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EU: Call to introduce common charger for all mobile phones

europarl.europa.eu

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Re: EU: Call to introduce common charger for all mobile phones

#131

Post by elisaado »

throwaway9d0291 wrote: post #108
vlozko wrote: post #69

There's a lot to not like about this. I'm going to go under the assumption that USB-C is the standard here. 1. Companies will be forced into paying licensing fees. While not expensive, it's essentially a forced tax on companies so that they get an assigned vendor ID. 2.The language of the directive doesn't give any clarity of upgrading. What happens when the USB standard is updated to a different plug, as it was from…

Honest question: Do you need a vendor ID if your device only supplies/draws power and doesn't use the data lines? Is a vendor ID necessary for things like USB-PD?

Yes.

Re: EU: Call to introduce common charger for all mobile phones

#132

Post by zaarn »

briandear wrote: post #121
zaarn wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The EU simply told the manufacturers to agree on a single port or else they would have to regulate one. Apple ruined the party for everyone.

Why does the EU actually have a say here? Is this really that important that government should be involved? Don’t like Apple chargers, don’t buy them.

Because these businesses are doing business in the EU, hence they are under EU jurisdiction when doing so. We're not all the US.

Re: EU: Call to introduce common charger for all mobile phones

#133

Post by tbrock »

Am I the only one that thinks regulation like this is ultra heavy handed?

You get the charger in the box, it works. They change once a decade because technology advances, we live on.

I do see it helping to standardize the smaller players that have a haphazard ecosystem but consumers and corporations can largely vote with their wallets without living in a nanny state.

Re: EU: Call to introduce common charger for all mobile phones

#134

Post by jefftk »

bestouff wrote: post #77
gambiting wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, at least one reason for different connectors is the fact that USB-C cannot support more than 100W(20V at 5amps). But I agree that literally every single laptop on the market that's below 100W should just use USB-C for charging.

My XPS 13 can suck 130W through its USB-C connector. For example with the TB-16 dock.

Looks like they're doing something proprietary. Dell sells a USB C adapter and calls it 130W: https://www.amazon.com/Dell-130W-Type-Adapter-Compatible/dp/... If you look on the side it lists 20V with 6.5A: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61%2BsdanUp...

Discussion: https://twitter.com/USBCGuy/status/1073833717171335168 https://www.dell.com/community/XPS/Dell-XPS-15-9570-USB-C-ch...

Re: EU: Call to introduce common charger for all mobile phones

#135

Post by 45ure »

briandear wrote: post #121
zaarn wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The EU simply told the manufacturers to agree on a single port or else they would have to regulate one. Apple ruined the party for everyone.

Why does the EU actually have a say here? Is this really that important that government should be involved? Don’t like Apple chargers, don’t buy them.

A government is involved, because it is fairly obvious that Apple and others are not going to take the initiative themselves. A revamp of the regulation on a common charger will help reduce considerable amount of electronic waste, which will ultimately have a positive impact on the environment.

Re: EU: Call to introduce common charger for all mobile phones

#137

Post by ProZsolt »

mrep wrote: post #128
specialist wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I love Lightning more than my first born child. I've been using USB-C now for about 3 months. Expected to hate it. It's pretty terrific. I'm sold. But whatever. Rumors are Apple will transition their mobiles to fully wireless charging. I'm totally on board.

I despise my pixels usb-c plug because it is so finicky. It's at the point where it takes like 5 attempts to get it to connect to my cars android auto and it frequently disconnects whenever I hit a bump.

It's most likely lint in the phone's connector. You can clean it out with a toothpick or any non-metallic pointy object.

Re: EU: Call to introduce common charger for all mobile phones

#138

Post by cellularmitosis »

45ure wrote: post #135
briandear wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why does the EU actually have a say here? Is this really that important that government should be involved? Don’t like Apple chargers, don’t buy them.

A government is involved, because it is fairly obvious that Apple and others are not going to take the initiative themselves. A revamp of the regulation on a common charger will help reduce considerable amount of electronic waste, which will ultimately have a positive impact on the environment.

How is having a government-mandated charging port going to have a positive environmental impact, other than by having a mandate which forces everyone to stick with their current connectors and stop adopting new ones?

Re: EU: Call to introduce common charger for all mobile phones

#139

Post by anoncake »

glogla wrote: post #111
anoncake wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. There are valid reasons for not including a headphone jack whereas there are none for having two incompatible connector types (USB/Lightning) for the same purposes. It would make more sense to encourage manufacturers to make variants of their headphones with a USB plug (AFAIK USB-C supports analog audio). Mandating that all phones must have a headphone jack would make sense if manufacturers omitted it for antico…

> Mandating that all phones must have a headphone jack would make sense if manufacturers omitted it for anticompetetive or other nefarious reasons, knowingly acting against the interests of their customers. I guess that's a matter of opinion, because I am convinced that this is exactly what happened. Apple sells dongles for money and also makes money on Lightning licensing.

Apple is an exception, Android phone manufacturers don't have a monopoly to abuse.

Re: EU: Call to introduce common charger for all mobile phones

#140

Post by Proziam »

notatoad wrote: post #119
rooam-dev wrote: post #63

What about calling to stop the planned obsolescence? Things like replaceable batteries, longer support (security patches and parts) should be a good start.

A standard charging port is a clear and achievable milestone. defeating planned obsolescence is a vague and unacheivable goal, and any regulations that directly address it are more likely to stifle innovation and be circumvented by big companies than they are to actually help.

defeating planned obsolescence isn't 'that' vague to be fair. Mandating 4-5 year manufacturer warranties, right to repair, and replaceable batteries/screens/button components would pretty much get us there.

We're basically already able to do these things, it's just made more difficult and complex because you can't buy the original piece you need directly from apple. And, in the past, Apple has been known to intentionally break phones that have been user-repaired (the print scanner/button on an old iphone comes to mind.)

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