Gurman: AirPods and Mac Accessories Likely to Switch to USB-C by 2024
All three AirPods models and Mac accessories like the Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad are likely to transition to USB-C by 2024, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
Earlier this week, the
European Parliament approved a new directive to force manufacturers to offer USB-C as a common charging port across a wide range of devices in Europe by the end of 2024. In his latest
"Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that Apple has been preparing to make changes to its devices to meet these new legal requirements.
Gurman believes that Apple will beat the legislation's date of application in late 2024 with most of its products. The iPhone 15, he claims, will beat the EU's mandate by a year, featuring a USB-C port in the fall of 2023. The entry level iPad, the only iPad to still feature a Lightning connector should switch to USB-C by the end of this year.
Gurman speculated that if Apple releases a new iPhone SE model in March 2024 with a Lightning port instead of a USB-C port, it will be in compliance with EU law since it would launch before the end of the year – but any new iPhone SE model released in 2025 or 2026 would need to feature USB-C.
Gurman noted that all AirPods models, as well as the Magic Mouse, Magic Keyboard, and Magic Trackpad will need to make the switch when new versions are released. He anticipates several major Mac updates next year, including a new iMac and a Mac Pro, and said that "one could probably assume that move coincides with accessory updates."
Despite the switch to USB-C across Apple's family of products, Gurman said that he thinks the USB-C era will be far shorter than the tenure of the 30-pin iPod connector or Lightning, "at least for Apple's mobile devices." The iPod connector and Lightning will have been on new Apple devices for around 11 years each before they were phased out, and Gurman still believes that "Apple's future is wireless and that some version of the canceled AirPower dream from 2017 will still eventually come to fruition – well before a decade from now."
He added that "at some point in the next few years," Apple will probably begin transitioning entirely to inductive charging on the iPhone and the iPad, a move that largely exempts the devices from EU law mandating a the inclusion of a USB-C port.
Popular Stories
Apple will adopt the same rear chassis manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 that it is using for the upcoming standard iPhone 16, claims a new rumor coming out of China. According to the Weibo-based leaker "Fixed Focus Digital," the backplate manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 is "exactly the same" as the standard model in Apple's upcoming iPhone 16 lineup, which is expected to...
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
Israel-based mobile forensics company Cellebrite is unable to unlock iPhones running iOS 17.4 or later, according to leaked documents verified by 404 Media. The documents provide a rare glimpse into the capabilities of the company's mobile forensics tools and highlight the ongoing security improvements in Apple's latest devices. The leaked "Cellebrite iOS Support Matrix" obtained by 404 Media...
If you have an old Apple Watch and you're not sure what to do with it, a new product called TinyPod might be the answer. Priced at $79, the TinyPod is a silicone case with a built-in scroll wheel that houses the Apple Watch chassis. When an Apple Watch is placed inside the TinyPod, the click wheel on the case is able to be used to scroll through the Apple Watch interface. The feature works...
A widespread system failure is currently affecting numerous Windows devices globally, causing critical boot failures across various industries, including banks, rail networks, airlines, retailers, broadcasters, healthcare, and many more sectors. The issue, manifesting as a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD), is preventing computers from starting up properly and forcing them into continuous recovery...
Apple in 2025 will take on a new compact camera module (CCM) supplier for future MacBook models powered by its next-generation M5 chip, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Writing in his latest investor note on unny-opticals-2025-business-momentum-to-benefit-509819818c2a">Medium, Kuo said Apple will turn to Sunny Optical for the CCM in its M5 MacBooks. The Chinese optical lens company...