It follows the EU’s decision to mandate the port in future electronics
The legions who want to leave Micro-USB behind are rejoicing: the European Council recently approved the EU common charger initiative which mandates all commercially available electronics to feature a USB-C port by the fall of 2024. While notebooks and laptops have until the spring of 2026 to adopt these measures, smartphone manufacturers will have to adhere to the 2024 deadline. But that’s not the only victory future-proofers are eyeing as India is also looking into a USB-C common charger program of its own following an inter-ministerial task force meeting between government officials, tech companies, and multiple trade associations.
Among the companies included in the talks were Apple, Samsung, Dell, Lenovo, and HP, as per a report from The Economic Times (via Android Authority). Officials from some of the country’s industry and commerce governance bodies were also in attendance at the meeting.
With a population of more than 1.4 billion, India stands as one of the largest consumer electronics markets in the world.
Apple may already have its MacBooks and some of its iPads on USB-C, but it seems this move ups the urgency on getting iPhones to the standard. As per another industry executive cited by the publication, Apple “did not oppose” the decision to migrate to fully transition to USB-C in the country. However, the iPhone maker hasn’t officially responded to the development as of yet.
Android smartphone manufacturers will also be on notice given Micro-USB’s persistent presence on the lowest of low-end phones. The same will go for those producing wireless accessories like headphones and charging cradles.
While there’s currently no word on when the charging port will be standardized in India, an anonymous industry executive quoted by the Times said that it could happen after the European Union implements its common charger rule in 2024.
With India appearing to take cues from Europe towards a common charging solution, this could open the floodgates for other countries to join in. Based on Apple’s own admission, a future iPhone will have a USB-C port on board, though it may not mark the end of the Lightning port altogether. Nevertheless, iPhone owners should finally be able to pick from some of the best USB-C cables out there — not only is it better for charging, but it’s better for data transfer, too.
