India wants to ban sales of old iPhones

Apple may be banned from selling smartphones with a Lightning connector in India. Reuters reports this.

According to the agency’s journalists, the Indian government intends to pass a law according to which all gadgets sold in the country will have to have a universal USB-C port. In this way, the authorities intend to reduce the amount of waste from electronics.

The material says that the future law is actually copied from that in the European Union. Apple representatives have already responded to the new rules, asking that the law not apply to already released iPhone models. Otherwise, the company will not be able to sell older devices that have a Lightning connector in India.

According to interviewed experts, India is one of the main markets for Apple, where the company sells smartphones of previous generations that came with a Lightning port. Currently, only the iPhone 15 series devices have a USB-C connector. The corporation has already noted that they will not be able to upgrade older models by adding USB-C.

Also in 2023, Apple produced 12-14 percent of all smartphones in India. According to Reuters journalists, if the company reduces the number of iPhones produced in the region, it will not reach certain production volumes and, in turn, will not be able to count on tax benefits. Currently, India believes that the new law will come into force from June 2025.

Earlier it became known that an absolute record for smartphone sales was set in Russia – more than 27 million devices have been sold since the beginning of the year. For comparison, over the 11 months of 2022, 22 million devices were sold.