India has become the second major political jurisdiction to require USB-C charging for all smartphones.
The European Union adopted legislation to mandate USB-C in October in an effort to make things easier on consumers and reduce e-waste. India has now followed suit, according to Business Standard, requiring USB-C charging ports by March 2025.
As part of the new rules, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has established quality standards manufacturers will need to meet.
“BIS has notified standards for type C chargers and the government will come up with two common types of charging ports for mobiles and wearable electronic devices,” said Rohit Kumar Singh, Secretary of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs.
“There is a broad consensus among the industry and government that the use of USB type C charging ports can be made mandatory after six months of the European Union’s rolling out of standards for USB charging ports in 2024 as electronic manufacturers have a global integrated supply chain,” Singh told Business Standard.
The news is a welcome development for smartphone users and should go a long way toward ensuring a more streamlined experience across mobile platforms.
The European Parliament has finalized the adoption of USB-C for charging small and mid-sized devices, including Apple’s iPhone.
Much of the phone industry already relies on USB-C for charging and data transfer. Apple is the main outlier, relying on its Lightning port instead. The EU has been moving toward forcing all manufacturers to adopt USB-C, both for the benefit of consumers and for the sake of the environment.
By the end of 2024, all mobile phones, tablets and cameras sold in the EU will have to be equipped with a USB Type-C charging port.
The rules will also apply to laptops, although not until a later date.
From spring 2026, the obligation will extend to laptops. The new law, adopted by plenary on Tuesday with 602 votes in favour, 13 against and 8 abstentions, is part of a broader EU effort to reduce e-waste and to empower consumers to make more sustainable choices.
The move should make customers’ lives easier and significantly reduce electronic waste. While the EU’s rules will only apply to Europe, it’s a safe bet Apple will make all phones in compliance with the new regulation since manufacturing two completely different models — one for the EU market and one for outside it — would be cost prohibitive.
“The common charger will finally become a reality in Europe,” said Parliament’s rapporteur Alex Agius Saliba (S&D, MT). “We have waited more than ten years for these rules, but we can finally leave the current plethora of chargers in the past. This future-proof law allows for the development of innovative charging solutions in the future, and it will benefit everyone – from frustrated consumers to our vulnerable environment. These are difficult times for politics, but we have shown that the EU has not run out of ideas or solutions to improve the lives of millions in Europe and inspire other parts of the world to follow suit”
Brazil is investigating the possibility of mandating USB-C for phone chargers, the latest country to consider such measures.
The European Union recently passed rules requiring smartphone and device manufacturers to use USB-C chargers in an effort to cut down on e-waste and improve the consumer experience. US Senators have since asked the FCC to consider a similar measure. According to Ars Technica, Brazil is considering taking similar action.
The National Telecommunications Agency has announced a public consultation for a proposal that would follow the EU’s example. The one big difference is the scope of the proposal. The EU’s mandate applies to smartphones, tablets, handheld gaming consoles, cameras, and more. Eventually, it will also extend to laptops. In contrast, Brazil is only investigating a mandate for cell phones at this time.
Apple is the company that will be most impacted by these rules and, in all likelihood, will opt to adopt USB-C across its entire lineup rather than have specific hardware models for different jurisdictions.
The European Union (EU) has passed legislation that will require device manufacturers to standardize on USB-C charging cables by autumn 2024.
The EU has been working for some time to standardize charging cables in an effort to cut down on electronic waste and save consumers money. The latest bill initially targets small and medium-sized devices, including phones, tablets, earbuds, headphones, headsets, e-readers, digital cameras, portable speakers, and handheld gaming consoles that are rechargeable. All will be required to use USB-C for charging.
While the law goes into effect for the small to medium-sized devices in autumn 2024, laptop makers will have an additional 40 months to make changes, after which they will be required to standard on USB-C as well.
Parliament’s rapporteur Alex Agius Saliba (S&D, MT) said: “Today we have made the common charger a reality in Europe! European consumers were frustrated long with multiple chargers piling up with every new device. Now they will be able to use a single charger for all their portable electronics. We are proud that laptops, e-readers, earbuds, keyboards, computer mice, and portable navigation devices are also included in addition to smartphones, tablets, digital cameras, headphones and headsets, handheld videogame consoles and portable speakers. We have also added provisions on wireless charging being the next evolution in the charging technology and improved information and labelling for consumers”.
