The EU Won’t Stop Anyone From Making A Portless Phone
TL;DR
- The European Commission confirmed that smartphones without wired charging ports are not required to have a USB-C connector under current regulations.
- Apple considered launching the iPhone 17 Air as its first portless device but decided against it partly due to concerns about EU regulatory response.
- The Common Charger Directive mandates only that devices with wired charging must use USB-C but allows for entirely wireless designs, paving the way for potential fully wireless smartphones.
Apple took a big leap towards standardization when it adopted the USB-C port on the iPhone 15 series. However, the company has long been reported to dream of a future with portless iPhones. This dream was on shaky grounds, as the EU legislation that brought in USB-C ports on iPhones would continue to keep the port on them, or so it was presumed. As it turns out, the EU is okay if Apple removes the USB-C port from its iPhones.
A recent Bloomberg report suggested that the upcoming iPhone 17 Air would have been the company’s first portless iPhone. However, Apple ultimately decided against it, partly because removing the USB-C port would have been against EU legislation.
Apple ultimately decided not to adopt a port-free design with the new iPhone, which will still have a USB-C connector. One major reason: There were concerns that removing USB-C would upset European Union regulators, who mandated the iPhone switch to USB-C.
The EU’s Common Charger Directive states that a device with a wired charging port must be USB-C. The official text is in ANNEX Ia, Part 1, point 2:
In so far as they are capable of being recharged by means of wired charging, the categories or classes of radio equipment referred to in point 1 of this Part shall be equipped with the USB Type-C receptacle…
Reading between the lines, if the device doesn’t have a wired charging port at all, it can seemingly skip the USB-C requirement.
9to5Mac followed up with European Commission press officer Federica Miccoli, whose remit covers the internal market and industrial strategy, asking whether a portless phone would comply with the law. According to the Commission, it would be compliant with the law:
Yes. Since, such radio equipment cannot be recharged via wired charging, it does not need to incorporate the harmonised (wired) charging solution.
So, a wired charging port is not seen as a requirement for smartphones. If a future smartphone restricts itself to just wireless charging, it need not have any port for wired charging at all, essentially paving the way for a portless iPhone.
The report mentions that the EU regulation calls upon the Commission to promote the harmonization of wireless charging standards to avoid future fragmentation of the market. Further, Apple has donated its proprietary MagSafe solution to the Wireless Power Consortium, where it has become the Qi2 standard. A future portless iPhone with just MagSafe charging would very much be within EU law, for now.
If it applies to Apple, it also applies to others. If other companies want to build a portless phone, like the Meizu Zero from 2019, the EU won’t be coming in their way. As long as the phone doesn’t recharge its battery through a wire, it doesn’t need a USB-C port. It remains to be seen which company will be the first to make an updated portless phone.
Who do you think will make the second portless smartphone after the Meizu Zero? Let us know in the comments below!
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