Comment by kalleboo
4 hours ago
> Apple wasn't required to use USB-C up until the iPhone 17 release in September 2025
No, starting December 28, 2024 they could no longer import and sell iPhones with Lightning ports, so they had to at the very least make the iPhone 16 in September 2024 USB-C.
But Apple likes to sell the previous model phone as "the cheap option", so to have a previous generation to keep selling they had to add USB-C a model year early.
Apple added USB-C to the iPhone as late as they possibly could with their typical product cycle.
Existing models could be sold after the deadline, that date was only for newly introduced models.
Existing units could be sold after the deadline. Basically, what was left on store shelves. Existing models were not grandfathered in.
Apple stopped selling the iPhone 14/SE the day before the rule went into effect for this reason.
https://www.macrumors.com/2024/12/27/apple-stops-selling-iph...
> The regulation comes into force on December 28, and it applies to any individual iPhone unit placed for sale after that date, even if they are older models