The shift, driven by the EU's 2022 Common Charger Directive, means every current iPhone now uses USB-C and can deliver up to 4.5 watts to charge accessories or another phone.
USB-C also lets iPhones connect directly to flash drives, SD card readers, keyboards, microphones, HDMI displays, Ethernet adapters and hubs, expanding storage, media and productivity options.
Apple adopted USB-C across iPhones after replacing its proprietary Lightning port rather than making a Europe-only model, aligning the handset with USB-C already used on iPads and MacBooks.
Did the EU mandate create a two-tiered iPhone, with slower USB-C speeds on base models to upsell users?
Has the forced USB-C switch reduced e-waste, or just created a new pile of obsolete Lightning accessories?
With the cable war over, is Apple's next move to eliminate the port entirely for a new wireless ecosystem?