The EU has led the way, and India is following suit. We learn this week that the Indian government has asked manufacturers of electronic devices to adopt the USB-C connection by default for recharging their products. The measure should definitely come into force within two years.
The titanic Indian market is in the process of adopting USB-C connectivity on an even larger scale. To reduce the amount of e-waste, India is adopting a measure similar to that taken on the Old Continent by the European Union: by default, using USB-C as the single standard for recharging a large part of electronic devices for sale.
Apple will have to activate… but there will be exceptions
In the case of India, manufacturers will have to comply with this new rule by March 2025… and as in Europe, Apple will be no exception. The firm will also be required to switch to the universality of USB-C, thus abandoning its proprietary “Lightning” connector, still used by iPhones.
As pointed out Neowin, some devices will nevertheless be exempt from this switch to USB-C. This will notably be the case for basic mobile phones (feature phones), wearables, Bluetooth audio headsets and wireless earphones. For these different products, the switch to USB-C would result in a price increase that India wishes to avoid.
The track of a common charger for entry-level devices
India is indeed one of the main markets for feature phones, but also for audio products and other entry-level wearables still equipped with old connectors, such as micro-USB. A switch of these products to USB-C, followed by a price increase, would risk reducing access to the most modest people.
For the sake of consistency with its policy to reduce electronic waste, the Indian government has instead ordered the creation of a committee which should result in the creation of a common charger for all these affordable devices.
Beyond these few exemptions to “all USB-C”, some sectors will finally benefit from a little more time to adapt. This is among others the case of laptop manufacturers, who for their part will have until 2026 to make the big leap into the Indian market. Here too, India is more or less following the measures announced by the EU.
Source : Neowin
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