Public Backs Standardisation of Charging Cables for Mobile Phones and Other Devices

According to a survey, the majority of consumers, specifically nine out of 10, have expressed their approval of the government’s decision to standardize charging cables for smartphones and tablets, similar to the European Union. They believe that this move will lead to a decrease in prices and make branded charging cables more accessible. Additionally, seven out of 10 respondents believe that having different chargers for various devices allows companies to sell more accessories.

India is likely to soon adopt the Consumer Affairs Committee’s recommendations for common charging ports – similar to those of the European Union – by June 2025. The recommendations have been forwarded to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, which is likely to announce the framework soon. according to reports. Three months after joining the EU, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs announced that Indian mobile device manufacturers and technology companies must adopt USB Type-C as the standard charging port for their products by March 2025.

To understand consumer feedback on this social media community platform, LocalCircles conducted a nationwide survey asking consumers why they think smartphone and tablet manufacturers have different Charging Cables for different devices. The survey also tried to understand whether there is a need for the government to standardize charging cables.

Most consumers feel that smartphone and device manufacturers have different charging cables to maximize accessory sales and lack of government standards. The study asked household consumers why they think smartphone and tablet manufacturers have different charging cables for different devices. At least 32 percent of them said this was done to “maximize sales of supplies,” 6 percent said “consumer convenience and standard thinking is lacking,” 13 percent said it was due to “lack of government standards,” while 38 percent thought all of these reasons contributed for his part.

The survey also asked household consumers how these cables should be standardized. The majority – 78 percent – said all smartphones and tablets should have the same USB charging cable, regardless of company. Only 6 percent of consumers thought the current system was good, where different devices have different charging cables.

At least 91 percent of the consumers who responded to the survey support the government’s effort to standardize chargers for different devices. This shows that a majority of Indian consumers are unhappy with having different charging cables for different devices like smartphones and tablets and believe that brands are doing this to increase sales of accessories.

Most consumers also buy generic charging cables because branded cables are expensive. While some of these cables work well, there are also plenty of fake cables on the market and online that are dangerous to use. Time and again, the media has reported how fake chargers explode or catch fire. Many of them also damage the mobile device over time.

What do the EU’s goals say?

With the aim of reducing the number of chargers per household and to minimize the amount of electronic waste, the EU has ordered that all smartphones sold in the member states, including iPhones, must have a common USB Type C charger from December. 28, 2024. Laptop manufacturers have been given until 2026 to comply.

While more than 98 percent of Android smartphones use USB Type C as their charging port, iPhones rely on proprietary Lightning ports. Type C is a cable and port standard established by the USB Implementers Forum, a global non-profit organization created to promote and maintain the specifications of the universal serial bus.