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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

#701

Post by rglullis »

toyg wrote: post #695
rglullis wrote: post #612

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> More than the alternative of doing nothing. Are you sure about that? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28630578

I'm sure it's just a coincidence that the move towards less-integrated chargers started after the EU began the standardization process in 2009.

And I'm pretty sure you are being fooled by your biases. You want to believe that the EU is necessary for this kind of change to happen, ergo when the change happens (worldwide!) it can only be because of the EU?

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

#702

Post by rglullis »

ClumsyPilot wrote: post #699
rglullis wrote: post #696

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> yet every day millions of unrepairable phones go to landfill, petrol cars are still being produced, coal is still being burned. Again with the whataboutism? Who are you trying to fool with this lame rhetoric? You say you want democracy, but what you are preaching is totalitarianism.

It's not whatavoutism, it's problems the ideology of 'choice' couldn't solve for 50 years. I think you are preaching anarchy.

Try again: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28636510

If you need a label, I am "preaching" localism.

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

#703

Post by hexa22 »

bastawhiz wrote: post #680
hexa22 wrote: post #643

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The charger probably costs about $1 to the BoM. I wouldn’t expect to see any change. But this is not the biggest thing which is that the parts of the iPhone do not determine the price. The price is already set and determines what parts go in. If something somewhere else becomes cheaper, that’s more room in the budget to spend elsewhere whether that be better hardware, hiring more software developers, higher skilled r…

> I wouldn’t expect to see any change. But then you subsequently need to buy a charger, which is what? $15 if you want to get a reputable one? Even if you only got a new one every three phones, that's essentially a $5 tax on every device. ($6 if you consider that the cost of the device wasn't reduced, with a $1 actual cost like you suggest)

I have never had a phone charger fail on me so if we assume that it lasts 3 phones and I buy them every 3 years, that comes out to about $1.66 per year for phone chargers.

It’s not a surprise no consumer cares. The average consumer would pay an extra $100 for their phone to get it in their favourite colour. The cost of chargers doesn’t even register.

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

#704

Post by rglullis »

toyg wrote: post #697
rglullis wrote: post #676

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not the restrictions on imports that I am against. It is the all-encompassing political bureaucracy that the EU has become and how upside-down its priorities are. > And if you don't like price increases on Apple products, don't buy them. I don't buy them already, but the type of connector they use is way down on my list of reasons not to use them. Closed source? Hard to repair? Exploitative app store practices?…

Note how many of the topics you mention as critical are actually discussed at EU level: GDPR, support for FOSS in various programs, ongoing examination of the appstore monopolistic practices, tax-dodging... And chargers too, yes, if anything because it's a pretty simple thing to mandate.

What is "simple to mandate" has not been effectively turned into results even after a decade of "legislation". The rest is nothing but "discussions" or big laws that don't really accomplish anything.

What is the point again? To have "discussions" or to effect change?

I wish I could say something like "keep waiting for the EU to being actually effective, I will be over there with the people that can get stuff done", but the main problem is that the more time passes, the more the EU finds a way to fuck with ordinary citizens and the more we have midwits asking to be supervised, afraid to step outside the lines and pointing out at those that fight the absurdity of it all.

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

#705

Post by belltaco »

nmstoker wrote: post #642
belltaco wrote: post #632

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can't one make similar arguments for cars for types of gasoline(beyond premium gas) and the gas pump/tank receptacle design?

Similar-ish but the waste aspect isn't there: each car does not come with its own gas station and most people do not own multiple redundant gas stations already.

You're begging the question. What you said is true but only because of regulation.

>https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/40/80.22

>(f) Every retailer and wholesale purchaser-consumer shall equip all gasoline pumps from which gasoline is dispensed into motor vehicles with a nozzle spout that meets all the following specifications:

>(1) The outside diameter of the terminal end shall not be greater than 0.840 inches (2.134 centimeters).

>(2) The terminal end shall have a straight section of at least 2.5 inches (6.34 centimeters).

>(3) The retaining spring shall terminate at least 3.0 inches (7.6 centimeters) from the terminal end.

If these regulations weren't present, Ford could have it's own gas stations and gasoline that were incompatible with GM's and so on.

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

#706

Post by toyg »

rglullis wrote: post #701
toyg wrote: post #695

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sure it's just a coincidence that the move towards less-integrated chargers started after the EU began the standardization process in 2009.

And I'm pretty sure you are being fooled by your biases. You want to believe that the EU is necessary for this kind of change to happen, ergo when the change happens (worldwide!) it can only be because of the EU?

Or in other words, "I can't argue the facts, so I'll argue the man". Banging shoes next?

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

#707

Post by kbenson »

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.. :\

Looks like they're cheap and small, which is good if you end up needing them. So cheap and small, and and useful enough in a pinch, that I just ordered them myself when I found them looking because of this comment, so thanks. :)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079LYHNSR

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

#708

Post by ReGenGen »

foepys wrote: post #274
southerntofu wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Entirely agree with your point. However, i would point out that there's many other sources of waste that can be easily avoided: - food waste and related food wrapping waste - planned obsolescence (TVs, cars, washing machines, and just about every product out there) - car-oriented architecture in the cities, where public transportation is an afterthought - energy waste due to personal infrastructure/tooling (cooking/w…

The EU is also tackling all those points you mentioned. Many single-use plastics are already banned in the EU, the EU wants smartphone manufacturers to support their hardware for at least 5 years, many EU members give out incentives to improve house insulation, EV will become the norm in a few years and energy standard get stricter every few years. It's not like the whole EU legislative body is now pushing with all t…

Perhaps EU should focus its energy and credibility on more important issues including ones you mentioned.

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

#709

Post by Causality1 »

LinAGKar wrote: post #296
Causality1 wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You also don't have the issue of an errant foot or chair wheel squishing the connector flat and ruining it.

How have you been able to flatten a USB cable with your foot?

I'm a heavy bastard.

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

#710

Post by rglullis »

toyg wrote: post #706
rglullis wrote: post #701

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And I'm pretty sure you are being fooled by your biases. You want to believe that the EU is necessary for this kind of change to happen, ergo when the change happens (worldwide!) it can only be because of the EU?

Or in other words, "I can't argue the facts, so I'll argue the man". Banging shoes next?

The only facts that we really can observe:

- Apple managed to get through all the regulation "mandates" without any serious repercussion to their operations, showing the complete lack of effectiveness of said regulations.

- market conditions and the development timeline of the technology (USB-C with power delivery) can alone explain the gradual change in the Apple product line.

Those are the facts. Now let's go to the opinion part and apply Occam's razor here: between the explanation that requires believing that Apple is changing its products out of fear from EU regulatory bodies (despite historical evidence of the contrary) and the explanation that says changes were bound to happen anyway due to being sensible business, which one is simpler? Which one is more likely to be correct?

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