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EU reaches deal to make USB-C a common charger for most electronic devices

engadget.com

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Re: EU reaches deal to make USB-C a common charger for most electronic devices

#11

Post by stewx »

maccard wrote: post #7

The problem with USB-C is that you can't just pick up a device cable and power brick and expect them to work together. As an example, my Apple 96W USB-C charger doesn't charge my nintendo switch. The cable that came with my phone doesn't charge said fully Mac when used with the 96w charger. There is no indication of incompatibility between these devices until you realise they don't work. This is going back to the dc…

The issue with the Nintendo Switch is that Nintendo designed their own faulty USB-C charging implementation rather than merely using the reference design. It's not a failure of the spec, it's a failure to adhere to the spec.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16706803

Re: EU reaches deal to make USB-C a common charger for most electronic devices

#12

Post by dontbenebby »

Awesome! I recently put off buying an adapter I lost for one device, and just started using an old USB battery with the correct connector to charge it up outside my home instead, I was THAT annoyed with the fact I need to hurt my back and stress my mind dealing with all these... ports.

This is a positive example of the EU influencing American technology companies.

(I say that as someone considering getting an EU passport though, so I might be biased.)

Re: EU reaches deal to make USB-C a common charger for most electronic devices

#13

Post by Nextgrid »

baisq wrote: post #3

No more innovation: USB-C or else.

It seems like all that's mandated is that a USB-C charger would be compatible. You can still run a proprietary protocol on top of it if you wanted or use a hybrid, proprietary connector as long as a standard USB-C charger would still work.

Re: EU reaches deal to make USB-C a common charger for most electronic devices

#14

Post by lekevicius »

As a European, I'm very happy.

USB-A has been with us for over 20 years. It's only disappearing because of USB-C, and USB-C seems to have room to grow. I wouldn't be surprised if it will still be the most popular connector in 2035, and not just because "legislation stops innovation".

Making sure there are no weird exceptions to a very good port is reasonable and good.

Re: EU reaches deal to make USB-C a common charger for most electronic devices

#15

Post by glogla »

lekevicius wrote: post #10
qalmakka wrote: post #2

2024? There's still plenty of time for them to remove the port altogether and go with just MagSafe/Qi. Which they control, and they still can get fees from. Trust me when I say that Apple will NEVER submit to this legislation, they will find every sort of obscure or arcane tricks to comply with it without actually doing it. It would set a precedent that legislating can change Apple's behaviour, which they clearly do…

I don't think this is the right take. - We already have reliable rumors that next-next iPhone (not this Sept, but next) will have USB-C port. - Qi is not a standard they control like Lightning either way. - Portless phone would be very unpopular (no fast charging), USB-C would be very popular. Apple would not choose to be unpopular just to watch the world hate them.

> - Portless phone would be very unpopular (no fast charging), USB-C would be very popular. Apple would not choose to be unpopular just to watch the world hate them.

The same Apple which removed headphone jack so they can sell more dongles and wireless headphones?

I can see them making portless phone just out of pure spite (maybe having cheaper version with port and not selling that in EU).

Re: EU reaches deal to make USB-C a common charger for most electronic devices

#16

Post by frizlab »

messe wrote: post #9
frizlab wrote: post #6

As an European, I’m so mad at this law.

Why?

Lightning is a far superior plug than usb-c (don’t tell me about data transfer, I don’t care, I care about the durability and ease of plugging of the plug itself), I have MANY lightning cables (that I will have to throw away, how is that good for e-waste?), and in a more general sense the law basically forbids evolution. I am livid that they’d do something like that instead of working on actual stuff like forbidding mining which actually actively harms the environment, and depletes primary resources for idiotic reasons.

Re: EU reaches deal to make USB-C a common charger for most electronic devices

#17

Post by Adraghast »

frizlab wrote: post #8
rbanffy wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No more e-waste as well. And, as the regulation moved from micro USB to USB-C, it's clear that innovation is still possible, within regulations. That's also why you can't have jet-engine powered cars on the streets.

Except for the millions of lightning cable already in prod?

No worries, there are also millions of iPhones with Lightning ports for them to be used with. (:

Re: EU reaches deal to make USB-C a common charger for most electronic devices

#18

Post by 2000UltraDeluxe »

lekevicius wrote: post #14

As a European, I'm very happy. USB-A has been with us for over 20 years. It's only disappearing because of USB-C, and USB-C seems to have room to grow. I wouldn't be surprised if it will still be the most popular connector in 2035, and not just because "legislation stops innovation". Making sure there are no weird exceptions to a very good port is reasonable and good.

The idea's nice. I'll still have about 30 unusable micro-USB chargers lying around, though.

Re: EU reaches deal to make USB-C a common charger for most electronic devices

#19

Post by withinboredom »

frizlab wrote: post #8
rbanffy wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No more e-waste as well. And, as the regulation moved from micro USB to USB-C, it's clear that innovation is still possible, within regulations. That's also why you can't have jet-engine powered cars on the streets.

Except for the millions of lightning cable already in prod?

We have 5 apple devices and 3 lightning cables remaining. I have some 18-20 usb-c cables lying around.

Re: EU reaches deal to make USB-C a common charger for most electronic devices

#20

Post by Nextgrid »

stewx wrote: post #11
maccard wrote: post #7

The problem with USB-C is that you can't just pick up a device cable and power brick and expect them to work together. As an example, my Apple 96W USB-C charger doesn't charge my nintendo switch. The cable that came with my phone doesn't charge said fully Mac when used with the 96w charger. There is no indication of incompatibility between these devices until you realise they don't work. This is going back to the dc…

The issue with the Nintendo Switch is that Nintendo designed their own faulty USB-C charging implementation rather than merely using the reference design. It's not a failure of the spec, it's a failure to adhere to the spec. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16706803

It's still not a great spec if it's so complex that you can screw it up. I understand the complexity for data, but for power I wish it was as simple as power & ground wires and that's it.

Compare that with USB-A where even cheap Chinese cables from the lowest bidder usually work (work well enough at least - you might get voltage drop but it will still charge if you leave it on long enough) because the spec is so simple that even the worst manufacturers manage to do a good enough job, and it's something you can trivially DIY if you need to.

Now compare that with USB-C. So many moving parts that can go wrong and so much corners that can be cut by unscrupulous manufacturers. Not to mention that even the most expensive devices (Apple) don't give you any visibility on what type of cable/charger/etc you have even though that information is technically available to the device (that's how it negotiates power delivery) which is extremely confusing even to tech-savvy people.

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