The move, at least initially, primarily impacts Apple. The company still manufactures a number of iPhones and iPads that use its Lightning port. In contrast, much of the Android ecosystem already runs on USB-C.
The issue becomes more complicated once the law begins to apply to laptops. While many manufacturers, including Apple, have begun adopting USB-C for their laptop chargers, many still use the traditional barrel charger.
While the law only applies to the EU, it’s a safe bet many manufacturers will make the switch worldwide, rather than support different designs for inside and outside the EU. As a result, incompatible chargers may soon be a thing of the past for all consumers.
The EU is following through on its interest in a unified smartphone charging interface, preparing to pass legislation requiring the use of USB-C.
One of the more frustrating aspects of modern smartphones is the different chargers and cords that different manufacturers use. While many have already adoped USB-C, Apple still uses its Lightning port for most of its iPhones, as well as some iPads.
The EU sees this as harmful and wasteful, not only to consumers, but also the environment, according to SFGate.
“Chargers power all our most essential electronic devices. With more and more devices, more and more chargers are sold that are not interchangeable or not necessary. We are putting an end to that,” said Thierry Breton, the EU’s internal market commissioner. “With our proposal, European consumers will be able to use a single charger for all their portable electronics – an important step to increase convenience and reduce waste.”
Apple pushed back, saying the move would potentially stifle innovation, a claim Breton dismissed.
“If Apple wants to continue to have their own plug, they will have the ability to do it. It’s not against innovation, it’s just to make the lives of our fellow citizens a little bit more easy,” Breton said.
Apple already provides a USB-C charging brick that can be used with USB-C to Lightning cables.
Companies will have two years to implement the changes once the legislation goes into effect.
Apple has announced a new iPad Pro that is clearly aimed at the laptop market, with a slew of powerful new features.
The new iPad Pro is powered by the A12Z Bionic chip and an eight-core GPU, allowing the tablet to outperform most PC laptops on the market today, according to Apple. Given that the 2018 iPad Pro was touted as being faster than 92% of notebooks on the market at that time, Apple’s claim about the new model is probably pretty accurate.
iPad Pro Cameras – Image Credit: Apple
The camera on the new model is equally impressive. The iPad Pro includes a 12MP Wide camera, as well as a 10MP Ultra Wide camera. There are also “studio-quality mics and a breakthrough LiDAR Scanner that delivers cutting-edge depth-sensing capabilities, opening up more pro workflows and supporting pro photo and video apps. The LiDAR Scanner, along with pro cameras, motion sensors, pro performance, pro audio, the stunning Liquid Retina display and powerful apps, extends the lead of iPad Pro as the world’s best device for augmented reality (AR).”
iPad Trackpad Support – Image Credit: Apple
The feature that will catch most users’ attention is full trackpad support. iPadOS 13.4 brings trackpad support to the iPad, and the feature particularly shines when paired with the upcoming Magic Keyboard. The new keyboard is designed to offer a laptop-style experience, suspending the iPad magnetically and giving 130 degrees of viewing angle—far better than the older Smart Keyboard. The Magic Keyboard also features pass-through USB-C charging, leaving the USB-C port on the iPad free for peripherals.
“The new iPad Pro introduces advanced technologies never before available in mobile computing,” said Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “Combining the most advanced mobile display with powerful performance, pro cameras, pro audio, the breakthrough LiDAR Scanner and new Magic Keyboard with Trackpad, this is another huge leap forward for iPad. There’s no other device in the world like the new iPad Pro and we think our customers are going to love it.”
“We’re making iPad even more capable and versatile by bringing trackpad support to iPadOS,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering. “We carefully considered the best way to integrate trackpad use into a touch-first environment while retaining everything our customers know and love about iPad. We’re thrilled to bring this new way of interacting with iPad to the millions of people using iPadOS today.”
iPad Pro and Magic Keyboard – Image Credit: Apple
For years, the iPad has been a beautiful and powerful piece of hardware held back by the OS. Similarly, users have been clamoring for trackpad support to help with more tedious tasks. With today’s announcement, Apple goes a long way toward addressing those issues, making the iPad a much stronger laptop replacement than it has ever been.
