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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

#571

Post by mmis1000 »

markstos wrote: post #558

The USB-C spec has 24 pins, making it considerably more complex than USB-A connections, which 4 pins. Only 4 of those 24 pins are used for power delivery. If all you need from the USB-C connection is charging, is OK to implement a 4 pin connection to keep the design simpler and cheaper?

I think you also need the CC pin or you aren't going to have PD fast charging. The pin is required to handshake a higher Voltage and Current outside of standard 5C1A.

And that literally exists. Most charge wire don't have full 24 line. (Unless it is specifically marked as USB3 compatible)

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

#572

Post by golemotron »

kube-system wrote: post #498
golemotron wrote: post #489

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's an overreach. "A pound is 16 ounces" is not the same as "cakes shall only be 5 ounces," i.e., a standard of measure does not extend to regulation of what is measured and what measures are permitted. An originalist court could fix this.

That analogy does not hold up. A fuel dispenser is a metering device. The scale at your grocery store that measures the weight of the cake is, likewise, an NTEP scale: https://www.nist.gov/programs-projects/national-type-evaluat... These are very fundamental consumer protection regulations that have been solidly cemented in western civilization for many centuries now. >not extend to regulation of [...] what measures…

The problem with your formulation is that there is no limiting principle. Perversely, the government could rule that a pregnant person is a metering device for gestation and establish standards.

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

#573

Post by sagarm »

pkulak wrote: post #559
Aerroon wrote: post #427

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But the problem will still be exactly the same, because not all USB-C cables are created equal. We've basically set in stone a standard that is so varied that the standardization means nothing. And that's before you get into any component actually wearing out and giving you degraded performance on the device or cable.

That hasn't been my experience. I have a bunch of 30w USB-C chargers that charge everything in my house. They are built in to my wall outlets and support (at least) 5v, 9v and 15v. I don't know where you're getting this idea that the standard is "so varied that the standardization means nothing". Those three profiles are enough for me. If I buy a 100W laptop, I may need one more charger, but that's just because I cho…

Which USB wall outlets are you using? The only one I've found that supports PD and 30W is from Leviton.

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

#574

Post by jethro_tell »

WinstonSmith84 wrote: post #482
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…

Not sure about Nintendo, but my macbook charger is charging perfectly fine my (Android) smartphone, and I don't even take my Android charger when traveling (charging at decent pace but unfortunately not in "very fast" mode). Either way, this is quite ironic in regard to the so-called Apple ecosystem and iPhone users still having to carry their own charger in 2022

Well, no, doesn't apple make 1/3 of their money on cables and dongles? that's like the whole point. It's not some sticky customer issue that they just can't work out, it's clearly a straight profit decision and the customer comes last in that matrix.

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

#575

Post by adrr »

mrjin wrote: post #88
ChuckNorris89 wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>It's still not a great spec if it's so complex that you can screw it up. People and companies can screw thing up royally regardless of spec complexity when there's no review/oversight involved. That's not a valid argument. If you want to force and check adherence to a spec you need to involve certification authorities (TÜV, SGS, UL, etc.) but then widget prices would increase dramatically. Edit: to address the child…

Just pick a couple of those USB-C docks on the market and check how many are actually working for you. I used over 10 different USB-C docks from different vendors. It doesn't matter which vendor, they all have various issues. They might be perfectly fine for some machines but lots lots of troubles for some other machines which are also perfectly fine with some of the other docks. I have never seen something worse tha…

Issue I had with docks is that I was using the wrong cable. You need a thunderbolt cable that can support higher wattage.

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

#576

Post by izacus »

matwood wrote: post #429
kalleboo wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If there's a better standard in the future the law can be changed, they didn't put this in the constitution. I've never had a phone with USB-C to compare, but I've had rotten luck with Lightning. I always get that one power pin that blackens and makes the cable unreliable.

> the law can be changed Basically there will never be a usb-d.

There's already Thunderbolt 4. And the requirement will expire in 2030. It's fine, stop with the drama.

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

#577

Post by r00fus »

throw0101a wrote: post #563
tediousdemise wrote: post #545

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's kind of sad to me that Apple doesn't make Lightning an open standard. In all my years, I haven't had a single Lightning connector fail on me. The solid metal where the contacts reside is just too robust to wear out or get damaged (unless you somehow step on it the right way or let it corrode). USB-C connectors, on the other hand, seems to loosen after a rather small number mates and de-mates, leading people to u…

> In all my years, I haven't had a single Lightning connector fail on me. The solid metal where the contacts reside is just too robust to wear out or get damaged (unless you somehow step on it the right way or let it corrode). I'm on my second phone where the Lightning connector barely works anymore. 'Thankfully' this one support Qi so I can charge wireless, but if I want to do a wired backup or upgrade I have to jig…

I just had a Lighting port fail on me (partial thankfully - there's one single cable in my house that still works to charge the thing) - but it's a 2014 device, a good 7-8 years old.

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

#578

Post by mmis1000 »

schleck8 wrote: post #47
jl6 wrote: post #35

I want to like this, but I charge my iPhone with a cable that has lightning on one end and USB-C on the other, and I know from extensive direct experience that the lightning end is the better physical design. Supporting this is tantamount to believing that there will never need to be a USB-D that improves upon USB-C, and I just can’t believe that.

To counter, I've had around five lightning cables and 10 usb c cables and not once has a usb c cables failed me. It does not accumulate dust.

Same, I used about 10 type c wire. The only two wire I used that failed so far are caused by

1. I stepped on it. 2. The junction between wire and head broken.

I have more that probably 5 micro b wire failed on the head since I use cellphone. But for type c, it's literally 0.

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

#579

Post by kube-system »

golemotron wrote: post #572
kube-system wrote: post #498

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That analogy does not hold up. A fuel dispenser is a metering device. The scale at your grocery store that measures the weight of the cake is, likewise, an NTEP scale: https://www.nist.gov/programs-projects/national-type-evaluat... These are very fundamental consumer protection regulations that have been solidly cemented in western civilization for many centuries now. >not extend to regulation of [...] what measures…

The problem with your formulation is that there is no limiting principle. Perversely, the government could rule that a pregnant person is a metering device for gestation and establish standards.

No, a pregnancy does not meter any commercial exchange of goods.

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

#580

Post by r00fus »

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…

I have the same issue with my Wahoo Elemnt Bolt v2. It has USB-C charger, but doesn't work with Apple's USB-C cable or my M1 30W brick. I need to use the cable that came with the Bolt (amusing is USB-A -> USB-C).
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