India May Exempt Certain Devices From Law That Would Force USB-C Port

India is considering exempting certain products from a proposed law that would force a selection of consumer electronic devices to adopt a USB-C port. Among the devices being possibly exempted, AirPods could be included.

airpods usb c ken pillonel
According to a report from Mint, citing a senior Indian official, the government is considering exempting featurephones, wearables, and hearables from a proposed law that would require USB-C on devices. The official cites device makers and stakeholders as having shared concerns that mandating those products to adopt the universal port would result in costs increasing for consumers.

While the specific definition of the exempted devices has yet to be decided, the definition of hearables could include Apple's line of AirPods. The EU has already passed a law that requires devices sold in the region to have a USB-C port by 2024, including AirPods. Under the EU's regulation, Apple would be required to switch the AirPods to USB-C, even if the Indian requirement says differently.

Apple's vice president of worldwide marketing, Greg Joswiak, previously confirmed that Apple would have to switch the iPhone to USB-C. While reports suggest the iPhone 15 later this fall may make the switch away from Lightning, according to the EU's deadline for the USB-C law, Apple could wait until the iPhone 17 in 2025 before moving to the faster and more universal port.

Tags: India, USB-C

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in Three Months With These 12 New Features

Saturday June 14, 2025 5:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14 Pro have a...
iPadOS 26 App Windowing

Apple Explains Why iPads Don't Just Run macOS

Friday June 13, 2025 7:46 am PDT by
iPadOS 26 allows iPads to function much more like Macs, with a new app windowing system, a swipe-down menu bar at the top of the screen, and more. However, Apple has stopped short of allowing iPads to run macOS, and it has now explained why. In an interview this week with Swiss tech journalist Rafael Zeier, Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi said that iPadOS 26's new Mac-like ...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday June 12, 2025 8:58 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
Logitech Logo Feature

Logitech Announces Two New Accessories for WWDC

Friday June 13, 2025 7:22 am PDT by
Alongside WWDC this week, Logitech announced notable new accessories for the iPad and Apple Vision Pro. The Logitech Muse is a spatially-tracked stylus developed for use with the Apple Vision Pro. Introduced during the WWDC 2025 keynote address, Muse is intended to support the next generation of spatial computing workflows enabled by visionOS 26. The device incorporates six degrees of...
iOS 26 Screens

Here Are All the iOS 26 Features That Require iPhone 15 Pro or Newer

Thursday June 12, 2025 4:53 am PDT by
With iOS 26, Apple has introduced some major changes to the iPhone experience, headlined by the new Liquid Glass redesign that's available across all compatible devices. However, several of the update's features are exclusive to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models, since they rely on Apple Intelligence. The following features are powered by on-device large language models and machine...
CarPlay Liquid Glass Dark

Apple to Let iPhone Users Watch Videos on CarPlay Screen While Parked

Thursday June 12, 2025 6:16 am PDT by
Apple this week announced that iPhone users will soon be able to watch videos right on the CarPlay screen in supported vehicles. iPhone users will be able to wirelessly stream videos to the CarPlay screen using AirPlay, according to Apple. For safety reasons, video playback will only be available when the vehicle is parked, to prevent distracted driving. The connected iPhone will be able to...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

Hate iOS 26's Liquid Glass Design? Here's How to Tone It Down

Wednesday June 11, 2025 4:22 pm PDT by
iOS 26 features a whole new design material that Apple calls Liquid Glass, with a focus on transparency that lets the content on your display shine through the controls. If you're not a fan of the look, or are having trouble with readability, there is a step that you can take to make things more opaque without entirely losing out on the new look. Apple has multiple Accessibility options that ...
Mac Studio Feature

Apple Begins Selling Refurbished Mac Studio With M4 Max and M3 Ultra Chips at a Discount

Thursday June 12, 2025 10:14 am PDT by
Apple today added Mac Studio models with M4 Max and M3 Ultra chips to its online certified refurbished store in the United States, Canada, Japan, Singapore, and many European countries, for the first time since they were released in March. As usual for refurbished Macs, prices are discounted by approximately 15% compared to the equivalent new models on Apple's online store. Note that Apple's ...
iOS 26 Feature

Apple Seeds Revised iOS 26 Developer Beta to Fix Battery Issue

Friday June 13, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Apple today provided developers with a revised version of the first iOS 26 beta for testing purposes. The update is only available for the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 models, so if you're running iOS 26 on an iPhone 14 or earlier, you won't see the revised beta. Registered developers can download the new beta software through the Settings app on each device. The revised beta addresses an...

Top Rated Comments

Eorlas Avatar
32 months ago
there's 0% reason for these exclusions to exist, unless a politician is trying to pander to tech companies that have not fully made this swap yet.

but what's the point, if the EU mandates it, apple will just fully make the switch. they're not going to design two sets of iphones and airpods that have different ports.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Gudi Avatar
32 months ago

Just make the switch to USB-C across the board. It's time to move on Apple from the Lightning Port. It's outdated, 10 years old. Time for a change!
Next year USB-C is going to be 10 years old. Time to move on!
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
32 months ago
Just make the switch to USB-C across the board. It's time to move on Apple from the Lightning Port. It's outdated, 10 years old. Time for a change!
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
vicviper789 Avatar
32 months ago
I wish my AirPods could use the 30 pin connector /s
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
enterthemerdaverse Avatar
32 months ago
Micro USB should be banned globally. The worst version of USB.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nostaws Avatar
32 months ago
I’d really like it to be USB C.

That being said, I don’t think government should be telling private companies what to do/run their businesses (in most cases).
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)