India could exempt feature phones, hearables, and wearables from the USB-C rule

• The Indian government has made it compulsory to switch charging ports to USB Type-C from 2025.
  
• India may exclude certain devices to adapt the USB Type-C port rule.
  
• Read further to know which electronic devices will likely be excluded from the list.

The Indian government has passed a mandate for electronic devices to switch to USB Type-C as the default charging port. Manufacturers of smartphones and other wearables and hearables are given a deadline of 2025, whereas laptop manufacturers have an extended timeline till 2026 to switch to USB-C charging ports.

However, according to MacRumours, the Indian government may exempt some electronic devices from this mandate.

According to a report, feature phones, wearables, and hearables are likely exempt from having compulsory USB Type-C charging ports. The officials have considered exempting these devices from the list as the manufacturers have raised concerns about input costs which will lead to an increase in the prices of the devices.

The senior Indian official said, “For mobiles and electronics, USB Type-C port has been made mandatory, the industry players are also on board, but for feature phones, wearables and hearables, stakeholders have said that costs would increase.”

In the list of hearables that may be exempted from the universal charging port mandate, Apple's AirPods could be exempted.

Even though the Indian government is following the European Union (EU) in making USB-C charging ports compulsory for all devices, it is still not confirmed whether it will follow in the same footsteps to make Apple AirPods switch to the USB-C port.

This inspiration for adapting a single charger rule is a great initiative to reduce the hassle of carrying different chargers for all electronic devices- phones, cameras, laptops, wearables, and more. The mandate can also help reduce the e-waste produced by different chargers.
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