India the latest country that may require Apple to shift to USB-C for the iPhone

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in General Discussion
India's government is investigating adopting common chargers for all portable electronic devices, adding yet another government to the list who wants Apple to move away from its Lightning connector.




Following Europe's mandate that USB-C be adopted as a common charging standard by 2024, India is considering doing the same. On Wednesday, August 17, 2022, Indian Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh held a meeting with manufacturers to begin exploring the issue.

According to local newspaper the Deccan Herald, the government has now decided to look at adopting two common chargers. One of the two may be USB-C, but there was no information about what the second type could be.

The government is now setting up three separate groups to explore the issue, and its experts are to submit a report within two months.

"It is a complex issue. India has a position in the manufacturing of chargers," Rohit Kumar Singh told the publication. "We have to understand everybody's perspective -- industry, the users, manufacturers and environment -- before taking a final decision."

The three groups will each examine different types of devices. One will be concerned with phones, one with laptops and tablets, and the third with wearable devices.

Ahead of Wednesday's meeting, Singh described the process as being "more of an explorative nature."

"We will try to learn from the stakeholders how a common charger can be adopted in India," he said. "We will also try to understand their concerns."

Separately, the US has also been exploring the use of common chargers, not necessarily USB-C.

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 17
    rob53rob53 Posts: 3,241member
    Doesn't India drive on the wrong side of the road requiring car manufacturers to build different versions? When will those countries be required to change their cars so they match ours? /s This is how stupid all these mandates are. Next thing countries will do if force everyone to be right-handed.
    igorskybaconstanggnanadev
  • Reply 2 of 17
    igorskyigorsky Posts: 752member
    I really hope they go portless so that all these foreign goverments can go eff themselves.
    caladanianwatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 17
    India: #MeTooMeToo_I_want_to_be_part_as_well.
    Users: So you will take on the responsibility together with your buddy-countries to develop the next standard, and take that load off the shoulders of the industry. Oh, and not 2050, just like, you know, innovation-and-earning oriented companies do?
    India: *chrickets*
    beowulfschmidt12Strangerswatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 17
    t-bonet-bone Posts: 23member
    Just no. Let's not complicate things until USB-C improves and standardizes.


    12StrangersbaconstangFileMakerFellergnanadevwatto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 17
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 7,621member
    rob53 said:
    Doesn't India drive on the wrong side of the road requiring car manufacturers to build different versions? When will those countries be required to change their cars so they match ours? /s This is how stupid all these mandates are. Next thing countries will do if force everyone to be right-handed.
    Is there a 'wrong' side of the road?

    It doesn't matter which side you use as long as it's the same for everyone in the area. That is the whole point. 

    Countries like China, US, India could all go for different standards but would that be the best way forward? 

    Probably not. 






    elijahgmuthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 6 of 17
    darkvaderdarkvader Posts: 1,146member
    Good.  It's insane that Apple is still allowed to ship phones with proprietary connectors anywhere in the world in 2022.
    indieshackcaladanian
  • Reply 7 of 17
    sirlance99sirlance99 Posts: 1,293member
    rob53 said:
    Doesn't India drive on the wrong side of the road requiring car manufacturers to build different versions? When will those countries be required to change their cars so they match ours? /s This is how stupid all these mandates are. Next thing countries will do if force everyone to be right-handed.
    Well, Apple needs to get with the program and put USB-C in so the world can be one one standard charger. 
    elijahgmuthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 8 of 17
    darkvader said:
    Good.  It's insane that Apple is still allowed to ship phones with proprietary connectors anywhere in the world in 2022.
    And what are they thinking with their proprietary OS and their industry-leading designs and their ideas about how software should be installed and how users should interact with their devices? Apple should totally just license Windows and call it a day.

    /s
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 17

    rob53 said:
    Doesn't India drive on the wrong side of the road requiring car manufacturers to build different versions? When will those countries be required to change their cars so they match ours? /s This is how stupid all these mandates are. Next thing countries will do if force everyone to be right-handed.
    Well, Apple needs to get with the program and put USB-C in so the world can be one one standard charger. 
    As T-Bone pointed out above, USB-C is not a standard in the way a layperson would define "standard" - the socket on the device is the same shape, the plug on the end of the cable is the same shape, but the capabilities of the cable can vary to a substantial degree and there is significant effort required to determine those capabilities.

    It used to be that the plugs on each end would tell you what a cable could do, and that was an elegant solution to the problem of conveying the information. Now that the idea of making USB-C the "one standard to rule them all" has become popular with the manufacturers, the trade-off for all the benefits it provides is added confusion. I don't think that's the right trade-off to make.
    watto_cobratmay
  • Reply 10 of 17
    darkvader said:
    Good.  It's insane that Apple is still allowed to ship phones with proprietary connectors anywhere in the world in 2022.
    This. The ONLY reason Apple hasn’t moved to USB-C is because it makes money from licensing and selling lightning cables. The iPhone lightning receptacle also provide $$$$ for Apple because it’s a badly designed point of failure. 
  • Reply 11 of 17
    williamhwilliamh Posts: 1,032member
    darkvader said:
    Good.  It's insane that Apple is still allowed to ship phones with proprietary connectors anywhere in the world in 2022.
    In the "free world", should a company need to get permission for the connectors on their devices?  If your fellow fascists ran everything, we wouldn't smartphones at all. The very idea of an environmentally filthy country like India getting worked up about the "waste" from a standard Apple connector used on billions of Apple devices is ridiculous. You think India's filthy air, water, and land was caused by piles of iPhone chargers no longer usable by Android switchers?   It's not like an iPhone cable and charger aren't useful to an iPhone owner.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 17
    rob53rob53 Posts: 3,241member
    avon b7 said:
    rob53 said:
    Doesn't India drive on the wrong side of the road requiring car manufacturers to build different versions? When will those countries be required to change their cars so they match ours? /s This is how stupid all these mandates are. Next thing countries will do if force everyone to be right-handed.
    Is there a 'wrong' side of the road?

