Apple will soon stop selling certain iPhone models in the 27 countries that belong to the Europe Union (EU). As 2024 comes to an end and 2025 begins, the third-gen iPhone SE and the iPhone 14 series will no longer be sold in the EU. They are the only phones still available from Apple that use Apple’s proprietary Lightning charger and port for charging and data transfer. The problem is that thanks to the Digital Markets Act (DMA), starting in January 2025 all phones sold in EU countries must have a USB-C port and charge using a USB-C cable.
The goal is to reduce electronic waste in the 27 EU member countries by standardizing charging cables. With the new rule, consumers switching from iOS to Android and vice versa won’t have to use a new charging cable to charge or transfer data on their new phones. This reduces the number of unused cables getting tossed in landfills. The first complete iPhone series to feature a USB-C charging port was last year’s iPhone 15 series.
Sure, Apple could have decided to build new versions of the iPhone 14 line and third-gen iPhone SE with a USB-C port and sold them in Europe. However, the tech giant decided just to drop those models from its lineup on the continent. Elsewhere, such as in the U.S., the iPhone 14 series and the third-gen iPhone SE with Lightning ports will still be available until next spring when the iPhone SE 4 will be released. That model will sport a USB-C port in all markets.
Before the proprietary Lightning cable was released, the iPhone used a big 30-pin cable for charging and to transfer data. | Image credit-Walmart
The iPhone SE 4 will be the first budget iPhone model to be equipped with an edge-to-edge display, the Notch, and Face ID. The design of the phone will be based on the iPhone 14
although it will include 8GB of RAM and possibly be powered by the A18 application processor (AP) so that the phone can support Apple Intelligence.
The iPhone 14 series will remain available outside of Europe until the iPhone 17 line is released next September. At that point, the iPhone 14 series will no longer be sold by Apple in all markets ending the Lightning port era for the iPhone. The first iPhone to come with the Lightning port and charge with the Lightning cable was the iPhone 5, released in 2012. Before that, the iPhone used a 30-pin charger starting with the original iPhone in 2007 running through 2011’s iPhone 4s.
