“Obviously we’ll have to comply,” Greg
Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, said at The Wall
Street Journal Tech Live conference on Tuesday.
On
Monday, ministers from EU member states gave final approval to the common
charger law which means that by 2024, electronic devices including mobile phones
and tablets will need to support USB-C charging.
The European Council’s stamp of approval comes after other EU
legislative bodies voted in favor of the law which
has been around 10 years in the making.
Apple’s iPhone uses its proprietary Lightning charger. Under the
upcoming EU law, the iPhone would need to support USB-C.
Joswiak did not say when Apple would introduce USB-C to its
flagship smartphone but it would need to happen by 2024.
Analysts previously told CNBC that iPhones
scheduled to be released in 2023 could be equipped with USB-C charging and that
Apple is likely to introduce the standard globally, not just in the European
Union.
EU lawmakers contend the rules will reduce waste as consumers do
not need to buy a new charger every time they purchase a device. The EU said
this will reduce production and the disposal of new chargers.
Joswiak took a swipe at the EU for the charging law, admitting the
two sides have been in a “little bit of a disagreement.”
“We think the approach would have been better environmentally and
better for our customers to not have a government be that prescriptive,” he
said.