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

xda-developers.com

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

#61

Post by oaiey »

connor-brooks wrote: post #34

An average consumer probably gets a new phone every 1-2 years. That means 50-100g of junk plastic every year per person. This seems very small compared to the amount of non-recyclable plastic I get every time I go to the supermarket (Fruit and veg in plastic wrapping). Are USB cables very resource heavy to make? Is there something that makes them especially bad when compared to other waste?

Oh they targeted plastic bags already. The food industry will get their blast, but their problem is harder to solve than chargers.

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

#62

Post by connor-brooks »

enlyth wrote: post #45

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.

I also prefer Lightning. The central pin of USB-C being in the device's port rather than the charger seems like a bad idea to me. Lightning is the opposite.

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

#63

Post by gorgoiler »

Hey EU!

I already have a common charger. In fact I have three! They are all USB-C Power Delivery devices: small lightweight charger, large powerful charger, and a battery pack.

I also have special cables for different devices, but it’s hardly onerous.

Please go back and rewrite your cookie law to be implemented in HTTP / some wire protocol so that I can use browser whitelisting.

Ambivalence,

gorgoiler

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

#64

Post by Philip-J-Fry »

enlyth wrote: post #45

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.

Normal USB A ports have that little notch on the inside too. For all the years I've lived on this planet I've never broken a USB port. USB C is perfectly fine.

The worst part of lightning is how flimsy it feels once it's been worn in.

Plus having the connectors inside with something to line it up seems like a battle hardened design choice now. Unless you're an idiot, you're not gonna break anything.

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

#65

Post by jsudi »

iSnow wrote: post #58
jsudi wrote: post #36

If this was done years ago we’d be stuck using micro or even mini usb. I shudder at the thought. Lightning was superior to those two. Under this regulation, Lightning and USB-C couldn’t have happened.

That's why the EU back then banged the heads of the manufacturers together to force them to come up with a common standard, instead of picking one and forcing it down their throat.

So we’ll be unable to ever improve on usb-c? How’s that good for anybody?

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

#66

Post by zokier »

jsudi wrote: post #36

If this was done years ago we’d be stuck using micro or even mini usb. I shudder at the thought. Lightning was superior to those two. Under this regulation, Lightning and USB-C couldn’t have happened.

It was done years ago and that's partially how we got microusb charging to be so common in the first place.

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

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

#67

Post by sbuk »

zo1 wrote: post #31
jve wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can get away with 1 cable actually :) That's what I do. Be it car, home - it is convenient to have any port available. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001490533074.html

Is that the exact one you've ordered from them before? Is it reliable, can fast charge, etc? I've found usb cables such a huge hit and miss, even buying from "reputable" places, as they just re-sell cheap chinese knockoffs that don't work.

I have quite a few branded ones from companies giving them away at conferences. They work well enough.

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

#68

Post by zokier »

jsudi wrote: post #65
iSnow wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's why the EU back then banged the heads of the manufacturers together to force them to come up with a common standard, instead of picking one and forcing it down their throat.

So we’ll be unable to ever improve on usb-c? How’s that good for anybody?

Why do you think it can't be changed to something else in the future?

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

#69

Post by Reason077 »

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.

That's the theory with all charging, isn't it? But I'm talking about while travelling or all those unexpected circumstances when you find yourself needing a charge when you're not at home.

One night recently, I managed to get locked out of my flat, after midnight, with nothing but my phone in my pocket. On about 15% charge! Thankfully that was enough to book a hotel and buy a lightning cable (and a toothbrush) at a 24-hour convenience store using Apple Pay, enabling me to recharge the phone on the hotel's USB charging sockets. If I'd needed to find a wireless charger I would have been totally screwed!

I suppose wireless chargers will become similarly ubiquitous if they're the only way to charge phones. If you can expect to find wireless charging in every hotel room and every train seat then it's not a problem. But I suspect that's a long way off.

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