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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

#211

Post by samatman »

mrtksn wrote: post #123

By the way, that's also how Tesla and all other cars have the same electric plug in EU(not the USB mandate but the car plug standardisation mandate). Of course, the first thing that comes to mind is what happens if better solutions are found. Will EU block innovation? That question is addressed in the Q&A: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/QANDA_... In essence, they seem to believe that wired char…

> Will EU block innovation?

It already has. Tesla's connector is nicer (you can call that subjective but it isn't) and the supercharging network in the US is deploying the clunky standard sort of connector as well.

If EU legislation were universal, that would preclude any future where the superior connector is licensed and takes over from the crappy designed-by-committee alternative, because Tesla would be forced to stop manufacturing it.

Legislators deciding who gets to be VHS and who has to be Betamax is bad, actually.

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

#212

Post by MikusR »

rootusrootus wrote: post #194
seydor wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> USB or Lightning This problem

Eh, Apple was moving devices over to USB-C already, they didn't need to be forced. The reason they've held out on the iPhone is because users will complain about new cables ;-). Either way they're going to get criticized. Apple gets credit for creating Lightning to begin with while we waited for something better than micro-USB to come along. I'm glad for USB-C, but damn, it sure took a while.

Apple gets paid when other companies make lightning products.

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

#213

Post by horsawlarway »

andrewla wrote: post #201
horsawlarway wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This always gets bought up, and it's always wrong. > I have no expectation, for example, that these same regulators will stay on top of this and revise it when USB-C stops being the preferred or best choice. They didn't write the law as "you must use USB-C" They wrote the law as "The industry experts need to pick A standard for charging, and all manufacturers should respect that choice" They are welcome to change it…

This is not correct so far as I can tell -- the amendment to directive 2014/53/EU [1] says > Hand-held mobile phones, tablets, digital cameras, headphones, headsets, handheld videogame consoles and portable speakers, in so far as they are capable of being recharged via wired charging, shall: > (a) be equipped with the USB Type-C receptacle, as described in the standard EN IEC 62680-1-3:2021 ‘Universal serial bus inte…

Interesting, I may be out of date then. Previously all the RED proposals called for a common charger, but did not directly specify the charger required.

It seems like wireless charging still falls into that category (they require some form of interoperability by 2026, but do not state the exact form).

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

#215

Post by mrtksn »

peoplefromibiza wrote: post #207
mrtksn wrote: post #123

By the way, that's also how Tesla and all other cars have the same electric plug in EU(not the USB mandate but the car plug standardisation mandate). Of course, the first thing that comes to mind is what happens if better solutions are found. Will EU block innovation? That question is addressed in the Q&A: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/QANDA_... In essence, they seem to believe that wired char…

> "No funny cables, why don't you try wireless charging of your liking if USB-C doesn't cut it for you?". it boils down to "as long as the USB-C is provided" anyway electric plugs have been a standard for decades, better options to supply energy have come out, the plugs have stayed the same. I don't understand the FOMO.

> it boils down to "as long as the USB-C is provided"

Can you provide a source? AFAIK you can have a device without USB-C and only wireless charging.

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

#216

Post by mikkergp »

rootusrootus wrote: post #196
jonwinstanley wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly. So silly. Plus Apple Watches have always been only charged via conductive, so it’s likely phones could have gone that way too within a short space of time if the lack of a data cable was deemed acceptable.

I routinely charge my iPhone on a wireless charger. When I'm in a hurry, I plug it in. I don't want that option taken away, wireless is nowhere near fast enough yet.

I’ve also found wireless charging to be inconsistent at best, especially with a case. Half the time I come back and I didn’t place my phone in exactly the right place. Maybe it’s the quality of my chargers, but until I can buy a random charger on Amazon and assume it to be as reliable as an equivalent cable, I don’t think we can give up the cables.(fwiw my current charger is name brand)

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

#217

Post by plonk »

PinguTS wrote: post #62
plonk wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've never seen a USB-C cable that didn't charge all my devices with all my chargers. OK, maybe one that came with an HP screen and was clearly labeled as "data only". I think this will make cables interchangeable in most cases. Fast charging and fast transfers are nice to have but rarely vital.

You haven't brought any of those cheap Chinese cables, haven't you? I have such cables, which can't be really used for charging as well as for fast data transfer. They are good for my development hardware kits, I have. Because those kits don't have any high power requirements. But I cannot use them to power my notebook.

I buy best-selling cable packs costing a few euros per unit on Amazon. They charge and connect anything I own that has a USB-C plug.

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

#218

Post by micv »

nuccy wrote: post #170
breckenedge wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

MagSafe is back on new models, and Lightning is physically thinner than USB-C.

A surprise for me was that lightning is only USB2 and one-sided, so at any moment it is plugged half of the pins is unused. Additionally it has exposed wires, in case of charger failure, USB-C provides a better protection.

Some Lightning devices use both sides to get USB3 speeds. I really have no idea why Apple have left other devices at USB2 performance. It doesn't make an awful lot of sense to me.

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

#219

Post by tokamak-teapot »

ubermonkey wrote: post #130

It's just really not clear to me that regulators need to be mandating product design. I have no expectation, for example, that these same regulators will stay on top of this and revise it when USB-C stops being the preferred or best choice. Twenty years ago, we really DID have a snarl of competing and proprietary phone ports. It was a mess -- Blackberry chargers didn't work with Palm; most WinMo devices had their own…

I'm not sure they are clear what they are solving. The statement says:

"European consumers were frustrated long with multiple chargers piling up with every new device"

This was solved by companies no longer providing chargers with new devices. When you buy a new phone, you use your existing charger, only buying a new one when you actually need it.

If you buy a new iPhone, you get a cable that plugs into a USB-C charger.

If USB-C is mandated on the phone end:

    * I'll spend the next 20 years realising I have the wrong white phone charging cable with me
    * I still won't trust random USB-C cables
    * I still won't trust random USB-C chargers
But - let's just do it. Maybe in 40 years it'll have seemed worth it.

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

#220

Post by pooper »

mrtksn wrote: post #174
arlort wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IIRC it doesn't even exclude funny cables as long as the option remains to use an USB-C cable too So if you really want I believe you could issue a double port Clunky for smartphones maybe, but should be trivial for larger devices

That's also my understanding. So Macbook Air 2022 with MagSafe charging will be completely legal as long as the USB-C can be used for charging.

That is good because I think as late as three years ago there was still at least one "laptop" (possibly more, only one I have heard of) which were heavy desktop replacement that required two power bricks during some gaming.
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