Following in the footsteps of the EU, India is now in the early stages of considering imposing regulations on consumer products sold in the country that force a universal standard charger, including USB-C, by as early as 2024, Mintreports.
The EU had reached an agreement earlier this summer that would force Apple to adopt USB-C on the iPhone and AirPods by fall 2024. While the agreement has been reached, the legislation still needs to be formally approved by the European Parliament and European Council later this year before Apple is forced to change its ways.
Officials in India held a meeting earlier this week with industry stakeholders and popular consumer electronic makers to discuss the possible impacts of a common charger. "The meeting will be more of an explorative nature. We will try to learn from the stakeholders how a common charger can be adopted in India. We will also try to understand their concerns," India's secretary of Consumer Affairs told local media outlets.
The EU and India's push towards adopting a "common port" would impact a wide range of devices, including, more specifically, Apple, which has kept the iPhone with the Lightning port since 2012, while other products, such as the Mac and iPad, have largely moved towards USB-C.
Saturday April 11, 2026 9:14 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly a year later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon.
In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis.
CarPlay Ultra...
As we wait for WWDC to kick off next Monday, Apple today announced the winners of its annual Apple Design Awards, recognizing apps and games for their innovation, ingenuity, and technical achievement.
The 2025 Apple Design Award winners are listed below, with one app and one game selected per category:
Delight and Fun - CapWords (App) and Balatro (Game)
Innovation - Play (App) and PBJ -...
Saturday April 11, 2026 9:07 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
While the AirPods Max 2 received more attention, Apple also released a second pair of headphones last month: Nike Powerbeats Pro 2.
Nike Powerbeats Pro 2 are the same as the regular Powerbeats Pro 2, except they have a two-tone design consisting of black and Nike's signature Volt neon green-yellow color. The headphones were released on March 20 in the U.S., Canada, Australia, the U.K., and a ...
Saturday April 11, 2026 9:14 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly a year later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon.
In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis.
CarPlay Ultra...
As we wait for WWDC to kick off next Monday, Apple today announced the winners of its annual Apple Design Awards, recognizing apps and games for their innovation, ingenuity, and technical achievement.
The 2025 Apple Design Award winners are listed below, with one app and one game selected per category:
Delight and Fun - CapWords (App) and Balatro (Game)
Innovation - Play (App) and PBJ -...
Saturday April 11, 2026 9:07 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
While the AirPods Max 2 received more attention, Apple also released a second pair of headphones last month: Nike Powerbeats Pro 2.
Nike Powerbeats Pro 2 are the same as the regular Powerbeats Pro 2, except they have a two-tone design consisting of black and Nike's signature Volt neon green-yellow color. The headphones were released on March 20 in the U.S., Canada, Australia, the U.K., and a ...
Why don’t Apple just pull the trigger and add USB-C to the iPhone 14? The Lightning port is not a selling point, in fact, I won’t buy the iPhone 14 if it has a Lightning port.
I agree with the concept of a "common port" in order to cut down on electronic waste (fewer cables for example.)
I have concerns about USB-C port durability though... My 2016 MBP's ports, by the time I sold it the cables would almost fall out of the sockets. And I didn't use them much apart from charging.
I wish Lightning could be upgraded to match the power delivery & transfer speeds USB-C can offer. It seems a lot more durable.
Pretty sure lighting was designed with strength in mind hence its a solid piece. I hate how usb c has that thin sliver inside the port. It’s just asking to break over time.
I agree with the concept of a "common port" in order to cut down on electronic waste (fewer cables for example.)
I have concerns about USB-C port durability though... My 2016 MBP's ports, by the time I sold it the cables would almost fall out of the sockets. And I didn't use them much apart from charging.
I wish Lightning could be upgraded to match the power delivery & transfer speeds USB-C can offer. It seems a lot more durable.
Apple will have long switched to USB-C across its product line by the time these government regulations work their way through their legislative bureaucracies.
I think they're just waiting to be forced to switch so they can answer "blame it on the govs" to everyone that will try to blame them for the millions of accessories that will be useless. The same answer for those who will accuse them of planned obsolescence.
I’m travelling at the moment. Everything else uses USB C apart from out iPhones… lightning seems so backwards now, especially with our iPads now using the more modern connector too.
I guess they want to squeeze as much money out of lightning connectors before everyone can just use other/cheaper accessories.
Forcing a standard charger for all is a good start, but smartphone manufacturers should also be forced to make batteries switchable again. For smartphones and tablets batteries are usually the first parts that degrade and "force" people to buy a new device. Manufactures say that with switchable batteries their devices would no longer be water resistant, but that looks like a lame excuse. If a device is water resistant despite having an open USB or lightning port, that proves that should also work for the contacts that connect the batteries.
A normal smartphone battery is built for about 500 charging cycles. After that the capacity is down to about 80% and from there is even goes down faster. So after two or three year you either need a new battery or a new phone. The manufacturers love that. They even profit from making it hard to switch batteries. I hope the EU will stop that practice. Not just for smartphone, but for all devices with rechargable batteries. Electrical toothbrushes for example. That would help the environment much more than a universal charger.
