Universal charger mandate for smartwatches & wearables may be in the cards

The European Union (EU) has been making some interesting moves in the tech sector for a while now, moves that benefits users. The one that stood out the most is the USB-C standard that the EU forced starting at the end of 2024. That will force Apple to change its ways with iPhones. Well, it seems like we may get a universal charger mandate for smartwatches and wearables down the line as well.

We may get a universal charger mandate for smartwatches & wearables too

This time around, however, it’s not the EU who is pulling the strings. This info comes from India. The Bureau of Indian Standards, better known as BIS, has been considering the same move as the EU regarding Type-C. That is not all they’re considering, however.

Secretary to the Department of Consumer Affairs, Rohit Kumar Singh, told PTI that the BIS may insist that all upcoming wearables ship with support for a standard charging solution. Products such as smartwatches, fitness trackers, wireless earbuds, and headphones would be affected.

This is just being considered, for now, it seems, as BIS doesn’t have a clear rule in place. Different OEMs use different methods these days. POGO pins are still in use, while others use proper wireless charging. Smartwatch chargers do come in all sizes, and variants, but most use magnets to secure them in place while charging.

Implementing this may prove to be a bit more complicated than it was with smartphones

Now, implementing a standard charger mandate would not only mean using the same charging method, but actually having chargers that can charge other devices. This would require some thought, as it’s not as simple as saying “include a Type-C port”.

Smartwatches come in all kinds of different shapes and sizes, and the same goes for fitness trackers, etc. If we’re talking about wireless charging, those chargers would need to be made to accommodate a wide variety of devices.

The EU is probably thinking of the same thing as BIS, though, as that is the next logical step after making Type-C mandatory. That would certainly reduce e-waste, especially in the long run.

The EU did not really speak of this just yet, but this information from BIS could push the EU to make a statement as well, well see. There is no clear timeline for this mandate, however, so we’ll have to wait and see what will happen.