iGeneration Reports Apple Will Stop Selling Lightning-Port iPhones in the EU This Month

Joe Rossignol, MacRumors:

Apple plans to stop selling the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, and third-generation iPhone SE in European Union countries later this month, to comply with a regulation that will soon require newly-sold smartphones with wired charging to be equipped with a USB-C port in those countries, according to French blog iGeneration. All three of these iPhone models are still equipped with a Lightning port for wired charging.

In a paywalled report today, the website said the iPhone models will no longer be sold through Apple’s online store and retail stores in the European Union as of December 28, which is when the regulation goes into force.

It was never clear to me whether this regulation only applied to new devices, or to existing ones. But I guess it applies to existing ones. Until the expected next-gen iPhone SE ships early next year, the lowest-priced new iPhone in the EU will be the iPhone 15, which starts at $700 in the U.S. and around €860 in Europe. (Apple’s prices vary slightly between EU countries.)

★ Friday, 13 December 2024