Apple has started pulling the third-generation iPhone SE, iPhone 14, and iPhone 14 Plus from the European Union market ahead of the USB-C requirement.
MacRumors reports that those handsets are listed as unavailable on Apple’s online store in Switzerland. “Switzerland is not officially part of the EU, but the country participates in the single EU market and is thereby subject to EU trading laws,” reads the report. The company will soon stop selling those models across all 27 EU member states.
Last year, lawmakers in the European Union (EU) agreed on new legislation requiring all consumer electronics devices sold within the EU member states to be equipped with USB-C charging instead of proprietary methods, like Apple’s Lightning, to reduce electronic waste and emissions.
While iPhones, iPads, Macs, and other Apple products and accessories have transitioned to USB-C, the iPhone 14 lineup still has the Lightning port. Of course, Apple can’t just swap Lightning for USB-C on older devices. The EU has set December 28, 2024, as the cut-off date, and Apple decided it’s better to lose a few months of sales in the EU than re-engineer old devices.
Apple pulls iPhone SE, iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus from sales in the EU ahead of the USB charging requirement
However, Apple’s authorized resellers in the EU will be permitted to continue selling the third-generation iPhone SE, iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus until their remaining inventory is depleted.
When Apple launched the latest iPhone 15 lineup in September 2024, it also pulled the iPhone 14 Pros from sale, leaving only the standard iPhone 14 models on sale. However, both the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus will also be pulled from sale when the iPhone 16 lineup arrives in September 2025. In other words, Apple will lose about nine months of iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus sales in the EU.
As for iPhone SE 3, Apple is excepted to unveil the next iPhone SE with a fullscreen design, 5G, a USB-C port and other improvements in Spring 2024, so European iPhone SE fans will only need to wait a few months before the fourth-generation iPhone SE arrives.