Apple has warned India that its local production targets would be affected if it followed the European Union’s lead and required existing iPhones to have universal charging ports.
A Reuters The report details an official government document on the issue, as Apple is actively pushing for a delay or exemption from the policy.
India wants to apply the same EU rule that requires all smartphones to have a universal USB-C charging port, which will lead to negotiations with phone makers to bring India into compliance with the regulation by June 2025. Samsung is one of the manufacturers to follow. get on board with the plan, but Apple is fighting back.
It seems that Apple wants to continue with the Lightning connector port unique to the American tech giant.
Conversely, the EU estimated that a single charger option would save consumers approximately $271 million and have a positive impact on the amount of e-waste thrown away.
The European governing body has set its own deadline of the end of 2024 for USB-C regulations to come into force.
Apple aims to reverse plan, citing PLI
Reuters described part of the discussions involving India’s IT ministry and Apple when the latter’s representatives presented their case for exempting iPhones from the proposed charging port projects.
Apple highlighted production targets under the national program Production Linked Incentive Program (PLI)warning that he may struggle to meet them if the proposals go ahead.
One obvious problem is the large quantity of older iPhones already on the market and in circulation. It will be difficult, if not impossible, to change the design of these handsets, and even if new products can be adapted, it will have a significant impact on Apple.
Only the iPhone 15 has the new universal charging port, highlighting the scale of the challenge ahead and the reason for resistance to the planned changes.
In related news from PLI, Japanese multinational electronics company TDK Corporation announced it will produce lithium-ion battery cells for Apple’s iPhones in India.
The tech giant reportedly intends to increase production in the South Asian state to around $40 billion – a five-fold increase from the current $7 billion – over the next four to five years.
Featured image credit: Laurenz Heymann; Unsplash
