The year 2024 is coming to an end. And we could say that this has been one of the most ambitious years for Apple not only at the hardware level with the arrival of the Vision Pro or the iPhone 16 in stores but also for all the software launched focused above all on advances in intelligence. artificial according to the Apple Intelligence concept. However, all that glitters is not gold and Apple must comply with European Union regulations from Next December 28. From this date, all new phones sold will have to have USB-C and as you know, Apple currently sells the iPhone SE, 14 and 14 Plus in its stores… which are the only ones left with Lightning. Little by little, these iPhones are starting to disappear from physical and online stores of the entire European Union.
Apple eliminates iPhone SE, 14 and 14 Plus… without USB-C from its stores in the EU
From December 28 The two-year period expires from the entry into force of Directive (EU) 2022/2380 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 November 2022, which amended Directive 2014/53/EU relating to harmonization of the laws of the Member States relating to the marketing of radio equipment. Today will mark the end of the two years that the EU gave companies to adapt their devices to USB-C, the connector which will now be mandatory in a large number of gadgets: mobile phones, headphones, digital cameras, laptops, etc.
This means that Apple will have to stop selling all devices and accessories with Lightning that you sell in your stores, physical and online. If we analyze their website, the terminals which still have Lightning are iPhone SE, iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus. The Verge team has noticed that the Swiss site has started to remove these devices as “available” on the official website, so this is a sign that these devices will disappear in the next few hours, knowing that on December 28 they will not have to appear on the website or in Apple stores.
This ends a a long road to European regulation which lasted years and this has forced large companies like Apple to modify their plans with the aim of including themselves in the great ecosystem that is free trade within the European Union. We will see when these terminals disappear from the official Apple website in USA and if this will be the case on December 28.
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