The European Union has just announced that all electronic products, including mobile phones, must use a USB-C port for charging. This proposal will force Apple to use USB-C in the iPhone, but it is not impossible that they will develop an iPhone without ports or holes as a solution.
As is known, the iPhone uses the Lightning port for charging and data transfer. Apple doesn't seem to have any intention of switching to USB-C, even though some of its products, such as the iPad and MacBook, already use USB-C.
Apple also rejected the European Union's proposal because it was seen as hampering innovation even though it had a good goal, namely reducing e-waste. Previously they also argued that this policy would actually have a bad impact on the environment because iPhone users had to throw away their old Lightning accessories because they were not up to standard.
This EU proposal only covers electronic devices that use wired chargers. So devices that only support wireless charging don't have to insert a USB-C port.
If this proposal is approved by the European Parliament, mobile phone and electronic product vendors have 24 months to follow the new rules. This means that Apple has enough time to develop an iPhone without holes if it doesn't want to follow EU rules.
Rumors about an iPhone without a hole have actually been circulating for a long time, precisely when Apple removed the headphone jack on the iPhone 7. Even well-known analyst Ming-Chi Kuo had predicted that the iPhone 13 would come without a Lightning port and rely on wireless charging.
That prediction certainly doesn't come true, but that doesn't mean Apple has stopped developing technology to deliver a hole-free iPhone. For example, in 2020 Apple launched the MagSafe wireless charger alongside the iPhone 12 line.
With a charging capacity of up to 15W for the iPhone 13 Pro, MagSafe technology is indeed not as fast as that offered by other mobile phone vendors. Call it the OnePlus 9 Pro which offers 50W wireless charging. But Apple may be developing faster wireless charging technology to compete with Android phones.
Earlier this year, Kuo said Apple had no plans to strip the Lightning port on iPhones any time soon. "If iPhones take off Lightning in the future, iPhones will probably adopt a portless design with MagSafe support instead of a USB-C port," Kuo said, as quoted by The Verge, Saturday (25/9/2021).
There's a reason why Apple is adamant about using the Lightning port. The company made by Steve Jobs relies on the MFi licensing business, where they earn revenue through accessories and Lightning cables sold through the MFi licensing program.
Apple also controls the MagSafe standard through its MFi program, to ensure they keep revenue from third-party wireless chargers they sell for iPhones.
But if Apple manages to make iPhones without holes in the next two years, that doesn't mean their problems stop there. With the development of wireless charging technology now increasingly diverse, it is not impossible that the European Union will set the technology standards in the future.