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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

#311

Post by m000 »

GordonS wrote: post #301
sidewndr46 wrote: post #287

Does anyone feel it is a little strange to have a government entity mandating a physical interconnect? I guess it has worked out well enough for receptacles. But on a phone it acts as a data connection as well. I guess I just wonder if in 20 years will every device still have a USB-C port on it in some odd location? No one is using it anymore, but it is still mandatory on everything.

No, I don't. Here the EU is creating legislation that forces manufacturers to increase interoperability, be more consumer-friendly, and more climate friendly. This all seems within the remit of governments to me. > I guess I just wonder if in 20 years will every device still have a USB-C port on it in some odd location? No one is using it anymore, but it is still mandatory on everything. Or course not, it's not like…

> Or course not, it's not like legislation is set in stone and will never change.

Go tell that to Moses.

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

#312

Post by sidewndr46 »

GordonS wrote: post #301
sidewndr46 wrote: post #287

Does anyone feel it is a little strange to have a government entity mandating a physical interconnect? I guess it has worked out well enough for receptacles. But on a phone it acts as a data connection as well. I guess I just wonder if in 20 years will every device still have a USB-C port on it in some odd location? No one is using it anymore, but it is still mandatory on everything.

No, I don't. Here the EU is creating legislation that forces manufacturers to increase interoperability, be more consumer-friendly, and more climate friendly. This all seems within the remit of governments to me. > I guess I just wonder if in 20 years will every device still have a USB-C port on it in some odd location? No one is using it anymore, but it is still mandatory on everything. Or course not, it's not like…

I don't know enough about the EU to say if the laws will adapt.

But in the US, I very much view it as once something is legislated it becomes a permanent fixture of our society.

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

#313

Post by walterbell »

TadasPaplauskas wrote: post #297
walterbell wrote: post #278

They need to mandate the presence of a physical cable, otherwise Apple will drop the port and move to wireless charging. Wired cable remains important for high-quality audio and secure data transfers. Both WiFi and Bluetooth have a long and storied history of vulnerabilities. While they are at it, can we please have a dedicated physical cable port for audio? It doesn't have to be TRRS 3.5mm, but it must be possible t…

> otherwise Apple will drop the port and move to wireless charging Since the aim is to reduce e-waste, I suppose going all-in with wireless charging wouldn't be a problem (or even preferable) in the eyes of the law.

A thin cable is much less waste than a wireless charger, which has a larger surface area and is still an evolving standard, e.g. magnetic docking, so it will be years of generational upgrades. Cables exist today and work much faster.

Should human time spent waiting for phone chargers be a metric for central planning regulation? e.g. what does a 100% speed increase in rapid charging mean for the economy, vs. travelers waiting at an airport or cafe, or running their car to charge their phone?

The laws of physics still apply to wired audio, networking and electricity, no matter how many billions are spent on glitzy ads for wireless.

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

#314

Post by goalieca »

giancarlostoro wrote: post #291
PragmaticPulp wrote: post #275

The article focuses on forcing USB-C ports (popular), but the proposal also unbundles chargers from products like cell phones (unpopular). Apple and several other vendors already unbundled chargers from their boxes with mixed reception. Will be interesting to see how this proposal is received when people realize it means they’ll be purchasing chargers separately.

My only thought is what will happen when someone invents a new charger that is significantly superior to what currently exists.

Like wireless charging pads?

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

#316

Post by hughrr »

Can they please mandate replaceable USB-C sockets then because I see a shit load more broken ones than I do lightning connectors. And usually the infernal USB-C things are soldered into the logic board of whatever resulting in damage to that too. Also USB-C sockets are impossible to replace without very specialist tooling.

Really not a big fan of this unless there are some additional constraints on it.

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

#317

Post by toyg »

sidewndr46 wrote: post #312
GordonS wrote: post #301

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, I don't. Here the EU is creating legislation that forces manufacturers to increase interoperability, be more consumer-friendly, and more climate friendly. This all seems within the remit of governments to me. > I guess I just wonder if in 20 years will every device still have a USB-C port on it in some odd location? No one is using it anymore, but it is still mandatory on everything. Or course not, it's not like…

I don't know enough about the EU to say if the laws will adapt. But in the US, I very much view it as once something is legislated it becomes a permanent fixture of our society.

This is already a change from previous legislation that effectively mandated micro-USB. So yeah, it can be done.

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

#318

Post by q-rews »

walterbell wrote: post #313
TadasPaplauskas wrote: post #297

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> otherwise Apple will drop the port and move to wireless charging Since the aim is to reduce e-waste, I suppose going all-in with wireless charging wouldn't be a problem (or even preferable) in the eyes of the law.

A thin cable is much less waste than a wireless charger, which has a larger surface area and is still an evolving standard, e.g. magnetic docking, so it will be years of generational upgrades. Cables exist today and work much faster. Should human time spent waiting for phone chargers be a metric for central planning regulation? e.g. what does a 100% speed increase in rapid charging mean for the economy, vs. travelers…

Not to mention the inefficiency.

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

#319

Post by gwbas1c »

walterbell wrote: post #278

They need to mandate the presence of a physical cable, otherwise Apple will drop the port and move to wireless charging. Wired cable remains important for high-quality audio and secure data transfers. Both WiFi and Bluetooth have a long and storied history of vulnerabilities. While they are at it, can we please have a dedicated physical cable port for audio? It doesn't have to be TRRS 3.5mm, but it must be possible t…

> They need to mandate the presence of a physical cable, otherwise Apple will drop the port and move to wireless charging.

I think the free market can take care of that. If you want a physical connector, just buy a device that comes with one.

You just might need to go to a place like Guitar Center (instrument store) to buy one. That's what I did when I needed headphones.

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

#320

Post by ZekeSulastin »

reeealloc wrote: post #276
PragmaticPulp wrote: post #275

The article focuses on forcing USB-C ports (popular), but the proposal also unbundles chargers from products like cell phones (unpopular). Apple and several other vendors already unbundled chargers from their boxes with mixed reception. Will be interesting to see how this proposal is received when people realize it means they’ll be purchasing chargers separately.

Presumably unbundled chargers will be fine with USB-C on everything. It's not proprietary like Apple's chargers and easy to find.

… but Apple’s chargers have been USB on the charger side for ages (previously USB-A, currently USB-C). The easy availability of chargers that work with the phones did little to stop the complaints when they were unbundled.
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