Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

EU plans to force OEMs to use a common charger for all phones

xda-developers.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–50 of 751 posts

Re: EU plans to force OEMs to use a common charger for all phones

#41

Post by avianlyric »

amelius wrote: post #27
avianlyric wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably they think they can make the jump to a completely wireless phone before any USB-C mandates come in. Apple's timing with the lighting port wasn't great, with it arriving just before USB-C, and I imagine they're very reluctant to change the port on their phones because people already have lightning cables everywhere. Personally I would love to see USB-C on my iPhone, but I look at my parents, and having the po…

> Probably they think they can make the jump to a completely wireless phone before any USB-C mandates come in. What is the efficiency of wireless charging?

I'm not advocating for wireless charging, I'm simply answering the question posed.

Re: EU plans to force OEMs to use a common charger for all phones

#42

Post by sfg »

Aaargh20318 wrote: post #6
selfhoster11 wrote: post #2

Good. We need this. The USB-C connector is capable of providing laptop-grade power supply, and Apple is the only straggler that I know of.

I think it’s a horrible idea. It means moving to a future, better standard (let’s say, USB-D) is neigh impossible as it would require a change to an EU directive (that is: 27 countries need to agree on it). Just getting this into law has already been in the works for years and years, if the EU had worked a bit faster we would have been stuck with micro USB-B, which would have been unfortunate.

Yeah.

Plus, this is such a minor issue. You get a device and the charger for it and that is the end of it. If you buy multiple devices that you carry around with incompatible chargers then you carry (assuming you even need to charge on the road) a couple of cables (or one with multiple connectors). It's about as much of a none issue as you will ever get.

Re: EU plans to force OEMs to use a common charger for all phones

#43

Post by iSnow »

amelius wrote: post #27
avianlyric wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably they think they can make the jump to a completely wireless phone before any USB-C mandates come in. Apple's timing with the lighting port wasn't great, with it arriving just before USB-C, and I imagine they're very reluctant to change the port on their phones because people already have lightning cables everywhere. Personally I would love to see USB-C on my iPhone, but I look at my parents, and having the po…

> Probably they think they can make the jump to a completely wireless phone before any USB-C mandates come in. What is the efficiency of wireless charging?

Not great, but better than I personally expected: "Inductive charging is not as efficient as direct charging [...] An analysis of energy use found that charging a Pixel 4 from 0 to 100 percent on a classic cable used 14.26 Wh (watt-hours), while doing so with a wireless charger took 21.01 Wh, a 47 percent increase. "

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inductive_charging

Of course problems like heating up the battery and the huge amount of power needed if everyone does it remain.

Re: EU plans to force OEMs to use a common charger for all phones

#44

Post by maeln »

sph wrote: post #4

Good, though in practice it's not the charger the problem, I use the same USB plug everywhere, it's Apple and their cable. Right now I always need with me a micro USB cable, an USB-C one, and Lightning, because Apple thinks different™. What's Apple reasoning for not abandoning Lightning for USB-C on their phones?

> What's Apple reasoning for not abandoning Lightning for USB-C on their phones?

I can think of 3 reasons:

1. A lightning port is slightly smaller than USB-c, so it enable Apple to keep their phone slimmer than the competition in theory.

2. Apple loves to be in control of everything. With lightning, they could make a switch to a "lightning 2.O" cable / port whenever they so pleased. With USB-C they would be restricted by the USB-IF.

3. They can sell more cable and licensing fees this way. With USB-C, everyone will be able to buy a better and cheaper cable than the Apple ones, and Apple won't receive even a cent from them.

Re: EU plans to force OEMs to use a common charger for all phones

#45

Post by enlyth »

Maybe unpopular opinion but I like lightning more than USB-C, it makes more sense to me to have the connective parts of the cable on the outside of it, which gets rid of that little "notch" on the inside of USB-C ports which just seems like it can get bent at any time.

Re: EU plans to force OEMs to use a common charger for all phones

#46

Post by adrianN »

Aaargh20318 wrote: post #6
selfhoster11 wrote: post #2

Good. We need this. The USB-C connector is capable of providing laptop-grade power supply, and Apple is the only straggler that I know of.

I think it’s a horrible idea. It means moving to a future, better standard (let’s say, USB-D) is neigh impossible as it would require a change to an EU directive (that is: 27 countries need to agree on it). Just getting this into law has already been in the works for years and years, if the EU had worked a bit faster we would have been stuck with micro USB-B, which would have been unfortunate.

The way it usually works with industry standards is that if the industry agrees that a different connector would be superior, their lobbyists are highly effective at changing the legislation.

Re: EU plans to force OEMs to use a common charger for all phones

#47

Post by mschuster91 »

foepys wrote: post #13
mschuster91 wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> What's Apple reasoning for not abandoning Lightning for USB-C on their phones? People having a lot of legacy MFi stuff. Car docks and stereo systems in particular are expensive to replace.

They didn't see this as a problem when they introduced lightning and USB-C on their macBooks and high-end iPads, though. Instead you were supposed to buy more future electronic waste in form of dongles.

USB-C to USB-A dongles were and are cheap, and USB-C/TB on MacBooks enabled one-cable docking solutions for the first time on the MBP platform so people actually welcomed that.

Re: EU plans to force OEMs to use a common charger for all phones

#48

Post by avianlyric »

Aaargh20318 wrote: post #6
selfhoster11 wrote: post #2

Good. We need this. The USB-C connector is capable of providing laptop-grade power supply, and Apple is the only straggler that I know of.

I think it’s a horrible idea. It means moving to a future, better standard (let’s say, USB-D) is neigh impossible as it would require a change to an EU directive (that is: 27 countries need to agree on it). Just getting this into law has already been in the works for years and years, if the EU had worked a bit faster we would have been stuck with micro USB-B, which would have been unfortunate.

We don't know the language to the legislation yet, so I think it's worth withhold judgment for now.

Based on other recent legislation from the EU that I've had to work closely with, I would say the EU legislators are very aware of the pitfalls that come with writing a specific technology into law. They seem to deal with this by writing an initial recommendation, or providing a few concrete examples of how to conform int to the law. But hand off the longer term management to some sort of agency or regulator that already exists, and instructs them to work directly with industry to fine tune the technical aspects.

Taking this approach create a natural escape hatch for new standards being introduced without new law being written. It'll still create a natural dampener on innovation in specific area, but it avoid completely stifling it.

Also on quick FYI, USB-B has never been used on a modern mobile phone. The port is bigger than most phones!

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USB-3.0-Stecker_(Typ...

Re: EU plans to force OEMs to use a common charger for all phones

#49

Post by janlaureys »

Reason077 wrote: post #15
mschuster91 wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> What's Apple reasoning for not abandoning Lightning for USB-C on their phones? People having a lot of legacy MFi stuff. Car docks and stereo systems in particular are expensive to replace.

Most car docks I’ve seen had a swappable base plate to accommodate either lightning or USB C. Now days of course, they’re all moving to wireless charging anyway.

My car has two wireless charge pads and it's honestly one of the best features.

Re: EU plans to force OEMs to use a common charger for all phones

#50

Post by chairmanwow1 »

Aaargh20318 wrote: post #40
Reason077 wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That doesn’t really solve the problem, though. In fact it makes it worse if you have to curry around a wireless charger that is more bulky than the cable it replaces!

The proposed law is not about convenience for the user but about reducing waste. Also, you don’t need to carry around a wireless charger, you leave the charger at home and charge your phone overnight.

As a constant traveler, I consistently need to charge up while on flights, airports, random coffee shops, bars etc
Post reply on HN