171–180 of 226 posts
This is very cool, I might actually get one to charge my laptop. That being said... I can't be the only person who consciously avoids fast-charging my phone. My whole apartment is full of wireless charging pads intentionally plugged into weak chargers (wireless charging avoids putting wear on the USB port). 60 watts can't possibly be healthy for a battery small enough to fit into a phone.
This teardown is great! At my work, we have an X-ray machine for PCB reverse engineering. On Fridays we throw in random stuff from around the office, and sometimes make videos about what we find inside. A few weeks ago we released an X-ray teardown of several other, older chargers. Very interesting to compare with these fancy new ones! https://youtu.be/4h4qabPsPfI
Ha! I laughed at the "my left ear enjoyed it" comment. Note that the audio mix for the microphone fell in the left channel only. Apart from that, interesting images!
What a funny, positive way to point out our error.
This teardown is great! At my work, we have an X-ray machine for PCB reverse engineering. On Fridays we throw in random stuff from around the office, and sometimes make videos about what we find inside. A few weeks ago we released an X-ray teardown of several other, older chargers. Very interesting to compare with these fancy new ones! https://youtu.be/4h4qabPsPfI
Happy to take recommendations for other stuff to drop in there and film!
Also if this sounds cool to you, we're hiring US citizens.
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You aren’t, but that concern is mostly superstition. I work at a place with a huge phone fleet. We have interns study our telemetry and records because I kids like phones and they find ways to save us money. We allow for low friction replacements of phones at 12 months — the average replacement is ~27. The most common issues are cracked screens and excessive scratching on iPhone 16 and a Samsung I cannot recall. Batt…
What's wrong with expecting 5 years? Am I insane to expect an electronic device to last as much as possible? And if I had to come up with s number, I'd say 10 years at least.
At work, the optimal cash flow is rapid replacement. We buy high volume so as long as I don’t use a lot of labor, we make money on the subsidy. I buy a phone for $1, and net $250 in trade in 18-20 months.
5-10 years means you want a wall phone. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s a contrarian position and the options on the market don’t support it well as a result.
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I remember the old macbook pro chargers, they and the cable would get so hot it melted the insulation of the cable (over time). Not to mention the self-desoldering GPU’s inside the actual laptops.
I don't think it was heat melting the insulation, blame the TPE used reacting. Anyways thread from the last time Apple charger stuff was discussed: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28054090
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What's wrong with expecting 5 years? Am I insane to expect an electronic device to last as much as possible? And if I had to come up with s number, I'd say 10 years at least.
Nothing is wrong with it. I’m an enthusiast for the tech - I care about the cameras in particular and they are still moving forward between generations on the top platforms. At work, the optimal cash flow is rapid replacement. We buy high volume so as long as I don’t use a lot of labor, we make money on the subsidy. I buy a phone for $1, and net $250 in trade in 18-20 months. 5-10 years means you want a wall phone. T…
As an individual, I generally keep my phones for at least five years.
Why should I spend $300 per year instead of $150 when the lower cost option works for me?
(I'm typing this on a 2020 iPhone SE; it runs the latest software. Although this year, that's not necessarily a good thing. Liquid Glass, Safari bugs.)
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What's wrong with expecting 5 years? Am I insane to expect an electronic device to last as much as possible? And if I had to come up with s number, I'd say 10 years at least.
Nothing is wrong with it. I’m an enthusiast for the tech - I care about the cameras in particular and they are still moving forward between generations on the top platforms. At work, the optimal cash flow is rapid replacement. We buy high volume so as long as I don’t use a lot of labor, we make money on the subsidy. I buy a phone for $1, and net $250 in trade in 18-20 months. 5-10 years means you want a wall phone. T…
Actually no, that's not what it means at all. The phone I want a phone supports various smartphone features like GPS and NFC. It receives regular software and firmware updates, providing whatever new software functionality has been developed lately. It's built to last, without artificial barriers and compromises that prevent 5-10 of use.
The market may not support it very well, especially when looking at the major handset manufacturers. If that makes me a contrarian, fine. But let's not pretend that the "market" (a space dominated by just a few vendors) is optimizing for long-term customer satisfaction or any such things, or that the absence of something in the marketplace means that that things is silly.
I get that you're coming from a specific context, needing and wanting to turn hardware over quickly. But there are plenty of other people (who are generally quieter than tech enthusiasts) who don't have any such need or desire. A well-supported phone with enduring battery technology would be very welcome to me. The fact that the market doesn't meet our needs is reflective of the market-makers, not the would-be customers.
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I have one of the first Thinkpads to have a USB-c socket, and the PC can be recharged slowly that way using a low-wattage adapter, but then it will not draw any power at all from the charger when you turn the laptop on, you get a message informing you of this.
Install the BIOS update. after my update it charges on everything except a 5V only adapter, although it doesn't tell the OS it's charging unless it's on a 45 watt or more supply.
We have one a couple years older before USB-c and no more updated BIOS for that one though.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
What's wrong with expecting 5 years? Am I insane to expect an electronic device to last as much as possible? And if I had to come up with s number, I'd say 10 years at least.
Nothing is wrong with it. I’m an enthusiast for the tech - I care about the cameras in particular and they are still moving forward between generations on the top platforms. At work, the optimal cash flow is rapid replacement. We buy high volume so as long as I don’t use a lot of labor, we make money on the subsidy. I buy a phone for $1, and net $250 in trade in 18-20 months. 5-10 years means you want a wall phone. T…
I wish they'd discount their 35W dual port chargers or that I could find a similar 3rd party charger. My main criteria are (1) dual USB-C ports to charge multiple devices in one location, (2) compact enough to not block the other receptacle, and (3) ports face down/to the side so can fit between the wall and furniture. Unfortunately most chargers fail at least one of these.
I've recently been replacing some of the wiring in my house as part of a renovation, and I discovered that Leviton sells outlets with PD USB-C built in now! Not talking about the useless 2A USB-A "built-in" chargers of yore, now they actually have proper PD up to 60W!
They do also sell non-PD, so it requires some careful checking of the model numbers. And the 60W one is pretty large (the in-wall part) so it might not quite fit in an existing wallbox if it is a small one. But briefly: - T5636: two USB-C PD, up to 60W total / 60W individual or 30W each if both in use - T5635: two USB-C PD, up to 30W total / 30W individual or 15W each for both - T5634: one USB-C PD and one USB-A. USB-A is 10W and USB-C is up to 50W (even if both are in use) They also make T8xx versions of these that have 20A receptacles (NEMA 5-20R) but those are harder to find.
They also make other T56xx/T58xx which have non-PD USB-C, good for places like bathrooms where shavers/etc work fine on 5V.
I've found that putting a few of these around has eliminated a lot of the Anker chargers I used to have sticking out everywhere. They're completely in-wall and they leave both outlets free. If I need 100W for my computer, I'll still use a separate charger, but otherwise these are fine.
The only point they don't hit on your list is the ports facing down, but because they're flush at the wall, that means they don't interfere with furniture (any more than having any plug plugged into the outlets at all would).
If you're in Europe/elsewhere, not sure if other manufacturers make similar devices. I know Legrand makes some 30W PD ones in the US market, and as they're French, maybe they make them for others as well.