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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

#171

Post by nousermane »

xorcist wrote: post #93
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?

> I use the same USB plug everywhere, That's because of EU regulation. All the big manufacturers had their own connector before that, micro-USB started to look like a common connector among the low end manufacturers. This is the next step for that regulation and has been in the cards for some time.

> All the big manufacturers had their own connector before that

Worse yet, "before micro-USB", chargers universally had a captive cable. Situation that GP describes - same charger, 3 cables - is already an improvement on that.

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

#172

Post by rand49an »

foxfluff wrote: post #147

I feel like there's bigger fish to fry. There's more and more li-ion appliances and tools, most with proprietary chargers (think all the power tools), and in many cases no user replaceable battery packs (e.g. vacuum cleaners). It really sucks that I need a new charger + battery if I want to use some bosch or dewalt tool instead of a ryobi or whatever I happen to have. And I can't use these tools' batteries to power U…

USB-C can supply up to 100W, so there's no reason it can't be used for the bulk of those use cases too.

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

#173

Post by ibrcic »

jsudi wrote: post #139
cute_boi wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

but without writing in law apple will never care about environment right? They are getting money from each connector so why would they? Is it possible to solve such issue without law? What solution do you propose? If you have solution let us know?

If citizens care about the environment they will stop buying Apple products. They don’t, hence they don’t care about the environment. Why make laws that go against the citizen wishes?

It's not that they don't care, it's that they are not knowledgeable enough about the issue and don't have time or will to research it further. That's why we have laws and regulations, so that average Joe doesn't have to research the impact of everything he buys on his body/environment.

With that logic you could say, "why ban dangerous levels of pesticides in the food, if people don't like it, they will not buy the product."

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

#174

Post by Aerroon »

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.

Is that why the standard that USB-C cables use is such a ridiculous mess?

>Even the seemingly most basic function of USB-C — powering devices — continues to be a mess of compatibility issues, conflicting proprietary standards, and a general lack of consumer information to guide purchasing decisions.

https://www.androidauthority.com/state-of-usb-c-870996/

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

#175

Post by stjohnswarts »

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?

I would say 3-4 years, at least here in the USA

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

#176

Post by ben_w »

foepys wrote: post #140
ben_w wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t think that’s entirely fair to Apple: they are trying to not include a charger at all in the first place (just the cable), which does a lot more for the environment than including a charger which you can use with anything as well as forcing the cable to be useful for more than one device.

The law introduced by the EU commission also addresses this. They don't want chargers to be included by default anymore exactly because of this.

Good, but not relevant to me defending Apple in this instance; Apple are even doing this (or at least tried to do this) where there not only wasn’t a legal requirement to do so, but a legal prohibition against doing so: https://www.engadget.com/apple-brazil-fine-over-iphone-12-ch...

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

#177

Post by sildur »

avianlyric wrote: post #24
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?

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…

That won't work. They will have to include an USB-C port, wireless charging or not.

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

#178

Post by stjohnswarts »

ulzeraj wrote: post #70

Might sound like a good idea but might also leave us stuck with usb-c for decades.

We are not going to be stuck with usb c for decades. Good grief. If a significantly better technology comes along that requires a new connector I am sure new legislation can make way for it. That said I don't support laws like this. I don't like laws that limit possibilities for consumers. I prefer laws that expand them like right-to-repair and network neutrality when it comes to tech.

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

#179

Post by Asmod4n »

There are two ways how to handle this.

1) legislation forces a standard upon every device maker. Because technology advances all the time legislation will have to change the port every ~10 years. This might happen or not, potentially forcing device makers into building obsolete tech into their devices.

2) make a law which forces device makers to hold regular meetings/whatever to decide upon themselves which port they want to use. The port that gets 51% or more of the votes becomes the standard. If two consecutive rounds of voting can’t find a standard legislation will decide the standard.

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