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.
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices.
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 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 ...
Wednesday March 26, 2025 4:53 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Apple regularly refreshes the MacBook Pro models, and a new version that uses M5 series chips is in the works. Apple just finished refreshing most of the Mac lineup with M4 chips, and now it's time for the M5. Rumors suggest that we could see the first M5 MacBook Pro models this fall.
Design
There have been no rumors of a design update for the M5 MacBook Pro models that are coming this...
With the second release candidate of iOS 18.4 that Apple seeded out today, the company finally provided us with release notes that give a full rundown on what to expect.
There's an Apple Vision Pro app, new Apple Intelligence features for notifications and additional language support, plus an Apple News Food feature for Apple News+ subscribers, and several updates that should improve the...
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In the mid-to-late 2000s, Facebook was all about staying connected with friends and family. However, as the social media platform added new features and grew over time, that core experience began to get drowned out.
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Apple is reportedly working on a new Magic Mouse. Below, we recap what to expect.
The two key rumors for the Magic Mouse 3 so far include a relocated charging port, along with a more ergonomic design.
It was briefly rumored that the Magic Mouse 3 would also feature voice control, but that was misinterpreted information.
Relocated Charging Port
While the Magic Mouse switched from...
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Apple wants to make it creaseless. It's taken Apple multiple years to design a foldable iPhone that it's satisfied with because Apple ...
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The upcoming iOS 18.4 update for the iPhone adds an Ambient Music feature to Control Center. Below, we take a closer look at how it works.
iOS 18.4 is currently in beta, so the Ambient Music feature is not widely available yet. The update will likely be released to the general public next week.
To use the feature on iOS 18.4, open Control Center and tap on the plus sign in the top-left...
Thursday March 27, 2025 4:21 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
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According...
Apple's big developer event is a little over two months away, and rumors about what we can expect to see in Apple's next major operating system updates are becoming increasingly frequent.
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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.
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.
I absolutely agree, lightning has a much more durable design especially because it snaps into place. I've saved my iPhone a few times because I managed to grab the cable before the phone hits the floor. Lightning is so secure it holds the weight of a 13PM, I doubt you can say the same for practically any USB C android flagship (hoping I get proved wrong on this)
