Recently, The Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs has written to industry and other concerned stakeholders, inviting them to brainstorm a plan for having one cable for charging all your devices.
This comes in the backdrop of India taking a step to reduce electronic waste after committing to reducing the emission intensity of the GDP by 45% by 2030 at the UN Climate Change Conference (CoP 26).
Such a move, while saving a lot of consumers the hassle of purchasing a new charger with every gadget, also has the potential to end the redundancy of having multiple chargers in every household.
Companies such as Samsung, Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, and Realme – the top five consumer and mobile accessories companies in India – have switched to Type C chargers, based on the assumption that people have older Type-C chargers lying around at home which can be used for the newer phones as well.
TimesTech interacted with Meet Vij, the co-founder of Lyne, a brand new player in the consumer electronics space, entering the market with products like charger cables, power banks and headphones to know about the advantages and challenges of the policy.
Read the full interview here:
TimesTech: Why are there different types of charging cables in the first place?
Meet: USB (Universal Serial Bus) is a well-known computer port that enables device charging and data transfer between devices. Developed in the 90’s it has progressively become faster, smaller and more powerful.
With different brands introducing devices, some with different and more powerful specs than others, it became a necessity to differentiate the different kinds of cables based on form, transfer speed, power and video delivery.
USB-A
USB A or Type A is the original flat rectangular connector which almost always has a different port type on the other end. This is still used for charging devices and data transfer on devices like computers, gaming consoles, and tvs.
USB-B
Primarily used on larger devices such as scanners and printers, this square port has almost gone out of use today, and replaced by smaller options like Micro-USB or Mini-USB.
Micro-USB
Before the introduction and wide acceptance of the USB-C port, the Micro-USB was the standard for most portable devices and especially Android tablets and phones, cameras and keyboards. The Micro-USB aids in fast charging and data transfer, and some manufacturers still use this, as it lowers the cost significantly.
Mini-USB
As the smaller version of the Mini-USB, the Mini USN was the norm for charging and data transfer between devices before the Micro-USB. It has become very uncommon to see the Mini-USB in use today, except in devices like older MP3 players or the PlayStation 3.
USB-C
The most recent and common version of cables can be found on devices like smartphones, game controllers, earbud cases, microphones, and also laptops. With a small oblong and reversible port, the USB-C’s 100-watt connection is the best cable yet for fast charging of even larger devices and data transfers.
The rapid development of tech in the last few years, coupled with consumer needs, such as fast charging and data transfer has led to the evolution of the cables as we know it.
TimesTech: We all know that we will get many benefits from a single charging cable but what challenges will come from a single charging cable?
Meet: The adoption of a universal USB-C port charging standard for portable electronic devices by 2024 was recently announced by the European Union.
With the biggest mobile and accessories providers in India (Samsung, Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo and Realme), using Type-C charging ports, it is only expected that India follows suit and adopts a single charging port across all cables. However, the India Cellular and Electronics Association has raised concerns about bringing in a common charger across devices, as it would raise the prices of low-end devices. Moreover, India, being home to a large charger manufacturing base, also has aspirations to be a world leader in the sector. This migration to Type-C would affect both the domestic and international market potential.
From a brand point of view, mandating a Type-C port will impact tech giant Apple and its user base in the country. Moreover, there are some entry-level smartphones that still use a Micro-USB cable.
Due to a number of factors, such as this, several industry bodies have requested the Consumer Affairs Ministry to hold off on enforcing the common charger regulation until after the EU does the same. They want a closer examination of the viability of the regulation and the insights from the implementation in the EU market. Further to that, based on these, industry leaders have also called for detailed consumer and market research, to evaluate the implications of such a regulation in India.
TimesTech: A charging cable only lasts 6 to 8 months. When the cable stops working people will need a new cable anyhow. How does this policy help?
Meet: With most consumer accessories brands producing C-Type chargers, consumers have no lack of high-quality and long-lasting brands to choose while purchasing a charger cable. For example, we at Lyne, offer our customers a variety of products to choose from. Moreover, the Type-C is highly durable and is designed to endure being plugged and unplugged at least 10,000 times.
A common charger for all devices also significantly reduces electronic waste and simplifies life for customers – when a single charger is being used across several devices, it is only a single charger that will need to be replaced to be able to charge multiple devices. Whereas, until quite recently, each device needed a different kind of charger, which then had to be replaced, meaning that the charger could not be used for another device.
TimesTech: The power requirement of every device is different. Eventually, you need different chargers. Then why is the a cable problem?
Meet: Until very recently, every household had an assortment of chargers and a general assumption that if the connector fit into the phone’s power jack, it would be enough to charge the phone. Unfortunately, this was not the case and sometimes could even damage the phone’s circuits permanently.
Every charger and device had its own voltage and current rating, based on the manufacturer’s specifications. This was streamlined, due to the introduction of USB. But standardization also had several differences with the various kinds of USBs available.
Moreover, it is important to understand that more than the cable, the charging plugs play a more significant role in dictating the power requirement of a device.
All devices being compatible with Type-C pins will only require charging plugs to be standardised, more so than the cables themselves.
TimesTech: How will this affect the “3-party compatible devices” market?
Meet: There is a direct relationship between the “3rd party compatible devices” market and the rest of the consumer electronics industry, which is why it will see some obvious effects following the universal charger mandate.
Seeing how the market has been, especially in the last two years, we have no notion of the changes that the universal charger mandate will bring. It is difficult to closely predict anything regarding the mandate, but nonetheless, we’re as excited and curious as everyone else to see the changes it brings, good or bad.
