A report suggested that the EU had previously feared Apple would be in conflict with regulations if it adopted a portless design for its upcoming iPhone 17 Air. However, European Commission officials have confirmed that removing the USB-C port from an iPhone would not be against EU law.
The Common Charger Directive requires devices sold in the EU to use a common charging port. When the law was finalized, USB-C had become the de-facto standard, making it the only option for compliance. Apple had already adopted USB-C for its Macs and iPads but continued using the Lightning port for iPhones until the deadline.
In January 2025, Apple ceased sales of iPhone models with Lightning ports, including the iPhone SE and iPhone 14. Bloomberg reported that Apple had considered a more extreme design, potentially removing both wired charging and syncing data via USB-C.
However, EU officials have clarified that the Common Charger Directive only requires devices to be USB-C if they have a wired charging port, not the other way around. This means that a device without a wired charging port, such as a fully wireless phone, would not need to meet this requirement.
Apple has since adopted the MagSafe standard, which is already used by some of its products and is becoming a common standard branded Qi2. A future portless iPhone with only MagSafe charging would be perfectly legal to sell in EU countries, according to officials.
The European Commission will promote the harmonization of wireless charging technologies to avoid fragmentation and negative effects on consumers and the environment. While Apple’s portless iPhone design may not arrive this year, it is only a matter of time.
Source: https://9to5mac.com/2025/03/19/eu-confirms-apple-can-make-a-portless-iphone-without-usb-c