EU plans to force OEMs to use a common charger for all phones • Hacker News Board

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

#191

Post by agurk » Thu, Sep 23, 2021, 10:58 AM UTC

endless1234 wrote: post #118

midasuni wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t own a single usbc device, I have lightning on my phone, and tons of microusb-usbA devices/cables “Billions” sounds like a HN bubble statement.

6 billion smartphone subscriptions worldwide (according to https://www.statista.com/statistics/330695/number-of-smartph... ), Android is about 70% ( https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/mobile/worldwide ), and has been predominantly USB C for the past 5 years or so (eg Samsung S7, released in 2016, was their first phone with USB-C afaics). I don't think it's that far fetched.

According to Wikipedia the S7 was first released 2016-03-11. The Oneplus 2 was released on 2015-07-28 which was one the first with a USB-C port.

One of the big reasons for me getting the OP2 was the port and I'm still using it (with LineageOS). I'm sure I would have upgraded long ago if it didn't have a USB-C port as that's what I've standardised on for all my portable electronics.

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

#192

Post by cbo100 » Thu, Sep 23, 2021, 11:00 AM UTC

sildur wrote: post #177

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…

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

So due to the EU we will never have a port less phone of any brand?

That doesn’t sound right either.

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

#193

Post by selfhoster11 » Thu, Sep 23, 2021, 11:00 AM UTC

iSnow wrote: post #82

sfg wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

It wasn't a non-issue till the EU stepped in. Every manufacturer had their own plug and some (eg. Nokia) even had more than one, of course they were incompatible. I'm grateful that the EU stepped up here. I feel for Apple's hurt pride here that they should adopt something they didn't invent, but since we are a mixed Android/Apple household, getting rid of Lightning will be nice.

Precisely. Nokia was blessedly standardised, in fact, because you only ever had 2 charging ports so you could mix and match. Most other manufacturers were a mess with proprietary connectors that weren't barrel jacks.

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

#194

Post by theranger » Thu, Sep 23, 2021, 11:01 AM UTC

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.

And this is not a problem for MacBooks and iPads. Nobody docks them in a cradle or to a car phone stand.

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

#195

Post by tapland » Thu, Sep 23, 2021, 11:02 AM UTC

dexen wrote: post #188

Bad move, an unforced error. This will stifle innovation needlessly, similarly to how US' (previously) mandated single model of sealed beam headlights stifled their automobile headlights innovation for several decades. Seems some bureaucrat has dusted off the bad old "Everything that can be invented has been invented." quote. The only possible upside would be manufacturers standardizing on wireless charging in all de…

It was an absolute disaster before somewhat unified chargers and there was some legislation forcing that unification as well.

Being able to reliably find a charger or borrow others' has been crucial for smart phone adoption.

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

#196

Post by foepys » Thu, Sep 23, 2021, 11:02 AM UTC

rand49an wrote: post #172

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.

USB-C 2.1 will be able to carry 240W with supported cables.

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

#197

Post by mclightning » Thu, Sep 23, 2021, 11:04 AM UTC

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'm sure mechanical engineers calculated the entry, insertion distance and wiggle room, so that you can't apply any relevant force onto the notch inside.

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

#198

Post by sgtfrankieboy » Thu, Sep 23, 2021, 11:05 AM UTC

hocuspocus wrote: post #85

eptcyka wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think most iPhones on offer are a fair bit thicker than their Android counterparts. Specifically, most Google Pixel and Samsung Galaxy phones are smaller than all but the Mini iPhones.

Also, Apple's own USB-C equipped iPads are slimmer than any of their phones.

Besides, what's the point of a thinner phone when you got a huge bump for the camera's. Rather it be a bit thicker so that there is more room for battery.

I personally really wish for a flag ship phone like the Galaxy S21 Ultra that doesn't have such a huge camera array.

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

#199

Post by mclightning » Thu, Sep 23, 2021, 11:06 AM UTC

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 am surprised we are not seeing more positive sentiment for this among HN members. I had to scroll quite a bit to find this comment.

In the other hand, HN is US-dominated and they don't like regulations over there.

This is absolutely a good regulation, proven by previous similar regulations. I have about a kg of waste cables laying around. We need to start acting smart about how we deal with plastics.

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

#200

Post by Ginden » Thu, Sep 23, 2021, 11:09 AM UTC

dexen wrote: post #188

Bad move, an unforced error. This will stifle innovation needlessly, similarly to how US' (previously) mandated single model of sealed beam headlights stifled their automobile headlights innovation for several decades. Seems some bureaucrat has dusted off the bad old "Everything that can be invented has been invented." quote. The only possible upside would be manufacturers standardizing on wireless charging in all de…

> This will stifle innovation needlessly

Do we have any room left for innovation in charging ports? USB-C provides 24 pins, up to 240W Power Delivery (negotiable), up to 40 Gbit/s, ability to negotiate alternate modes (so manufacturer can implement new proprietary protocol if they want/need to and put basically anything over those 24 pins).