Smartphones and other mobile devices sold in India must have a USB-C charging port as standard by March 2025.
It is three months after the similar deadline set by Europe. In October, the EU decided to require USB-C charging ports on all phones, tablets and cameras sold in the European Economic Community by the end of 2024. Laptops will be required to use. USB-C starts in 2026
India’s consumer affairs secretary Rohit Kumar Singh said this week that his country, the world’s second-largest smartphone market, would follow Europe.
“In India, the directive will start in three months after the EU because mobile and electronics manufacturers have a global supply chain and they are not alone in supplying to India,” he was quoted as saying in the Times of India.
Separately, Singh told India’s Business Standard: “There is broad consensus among industry and government that the use of Type C charging ports could become mandatory after the European Union’s 2024 charging port standards come out six months from now as electronic. manufacturers have an integrated global supply chain.”
So we will interpret it like this. Three months after Europe’s deadline, India will also require USB-C charging as standard charging for smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices sold within its borders, and six months from now will really mean it.
Manufacturers have indicated that they will gradually roll out USB-C charging in line with India’s deadline, if they are not already using the technology. It is the Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi, which will formulate and recommend the changes.
As we reported in November, India was well on its way to requiring USB-C charging for mobile electronics; times and some other fine print to work out.
In India, USB-C or other select standards may also be required at some point, such as for smartwatches; these gizmos tend to have their own charging ports designed specifically for their little cases. The Bureau of Standards is looking into this, we’re told.
Good for India and Europe, one might say. Pulling the right charger out of drawers, boxes and bags and replacing them after they die is a pain for ASCII, and a standard, widely available way to charge is a relief. But as this vulture looks around its US home, it’s almost USB-C already for portable electronics. Wireless Headphones, Smartphones, Laptops, Bluetooth Gizmos. Many of us already live in this future.
Android is dominant in India and USB-C is no stranger to the world of devices. This USB-C requirement is all the more unfortunate for Apple, which is sticking with its own Lightning connector and growing sales in India, where it also manufactures some of its iPhones.
Apple has said it will comply with Europe’s requirements, which bodes well for India. assuming compliance doesn’t mean there are no more iPhones in those areas. It can also follow Apple in charging wirelessly only, ditching the connector ports for its phones and other stuff, and using USB-C for the charging base.
Generally, it also means that in India and Europe, qualified devices with micro USB will have to switch to USB-C for charging. The overall goal seems to be to reduce the number of chargers and cables people have to buy, store and replace, and instead just get everyone one standard. Who said atopian goals are dead this decade? ®
