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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

#401

Post by adrr »

josefx wrote: post #333
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.

The problem is that after years of everyone pulling their own shit we finally have USB C. Yet it seems as if a dozen companies still do their best to remain incompatible in various ways. No one wants USB C as permanent solution but the alternative hasn't worked out.

USB C is a huge mess. I have at least 3 types of USB c cables. Standard USB C cables, Cables that can charge my MacBook Pro, and cables that can hook my pro to a dock. I understand the differences but try explaining the differences to your parents.

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

#402

Post by alwayseasy »

beezischillin wrote: post #373
FabHK wrote: post #366

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One nice and welcome example of consumer-friendly legislation, btw: The EU prohibited mobile operators from charging voice and data roaming fees within the EU. So, now on holiday in Spain, say, you can just keep using your mobile contract including free minutes and data. (A typical deal is 10 GB data.) When traveling outside the EU, it's still best to buy a local SIM to avoid the ludicrous roaming charges, but there'…

That's strange because I have separate roaming data in my contract and it's way less than my local one.

You have less data because the law is for roaming not for people who want a Polish data plan they can use all year in Italy.

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

#404

Post by kurthr »

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.

It'll be particularly hilarious, if everything on the phone (charging, audio, data) is wireless, but there's a USB-C port to nowhere sticking out one side.

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

#406

Post by foxrider »

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.

It worked really well for SCART in the past

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

#407

Post by agilob »

scohesc wrote: post #328
ethbr0 wrote: post #280

From the announcement https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_21_... (linked in article) > Today, the Commission is proposing: > A harmonised charging port for electronic devices: USB-C will be the common port. > Harmonised fast charging technology will help prevent that different producers unjustifiably limit the charging speed and will help to ensure that charging speed is the same when using any c…

Wait, they want to have USB-C ports on plug chargers? Guess I'm getting a bunch of USB-C to USB-A adapters to plug in my USB-A to USB-C cables.. :\

I already have these in my wall sockets. Some sockets have USB-A, another one with USB-C. It's great. I hope EU/EEA will pick that up and we can stop travelling with stupid adapters.

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

#408

Post by mschuster91 »

ravenstine wrote: post #321
ubercow13 wrote: post #300

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The government already mandates the electricity interconnect one step back at the wall socket. This is just extending that to modern devices.

I guess it depends on how far you want it to go. If electric sockets aren't standard then that creates bottlenecks in infrastructure interchangeability. To me, I don't see why government has any business in USB. Bluetooth maybe since it takes up the air. But USB? It's bad enough that wall sockets haven't improved. Will we be stuck with USB-C long after its natural EOL?

> It's bad enough that wall sockets haven't improved

There's not much need for that, to be honest, at least not for Continental Europe where the Schuko plug system is dominant. It's reasonably secure against children and offers enough capacity for all household loads, and industrial applications have all converged on the bulky IEC-60309/CEE-17 plugs.

Sometimes, a product is simply "good enough" and does not require further improvements (or alternatively, a better solution exists, but the cost for retrofitting is prohibitively large).

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

#409

Post by toyg »

rglullis wrote: post #398
TazeTSchnitzel wrote: post #380

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They would block all shipments of Apple devices at the border of the EU after a certain point. The EU controls the customs rules for most of Europe.

So, it's the latter. They will have another excuse to increase the prices further. "We had to spend $BILLIONS to change the design of the iPhone, so this is why the new iPhone EU Edition is going to be 1400€". This is the kind of thing that really makes me understand Brexit.

Nobody forces you to buy a consumer-unfriendly product that also happens to be arbitrarily expensive. If somebody in Milan can't afford a Ferrari made in Maranello because the damn company insists in pricing their cars beyond what is reasonable for a 4-wheeled vehicle, it doesn't mean Milan should secede from Italy, surely.

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

#410

Post by zepto »

zepolen wrote: post #334
dahfizz wrote: post #294

It makes me uneasy to have governments mandate technical implementations like this. Would USB-C ever have been invented if all companies were required to use USB micro-B for everything? Maybe I'm jaded by my American government, but I have zero faith in the ability of a group of politicians to stay up to date with technical standards and keep legislation like this up to date.

Micro USB became ubiquitous because Europe put forth a commission in 2009 to make it so. Before that every phone had their own weird charger. It was hell. Life got much better after 2009. Guess who didn't participate? Apple. Because they weren't forced to. This time, they are, and life will get much better. On American government, yea, it's hard to trust something that is bought and paid for by corporate America, Eur…

Thank god they didn’t comply. Micro usb is appalling compared to lightening, but if Apple had complied we would probably be stuck with it.
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