Apple has confirmed its new iPhone will not feature its proprietary lightning charging port, after the EU forced the change.
The tech giant said that the iPhone 15, unveiled at its annual event on Tuesday, would use a USB-C cable as the “universally accepted standard”.
A new Apple Watch series was also unveiled with a more advanced chip.
But one analyst said a lack of “headline-grabbing” updates from Apple this year would disappoint some.
“It isn’t a surprise given the maturity of the iPhone and Watch,” said Ben Wood from CCS Insight.
“It reflects just how refined the iPhone and Watch devices are and how tough it has become to deliver truly disruptive updates every year.”
Apple released a USB-C-to-lightning port adapter for £29 ($36). The product connects the lightning port accessories people will have built up over the years to its new USB-C-enabled iPhones or iPads.
The latest iPhone handset, which goes on sale next week, is the first since 2012 to feature an alternative charging port.
How much is the new iPhone?
The iPhone 15 starts at £799 and the iPhone 15 Pro starts at £999 in the UK.
“Convincing users to fork out for these new devices will not be easy during a cost-of-living crisis,” said Paolo Pescatore, analyst and founder of PP Foresight. “Some will see the new features as incremental, [although] collectively they enhance the overall experience which is priceless among Apple’s core user base.”
Apple’s shares were down slightly on Tuesday, failing to reverse a sharp drop last week sparked by reports that the Chinese government had banned officials from using iPhones.
Huawei’s release of a new smartphone series in China had fuelled the investor unease.
The global smartphone market has slumped from shipping 294.5 million total phones to 268 million in the second quarter of 2023.
But Apple’s shipments fell the least of any major smartphone maker, dropping from 46.5 million phones to 45.3 million, according to analysts Counterpoint Research.
BBC
