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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

#21

Post by rob_c »

There is little to no incentive to stop tiktok streamers and vapid tech fans throwing out their 6 month old devices and upgrading. But it's a start.

Whilst important, we have done much better to FORCE the industry to provide security support and updates as part of the sale of devices for a minimum of 5 years on all products. This is one of the biggest insurmountable reasons I see for people who don't even want to, to have to upgrade because of the locked down nature of phones/watches/washing-machines/hoovers/etc...

Although I doubt it'll be the EU project to push through something so bold that will have enough of an impact.

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

#22

Post by asutekku »

2000UltraDeluxe wrote: post #18
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.

Sure, doesn't still mean we should stagnate and be forced to use tech that is basically obsolete for a modern world's requirements.

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

#23

Post by maccard »

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

And how am I supposed to know that when looking at a device that has a USB-C port for charging, and the instructions on the charger [0] say "Nintendo Switch can be charged by plugging the AC adapter into the console's USB Type-C connector."

[0] https://store.nintendo.co.uk/en_gb/-nintendo-switch-power-ad...

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

#24

Post by rob_c »

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.

Great until you have some "sales rep" in a supermarket dealing with a Karen who's device won't charge fast enough off a 10W USBC charger that fundamentally isn't the same as a 60W one.

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

#25

Post by edent »

What's interesting is that nearly all of my recent electronics purchases have used USB-C.

Headphones, thermal printer, neck-cooler, rechargable screwdriver - all USB-C.

What's weird are the few things which don't. Amazon Alexa use a barrel charger. Brand new HP printer has the old square style USB plug. Pulse Oximeter user micro-USB.

So C is certainly getting there. Appearing in cheap and expensive products. And, I'm happy to say, works well. Just needs a few laggards to update!

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

#26

Post by Youden »

baisq wrote: post #3

No more innovation: USB-C or else.

What innovations are ruled out by mandatory use of the USB-C connector? It supports more power and data than a mobile device is ever really likely to need.

All that's left is the physical form factor and I'm not sure there's a lot of room for improvement there, especially enough to justify the tons of electronic waste.

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

#27

Post by bratbag »

Nextgrid wrote: post #20
stewx wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 simp…

Thats a very strange statement to make.

Should complex things not have a spec?

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

#28

Post by lm28469 »

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…

> Qi

What a complete waste of energy would that be

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

#29

Post by rob_c »

asutekku wrote: post #22
2000UltraDeluxe wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Sure, doesn't still mean we should stagnate and be forced to use tech that is basically obsolete for a modern world's requirements.

I wouldn't stand on the hill of this is obsolete tech, there should be more devices built with power efficiency from the ground up as well as less focus on the USBC charges your phone faster. This is more about usbc will charge every device you have in a few years so no reaching for custom chargers. Usbc->X cables however are another matter nothing is stopping HP making a custom usbc->HP port for their laptops for instance

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

#30

Post by lm28469 »

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?

So no more innovation either ? if we can't move out of existing tech because they're still in production
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