Earlier this week, Bloomberg reported that Apple had considered making its rumored iPhone 17 Air without a charging port but decided against it to avoid violating the European Union’s USB-C mandate. But as it turns out, port-free smartphones aren’t illegal in the EU.
As 9to5Mac reports, the EU’s Common Charger Directive promotes a common wired and wireless charging solution. While USB-C is the common port for wired phones, the commission has yet to decide on the common standard for wireless charging.
Since port-free phones “cannot be recharged via wired charging, it does not need to incorporate the harmonized [wired] charging solution,” the EU press office tells 9to5Mac.
The commission “will promote the harmonization of wireless charging in order to avoid future fragmentation of the internal market and any negative effects on consumer and the environment” and “monitor the evolution of all types of wireless charging technologies (not only inductive),” the EU adds.
Apple’s tech for wireless charging doesn’t face the same challenges as its tech for wired. While the Lightning port was unique to Apple, its MagSafe tech was donated to the Wireless Power Consortium, where it laid the foundation for a common standard known as Qi2. Therefore, if Apple sells port-free iPhones with MagSafe charging in the EU, it would be legal, 9to5Mac notes.
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Given Apple’s dominance in the smartphone market, however, it’s unlikely that it doesn’t know about the EU’s stance on wireless charging. Even Bloomberg’s report about Apple ditching the port-less design for the 17 Air cited the EU’s USB-C mandate as just one of the major reasons for the pushback.
The iPhone 17 Air is rumored to be the thinnest iPhone ever. At $900, the device would replace the “Plus” variant in the iPhone 17 lineup and come with a 6.6-inch ProMotion display, a 48-megapixel rear camera, an A19 chip, the new C1 modem, and the Camera Control button.
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About Jibin Joseph
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