this post was submitted on 05 Dec 2023
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Apple isn't happy about India's demand to upgrade older iPhones with USB-C::Apple has urged the Indian IT ministry to make changes to its single charger rules, as adding USB-C to older iPhone models will make it hard for Apple to meet production targets for India's manufacturing and export laws.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 months ago (5 children)

The answer will be that Apple won’t sell iPhones without USB-C in India at all. Have fun waiting for like, 3 years to buy a relatively inexpensive iOS device.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 11 months ago (1 children)

There's enough supply of inexpensive Android phones that support standard chargers. It's not a problem for consumers if they can't buy older models of iPhones, there are tons of other smartphones.

It definitely hurts Apple to loose out in a market as big as India's. But that's their fault. They had enough time.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

There's a fad in India that having an iPhone makes you a sophisticated person.

I have colleagues who've spent more than a whole month's salary over it. They all use WhatsApp instead of Apple Messages, put on a ₹100 cover they got by bargaining at the railway station they commute to everyday for 2 hours, can't afford the wireless charger, and every 3rd person seems to have one - idk what's sophisticated about such an unexclusive device ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[–] [email protected] 14 points 11 months ago (2 children)

If this were a small country, yes that is what would happen. In the second most populous country, I suspect that's too huge of a market to just accept as a loss.

Once a customer leaves the apple ecosystem they're unlikely to return to it. So they would lose those customers forever.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 11 months ago

Fun fact for the day: India overtook China as the most populous country at the beginning of this year.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Unfortunately, Apple's marketshare in India is tiny, so they can leave without too much loss.

Also, India is now the world's most populous country. :-(

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

That also means that there's still a huge potential for growth, before competitors reel in their potential customers. If they let other manufacturers divide the market among themselves, it may be harder to gain market share later.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

It's a huge market even with a smaller target of people.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago

For a market as big as India, with it's up and coming middle class, Mr. Tim Apple would fuck a pig (with consent) on Live TV if it was what it took to keep selling there.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Why so? They have moved to USB C already.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (2 children)

But they’re not going to redesign all the older iPhone models to have USB-C. They’ll just stop selling those models.

Edit: and there’s no fucking way that the Indian government can successfully compel Apple to repair every iPhone 14-or-under in India. That is simply not happening.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I assumed it's new models, not retroactively fitting them, as in newly produced ones.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

They’re already switching to USB-C for all the new models due to EU regulations.