Apple is set to unveil the iPhone 15 and 15 Pro on September 13, but the new devices will sport a more inclusive hardware feature.
The phone will require a USB-C charging cable, the same type of charger used by competitors like Samsung as well as most Android devices.
The change follows a European Union (EU) law introduced in September 2021 requiring phone manufacturers to adopt a common charging connection by December 2024 to cut down on waste and save consumers money.
To continue selling new phones in Europe, Apple is forced to ditch its signature Lightning charging cable it has paired with handheld devices since the release of the iPhone 5 in 2012.
Most new Apple products, including recent iPad and MacBook models, already use a USB-C charger, but the company had argued against the EU mandate.
"Strict regulation mandating just one type of connector stifles innovation rather than encouraging it, which in turn will harm consumers in Europe and around the world," an Apple representative told the BBC in 2021 after the law was proposed.
However last October, following the Council of the EU's final approval of the law, Apple committed to ditching the Lightning cable in order to meet the directive.
Announcing the change at a Wall Street Journal event, Apple's Greg Joswiak said the company would "have to comply, we have no choice as we do around the world to comply to local laws, but we think the approach would’ve been better environmentally and for our customers to not have a government be that prescriptive".
USB-C is widely considered to offer faster data transfer speeds.
The sweeping change means the USB-C port will be consistently required across a whole range of electronic devices such as mobile phones, tablets and headphones in EU nations.
Though it is unclear if the charging port change will be made globally, the tech giant is less likely to make a different version of the device solely for the European market.
The EU estimated that consumers will save "up to €250m (NZ$455m) a year on unnecessary charger purchases" and reduce waste by 11,000 tonnes per year.
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