Apple has warned India that its local production targets will be impacted if it follows the lead of the European Union to require existing iPhones to have universal charging ports.
A Reuters report detailed an official government document on the issue as Apple is actively lobbying for a delay or exemption to the policy.
India wants to press ahead with the same EU rule that requires all smartphones to have a universal USB-C charging port, leading to negotiations with phone manufacturers to bring India in line with the regulation by June 2025. Samsung is among the makers to get on board with the plan, but Apple is biting back.
It appears Apple wants to continue with the lightning connector port that’s unique to the US tech giant.
Conversely, the EU has estimated that a single charger option would save approximately $271 million for consumers and positively impact the amount of e-waste that is discarded.
The European governing body has set its own deadline of the end of 2024 for the USB-C regulation to come into force.
Apple aims to reverse the plan, citing PLI
Reuters outlined 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 plans.
Apple pointed to the production targets as part of the nation’s Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, warning that it could struggle to meet them if the proposals go ahead.
An obvious issue is the sheer 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 while new products can be adapted, it will significantly impact Apple.
Only the iPhone 15 has the new universal charging port, emphasizing the scale of the challenge ahead and the rationale for the resistance to the planned changes.
In related PLI news, Japanese electronics multinational TDK Corporation has announced it will produce lithium-ion battery cells for Apple iPhones in India.
The tech giant reportedly plans to increase production in the South Asian state to around $40 billion – a more than five-fold increase from its current $7 billion — in the next four to five years.
Featured Image Credit: Laurenz Heymann; Unsplash
