Lightning port. So despite their young age, Apple is forced to remove your iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus and iPhone SE from sale of its online store and its Apple Stores, in France as in the other countries of the Union, and even in Switzerland before spring.
Result of negotiations carried out by France during its presidency in 2022 as part of the “Digital & Environment” strategy, this new legislation imposes the adoption of the universal charger for all small and medium sized electronic devices. The objective as defined at the time by Bruno Le Maire, our former Minister of the Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty, is to “simplify the lives of the French, improve their purchasing power and reduce their environmental impact.” And according to Jean-Noël Barrot, the former Minister Delegate in charge of Digital, “this advance, which is both practical and ecological, will allowavoid more than 11,000 tonnes of waste in Europe each year.
The consequences, and precautions to take
This compliance has serious consequences, and not only for Apple. All resellers are affected, after stock has been sold. All models before the iPhone 15 too, and in general all equipment signed by Apple and equipped with the famous “Lightining port”: tablets, headsets and earphones, mice, speakers… Only laptops will benefit from an additional period, effective April 26, 2026. As for the reconditioned market, it is still unclear.
It’s difficult in these circumstances to be able to afford an inexpensive iPhone from next year. It will also be difficult in the future to find a replacement adapter or cable, because this same European directive also requires manufacturers to offer new devices in a version without a charger. We therefore strongly advise affected iPhone owners to equip themselves with a replacement charger before the end of the year! As for those who were still hesitant, there remains less than two weeks to get an iPhone at a lower cost. Or wait for a future new iPhone SE? The rumor speaks of an iPhone 14 chassis with USB-c port, and why not an in-house 5G chip, for release in the spring.
Waiting for, The most economical option is undoubtedly to treat yourself to an iPhone SE for Christmas. It’s true that its design is no longer really up to date (it is based on an iPhone 8 chassis), and its 60 Hz LCD panel has aged a little, but it is solid (IP 67) , its Bionic A15 chip remains efficient, and it still has 5G and Wi-Fi 6 (ax).
A little more expensive, we can prefer the iPhone 14: make way for a Super Retina XDR OLED panel with much better brightness and colorimetry, and a more efficient photo block. We particularly love the new “Action” and “Cinematic” modes for 4K video recording, and the Bokeh mode for portraits.
