The European Union is already taking measures with the aim of preventing Apple from restricting the charging and data transfer rates through USB-C for the iPhone 15 and the versions that are born after.
In 2022, the EU enacted legislation requiring electronic devices that support wired charging to be equipped with a USB-C port. While lawmakers did not explicitly name Apple, it is the only manufacturer that still clings to its own charging system.
Apple has until the end of next year to comply, but the company is likely to switch from Lightning to USB-C with the upcoming iPhone 15 in late 2023. However, rumors and leaks have surfaced from reliable sources claiming that Apple plans to limit charging speeds and data transfer rates on USB-C cables unless they are MFi certified. (“Made for iPhone/iPod/iPad”).
A month later, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo confirmed that Apple is “optimizing” the speed of MFi chargers for iPhone 15. “I think Apple will optimize the fast-charging performance of MFi-certified chargers for iPhone 15”he wrote in a March blog post.
According to Die Zeit, the EU Commissioner for Industry, Thierry Breton, wrote a letter to Apple to say that the restrictions involving charging are unacceptable. If Apple imposes such limitations, Breton says the EU will stop iPhones from being sold in member countries.
An iPhone ban in the EU if Apple limits USB-C
“Devices that do not meet the requirements for the uniform charger are not approved on the EU market”Breton said. The Commission reportedly reminded Apple of this in March, and Anna Cavazzini, a politician who chairs the EU Parliament’s Internal Market Committee, accused Apple of trying to circumvent EU regulations.
Following this episode, the EU has been paying attention to Apple’s USB-C rumors and has made a move to try to pre-empt the possibility of this limitation occurring. Before the end of the year, it intends to publish a guide to guarantee a “uniform interpretation of legislation”.
Apple has more than a year to ignore the warnings. Meanwhile, rumors claim that the company already has MFi-certified USB-C chargers and cables in mass production with Foxconn.
Theoretically, you can spend the last quarter of 2023 and almost all of 2024 developing your MFi chargers while limiting non-certified cables. Then, when the deadline arrives, an update of software —probably ready-made—can be shipped to users in the EU which removes the restriction on non-certified cables.