Most Indians want govt to make rules on common chargers for all devices

New Delhi: Seven in 10 Indian consumers believe that mobile devices have different charging cables because it allows the manufacturers to maximise sale of accessories amid lack of government standards, a new report said on Wednesday. While five in 10 respondents say different charging cables are there due to lack of government standards, nine in […]

New Delhi: Seven in 10 Indian consumers believe that mobile devices have different charging cables because it allows the manufacturers to maximise sale of accessories amid lack of government standards, a new report said on Wednesday.

While five in 10 respondents say different charging cables are there due to lack of government standards, nine in 10 want the government to drive standardisation of charging cables on priority as it will reduce inconvenience and make charging cables more affordable, according to data provided by community social media platform LocalCircles.

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The European Commission has recently made a commendable move by passing a resolution that all smartphone makers will be required to support USB-C as a single charging standard for all mobile devices across the EU nations by 2024.

The Department of Consumer Affairs in the country is set to meet industry representatives to evaluate the possibility of mandating a common charger for most mobile devices, including smartphones, tablets and wearable devices.

While 78 per cent of consumers said all smartphones and tablets should have the same USB charging cable regardless of the company, only 6 per cent said the current system is fine where different smartphones and tablets have different charging cables regardless of the company.

The findings indicate that the majority of Indian consumers are unhappy that smartphones, tablets have different charging cables for different devices and believe that brands do the same to maximise sales of accessories.

Since the charging cables made by brands are priced high, the majority end up buying the generic version.

Most consumers now demand that the government should create common standards for USB charging cables like the EU as they believe standardisation will drive prices lower and make original charging cables more affordable.