You might already know that Apple has faced a lot of backlash about its Lightning connector. EU recently mandated a law stating that all smartphones should have USB-C connectors for charging. And it gave Apple a 2024 deadline.
Well, now, the Indian government is following in the footsteps of the EU. It plans not only to mandate USB-C for smartphones but also for smartwatches and wearables.
In case you don’t know, India is one of the largest consumer electronic markets. And if the Indian government does move ahead with this mandate, it could have the same effect as the EU law.
Want to know more about how the Indian government came to such a decision? The Bureau of Indian Standards has been recently in the headlines of the news.
And it had been considered to switch to USB-C for the same reasons as the EU. That is, to make things easier for the consumers and to reduce e-waste.
Rohit Kumar Singh, the Department of Consumer Affairs Secretary, told Press Trust of India (PTI) that the BIS could insist on all the upcoming wearables shipping with the support of a standard charging port.
The products that would be affected by this change would not just be smartwatches and wearables. Instead, it would also be applicable to headphones and wireless earbuds.
However, smartwatches and wearables will be the most affected ones. If you take a look at a few of the models, you will see them utilizing multiple approaches for charging.
Some of them come with wireless induction, while some utilize pogo pins. The only thing that is common among them is that they use magnets to keep the charger secure.
Currently, the Indian market did not reveal any exact solution for the regulation. But it will not stretch that far from the wireless charging tech supported by popular watches such as Apple Watch and Galaxy Watch 5.
Nonetheless, it would indeed be surprising to see a new charging approach for smartwatches and wearables.
A big deviation from the existing standards will be costly. And that would lead the manufacturers to push back on the regulation.
Smaller changes that consider collective good are easier pills to swallow. And most manufacturers are hoping for that with this mysterious new standard.
However, the great part is that all consumers will hugely benefit from this new smartwatches and wearables law.
You might finally be able to use one charger to juice up all your devices in the future. However, it could take years for the standard to go into full swing.
Slava is a man of mystery and no-one seems to know exactly where he is at any point in time. When he isn't enjoying writing about all things audio and technical he can be found researching his next project of interest. The man never rests.