If you update your Apple devices this fall, you’ll finally be able to get rid of those old Lightning cables.
To no one’s surprise, every new device shown off at the Apple event on Monday charges using USB-C, not Lightning. That includes the following:
iPhone 16 Plus (pre-order here)
iPhone 16 Pro (pre-order here)
iPhone 16 Pro Max (pre-order here)
AirPods Max (pre-order here)
Apple Watch Series 10 (pre-order here)
Again, none of this is shocking. Apple made the switch for all four of its new iPhone models last year. The Apple Watch also gets in on a technicality, as the device charges wirelessly using a USB-C dongle. The only news here is that the new AirPods 4 charge via USB-C, as do the re-released (but otherwise unchanged) AirPods Max. As recently as last summer, Apple was still releasing new AirPods Pro earbuds that charged via Lightning, so it’s nice to see Apple slowly fixing this.
Apple only switched to USB-C because of European Union regulations, so the company may not deserve heaps of praise for it, but it does end one of the more irritating tech sagas of our lifetimes. For years, people have had to keep Lightning cables around for the purposes of charging devices made by one company, while almost every other company on Earth switched to USB-C years ago.
Now, you’ll be able to use one cable to charge almost any device you own. RIP Lightning, we won’t miss you.
