iPhone 15: Buzz is building around this big change

The new iPhone 15 may be equipped with a new charging port, according to media reports. (Staten Island Advance/Dr. Gracelyn Santos)Dr. Gracelyn Santos

It could soon get much easier to charge your iPhone.

The newest models, expected in September, could feature a generic USB Type-C charging port, according to reports on CNBC.com, Bloomberg and 9to5Mac.

A Type-C is the same charging port used on most newer laptops, some iPads, Android phones, Kindles and a host of other gadgets, so there would be fewer cords to drag around for users who also have those devices.

The new connector would replace Apple’s Lightening Connector, featured on every iPhone since 2012.

The change would be one of the biggest changes to the iPhone in years, making things much easier for consumers, who would no longer need to bring two different cables for their phone and laptop or other devices with them when traveling.

Businesses may be able to purchase just one type of charger for fleets of devices and anyone with an iPhone could borrow chargers from anyone with a newer-model laptop.

The new USB-C might even provide iPhones users with faster charging speeds, CNBC reported.

Forbes, reporting on a series of leaks related to iPhone 15, estimates the launch of the new model in late September.

NEW REGULATIONS AND THE IPHONE 15

While Apple hasn’t confirmed that its new iPhones will feature a USB-C charging port, and didn’t respond to a CNBC request for comment, tech watchers say it’s only a matter of time.

The European Union last year passed a law requiring USB-C ports on new smartphones by 2024.

Apple opposed the European law in 2021, saying the new law would hamper future charging development and could possibly confuse consumers.

“We are concerned that regulation mandating just one type of connector for all devices on the market will harm European consumers by slowing down the introduction of beneficial innovations in charging standards, including those related to safety and energy efficiency,” Apple said in a 2021 letter, according to CNBC.

Still, with Apple unlikely to make a European-only phone, the new rule pushes the company toward the generic charger. “Obviously, we’ll have to comply,” Greg Joswiak, Apple’s chief marketer, said last year on Twitter.

Since consumers can use one charger for several products, the EU estimates the rule could save Europeans 250 million euros per year on chargers. It’s also good for the environment, the EU also said, as old chargers account for about 11,000 tons of e-waste per year in the region, CNBC reported.

The cost of a current Apple USB-C cable is $39.

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