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

#341

Post by diffeomorphism » Thu, Sep 23, 2021, 1:46 PM UTC

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.

We already had the same rule with micro usb and no the "20 year problem" did not happen.

General rule of thumb: If there is a really obvious issue, it is not only obvious to you and hence was already addressed.

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

#342

Post by marcosdumay » Thu, Sep 23, 2021, 1:47 PM UTC

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.

The usual way to legislate about this kind of thing is that a legislative body writes down the goals and gives the responsibility over the technical design for a much faster executive body.

But I'm not sure the EU even has an executive body that could receive it. So I'm not sure about how this one is done. Anyway, since this is a revision already, it seems to be adapting reasonably fast.

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

#343

Post by traveler01 » Thu, Sep 23, 2021, 1:47 PM UTC

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…

Apple removed the charger to be more enviromnent friendly. Why don't do this willingly? Oh yeah... they didn't do it for the environment.

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

#344

Post by krzyk » Thu, Sep 23, 2021, 1:47 PM UTC

hughrr wrote: post #316

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.

I have never seen broken USB-C.

But I have already replaced my wifes lightning cable twice (dirt goes on it and it stopps working).

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

#345

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Sep 23, 2021, 1:47 PM UTC

q-rews wrote: post #318

walterbell wrote: post #313

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

[deleted]

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

#346

Post by FridayoLeary » Thu, Sep 23, 2021, 1:47 PM UTC

tazjin wrote: post #337

> I guess I just wonder if in 20 years will every device still have a USB-C port on it in some odd location? Yet another indicator that all regulation like this should come with a time limit. For another popular example, see the whole South Korea Internet Explorer fiasco.

A time limit actually sounds like a very good idea.

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

#347

Post by wizzwizz4 » Thu, Sep 23, 2021, 1:48 PM UTC

esseeayen wrote: post #304

Wait does this mean that the EU will also prevent the USB-if from charging licensing fees? Or is someone in the EU getting some kickbacks?

I believe that EU law allows anyone to make USB ports and stuff. It's the USB logo that you're not allowed without licensing fees.

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

#348

Post by krzyk » Thu, Sep 23, 2021, 1:48 PM UTC

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.

> 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.

wireless charging uses more energy than cable one, so it is not that eco friendly

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

#349

Post by xdennis » Thu, Sep 23, 2021, 1:49 PM UTC

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.

(I don't know if you are, but) this is what I find quite weird about Americans: they think it's unfair for the government to regulate a trillion dollar company, but they find nothing wrong when a company treats its platform like fiefdom (i.e. no rights for the users).

You can be banned from Twitter for saying something like "men aren't women", but God forbid we reduce Apple's profits by making them not sell so many dongles.

I think an individual should be prioritized over a company.

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

#350

Post by avian » Thu, Sep 23, 2021, 1:50 PM UTC

hughrr wrote: post #316

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.

> usually the infernal USB-C things are soldered into the logic board

There is no reason why a USB-C receptacle can't be mounted on an easily-replaceable flex/daughterboard like Apple does it with Lightning.

> Also USB-C sockets are impossible to replace without very specialist tooling.

On the other hand, I can get spare USB-C receptacles from any number of local distributors. I'm not limited to getting an exact matching connector assembly for the specific Apple product that may or may not be out of production.