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I'm a USB-C Maximalist

shkspr.mobi

401–410 of 461 posts

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#401

It's been a joy to not need to bring 3 chargers along when I travel. I think the only thing we're missing to make the USB-C experience perfect is cable labelling. It's unreasonable to make every cable perform to the max spec, but if we could standardise on some labelling or colours for cables that are charging-only, 480 mbit (usb 2 speed), 5 Gbit (usb 3 speed), 10 GB (usb 3.1 speed), 20 GB (usb 3.2 speed), plus whate…

My MacBook Air is plugged in via MagSafe at home but I'd consider traveling by air with just USB-C. Probably need to throw a hub in there at that point.

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#403

I like my iPhone 13 Pro Max and I don’t want to get rid of it or anything, but I am kind of looking forward to the glorious day that it breaks. Once it breaks, any phone I get (iPhone or Android) will have USB-C, along with my laptop, with One Adapter To Rule Them All when I travel. That’s the dream, anyway. Life rarely works out quite that cleanly for me.

My Kindle Oasis might be the last micro usb device I own. I always said I’d buy the usb-c version the day they released one. Instead they discontinued it :(

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#404
The tracking of your bag is great. But when it comes time for you to go retrieve it from the thief… how is that going to go? Are you going to wrestle with them?

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#405
I've done a decent amount of traveling - honestly the most important thing has always just been to have stuff that works. Charging things has rarely been an issue. A few extra cables in the luggage is not a big deal.

Terrence's issue here is that he is over complicating things:

- Toothbrush - Just take a non-battery toothbrush, it's perfectly fine and will not break down or need charging.

- Tracker - I'm doubtful you will get it back in most countries. Always keep the essentials such as phone, wallet and passport on your physical person where possible.

- Bug Bite Zapper - Do as the locals do, they too don't want to be swamped with insects.

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#406

USB-C maximalism is great for travel. I personally recommend travelling with a USB-C desktop charger, but use one that accepts a IEC C7 ("figure-8") cable. Then, travel with only the cable corresponding to your destination (or buy one when you get there). That avoids having a wall wart that might not fit in narrow spaces, or whose weight might make it fall out of older sockets. I wrote about it a few years ago; the p…

I have spent some time on this too.

I really wanted your approach to work and went down that pathway with this [1], but its one weakness if you have multiple destinations with multiple socket types. It's not uncommon that I have to go between countries with China/Aus, EU, India (kinda-sorta EU but not), and UK plugs. That's a lot of those C7 cables. Also, having 1-2m of cable lets you put the charger on a bedside table when the only wall socket is buried under the bed for some reason, so that adds up.

I then considered one with the swappable ends, like this [2], but the advantage of the cable is that you don't get the 'this room's only socket is against the desk and fuck you if you want to plug a big wall wart into it' problem, plus as above the cable lets the charger ports be much more easily accessible. Also, many models also only have US/EU/UK adapters, without covering e.g. CN/AU style plugs.

And at that point, you're basically using of those old-style universal adapters with the universal AC input and the sliders to change the output, especially given you can now get them with integrated 65W GaN USB ports [3], so why would you fiddle with attachments you could lose?

So then there's this [4] which is so close to my ideal but isn't quite there. It has the cable advantages, minimises additional swappable weight to get different socket types, and you can even put the adapters straight on the charger if you want to omit the cable. But then I read about abysmal reliability performance and I'd rather not burn down my hotel room in a third-world country. It does have the ends that I, personally, would like but with all of these you're at the mercy of them designing them for the specific wall socket types you need. And at least with this one, the UK one doesn't include a fuse as it's supposed to, whereas IEC C7 plugs do. Further burnination possibilities.

Really, if a reputable manufacturer made [4] but sank an extra ~50% product price into proper reliability and standards compliance, as well as making a whole plethora of swappable ends for all types of wall sockets that fit both the cable and directly onto the device, I'd probably buy it and never look again. I'd even accept a proprietary swappable end form factor with the vendor lock-in risks just because it's basically the utopian ideal of what I want.

But in the meantime, I'm back to using [1] with generic basic adapters for EU and CN/AU on the end of the UK IEC C7 cable. I'll build a collection of C7 cables for each destination and when I travel to only one I'll take the appropriate cable, but when it's multiple destinations I haven't found a better solution.

[1]: Ugreen Nexode 100W GaN 4-port charger: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0B6MZYKTF?psc=1

[2]: Ugreen travel charger: https://www.amazon.co.uk/UGREEN-65W-Fast-Charger-Ports/dp/B0...

[3]: Any permutation of this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/MOMAX-Universal-Adapter-Internation...

[4]: SlimQ 100W Charger w/ extension cable and swappable ends: https://slimq.life/products/100w-3c1a-usb-c-charger

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#407
post #344

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you’ve got one of the older style Mac chargers, the part which plugs into the wall physically separates from the rest of the charger. You can connect different plugs for all the different countries. There is a plastic seam where the charger separates. It’s easy to miss. I’ve slowly acquired all the global adaptors for Mac chargers. I just bring a usbc Mac charger when I travel with the destination country plug att…

Those Apple chargers in fact use the C7/C8 connector to interface the plug adapter, so you can skip their official parts and use any compatible cord. I for years used a power cable from an Xbox with my old Magsafe1-era Macbooks.

The issue with a generic cord is that it won't connect the earth pin on those chargers.

But it does work in a pinch.

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#408

I too am a USB-C maximalist, but with a handful of differences from OP: - You lose me at "toothbrush." I don't want personal care items that have internal batteries at all , because they'll eventually die on me while the device itself (brush heads notwithstanding) is otherwise perfectly functional. I'd much rather keep rechargeable AA(A)s on hand for that kind of stuff. (I still haven't found a good electric razor fo…

A electric toothbrush does a much better job at cleaning your teeth though. I have a basic oral B one that I can get new heads for cheaply and easily and it has a usb-c charger. It’s great honestly. I’m sure it’ll die one day but so do normal toothbrushes. I’ll crack the shell open and recycle the battery it’s not a big deal. I had a random Amazon one before that broke after a few months but the very basic “old” style electric brushes seem to last some years. The more “UI” and features it has the less it’ll last

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#409
post #344

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you’ve got one of the older style Mac chargers, the part which plugs into the wall physically separates from the rest of the charger. You can connect different plugs for all the different countries. There is a plastic seam where the charger separates. It’s easy to miss. I’ve slowly acquired all the global adaptors for Mac chargers. I just bring a usbc Mac charger when I travel with the destination country plug att…

Those Apple chargers in fact use the C7/C8 connector to interface the plug adapter, so you can skip their official parts and use any compatible cord. I for years used a power cable from an Xbox with my old Magsafe1-era Macbooks.

Huh I was going to say you may be talking about a differen thing, but I checked and they actually are C7/C8: https://ptcomputers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/without-power-...

So in this universe Apple doesn't invent its own standards...

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#410
post #344

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those Apple chargers in fact use the C7/C8 connector to interface the plug adapter, so you can skip their official parts and use any compatible cord. I for years used a power cable from an Xbox with my old Magsafe1-era Macbooks.

Huh I was going to say you may be talking about a differen thing, but I checked and they actually are C7/C8: https://ptcomputers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/without-power-... So in this universe Apple doesn't invent its own standards...

You might or might not be very surprised to learn they recently abandoned the C7/C8 https://www.macrumors.com/2026/04/02/apple-140w-power-adapte...

Even the MacRumors commenters who are generally cheerleaders are scratching their heads about this one. And so do I.

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