    It doesn't matter which side you use as long as it's the same for everyone in the area. That is the whole point. 

    Countries like China, US, India could all go for different standards but would that be the best way forward? 

    Probably not. 

    You're missing the point of my sarcastic comment. All these governments demand that only one type of charging port be used on all phones regardless of what the phone manufacturer wants to use. Cars made for countries with right-hand steering are the same as phones. Countries determine what side the steering wheel is on (although they do allow vehicles with steering wheels on the other side but you still are required to drive on the dictated side. There's no justifiable reason for all phones to have the same charging port. All that matters is the power brick has to work with the country's electrical standard(s). Phone ports aren't anywhere near critical as the electrical standard so there's no reason to force Apple or any other phone manufacturer to use a fixed type of charging port. Look at all the kitchen appliances that use different types of power cords (you have to look closely to see the difference and replacement cords can be difficult and expensive to find). Why aren't they being required to use the same power jack?
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 17
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 7,621member
    rob53 said:
    avon b7 said:
    rob53 said:
    Doesn't India drive on the wrong side of the road requiring car manufacturers to build different versions? When will those countries be required to change their cars so they match ours? /s This is how stupid all these mandates are. Next thing countries will do if force everyone to be right-handed.
    Is there a 'wrong' side of the road?

    It doesn't matter which side you use as long as it's the same for everyone in the area. That is the whole point. 

    Countries like China, US, India could all go for different standards but would that be the best way forward? 

    Probably not. 

    You're missing the point of my sarcastic comment. All these governments demand that only one type of charging port be used on all phones regardless of what the phone manufacturer wants to use. Cars made for countries with right-hand steering are the same as phones. Countries determine what side the steering wheel is on (although they do allow vehicles with steering wheels on the other side but you still are required to drive on the dictated side. There's no justifiable reason for all phones to have the same charging port. All that matters is the power brick has to work with the country's electrical standard(s). Phone ports aren't anywhere near critical as the electrical standard so there's no reason to force Apple or any other phone manufacturer to use a fixed type of charging port. Look at all the kitchen appliances that use different types of power cords (you have to look closely to see the difference and replacement cords can be difficult and expensive to find). Why aren't they being required to use the same power jack?
    It's clear that you haven't read a single line of the multiple documents the EU has put forward on the subject. Please at least browse them and you will see why what you are saying isn't correct.

    A propietary connector wouldn't make it common would it? That is one of the goals. Making life simpler for consumers. It isn't only about the electrical charging side. 

    Also, remember that the EU proposal is not limited to phones but an entire swathe of CE products. 

    I have not seen any kitchen appliances with non-standard power cords. All of mine are built in to the devices.

    Ironically I do have some non-kitchen appliances that do have non-standard charging setups but those will be included in the common charging proposal so, going forward at least, that issue will be resolved by the proposal.

    Also remember that the EU proposal is just one of a number of far reaching proposals that will have a massive impact on consumers' lives and the environment. 

    Stay tuned for the updated Battery Directive. 


    edited August 2022
  • Reply 14 of 17
    kmareikmarei Posts: 178member
    t-bone said:
    Just no. Let's not complicate things until USB-C improves and standardizes.


    other than the fact that guy is annoying in how we talks
    all this is totally irrelevant when it comes to charging, which is the topic at hand
    i don't care if the cable supports 4k video or not
    i don't care if it supports 5gb or 20gb data transfer, or even no data transfer
    i just want the same charger/cable to plug into all my devices and charge them, period

    i was recently on vacation
    i had one HP 65w USB-C charger that charged my laptop (Microsoft surface laptop 3) work phone (Microsoft surface duo 2) iPad pro, and portable power pack
    all with zero issues

    thing is, there is no technical reason why the iPhone doesn't use USB-C
    its a business decision pure and simple, all for the royalties of the "Made for iPhone"
    if USB-C was inferior why does apple use it for its  laptops and iPads?




    edited August 2022 muthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 15 of 17
    After decades US still refuses to go metric. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 17
    swat671swat671 Posts: 150member
    Good! It makes sense to have all these mobile devices on the same standard (phones and tablets, at least. Smart watches/fitness trackers are different). The sooner the iPhone switches over to USB-C, the better. Macs have them. iPads have them. Apple sells tons of USB-C “bricks” and cables already. There’s no reason for the iPhone to not support it. The only pinch point would all the devices (like speakers) that have a Lightning port already. The cable in my old car was a 30-Pin dock connection directly wired into the stereo. So I had to get an adapter for it. Of course, my new car has a USB-C port and CarPlay, and I absolutely LOVE it!
  • Reply 17 of 17
    After decades US still refuses to go metric. 
     B) B) B) I was going to comment, but can't top this one B) B) B)
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