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The Broken Promise of USB-C: We'll Never Get a Universal Cable

theatlantic.com

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Re: The Broken Promise of USB-C: We'll Never Get a Universal Cable

#31

Post by mcswell »

thedanbob wrote: post #24
mmoskal wrote: post #22

My "favorite" are these pepper grinders, milk frothers etc that have a usb c plug but only work with usb a to c cables since they do not include the two resistors that are needed to enable 900mA on usb c to c cable. And if anyone says cost reduction, SMT resistors are like 0.1 cent or less... Seems just stupid.

I just noticed this recently with a USB-C flashlight. It wouldn't charge with a C-C cable but started working when I switched to an A-C cable. Good to know why.

Wow...I was just about to throw out a charger that has both USB-A and USB-C ports. The A ports work to charge a device I plugged in, the C ports do not. I thought it was the charger, I'll have to check some more.

Re: The Broken Promise of USB-C: We'll Never Get a Universal Cable

#32

Post by valianteffort »

politelemon wrote: post #3

> Some, like Apple, say they do this for ecological reasons. But more cost-conscious manufacturers do so to save money, I had wondered if the author might be drinking a little too much apple juice, this was the line that confirmed it. No, they all do it for cost reasons, only one happens to spin marketing around it which you take at face value (if it were even remotely true, you wouldn't see the markup or immense was…

>No, they all do it for cost reasons

You think this (incorrectly) because you're being either willfully ignorant or just naive. Apple have more insight on their devices and consumers than you could possibly imagine.

Apple know that practically no one connects their iPhone to a computer through the entire lifetime of the phone (less than 1%). So there is no reason they should include a USB3/4 cable when the only thing people do is charge their phone with it. It's added cost, and waste.

Likewise, the ports on their laptops often go unused. They collect anonymized data on how often people plug something in to any port on their device. They know what people are doing, and what is worth spending money on. There is a reason they got rid of their extra I/O to begin with.

Re: The Broken Promise of USB-C: We'll Never Get a Universal Cable

#33

Post by eek2121 »

creshal wrote: post #30
Valgrim wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure what functionality is not covered by current cables. Both my laptop and phone, which are several years old, use the usb-C connector for power, data, video, audio, and combined with a hub can connect to any usb peripheral out there. Sure, the weird triple-split usb-c connector that came with my son's cheap walkie-talkies from Amazon doesn't do all that. But I don't expect it to, and it will at least charge my…

Try buying an USB-C cable in a random brick and mortar store, or on Amazon. Between "fully thunderbolt 4 certified" cables that do everything, reliable, and "you get two wires for basic 5W charging" cables that reliably disappoint, there's a wild world of maybe sorta compatible cables (don't ask what they're compatible with), and that's before you get into counterfeiting problems (thanks, Amazon). Edit: Yes, like wit…

I haven’t had much of an issue if you ignore thunderbolt (I own no thunderbolt devices)

Only one USB-C cable I have ever owned was not capable of fast charging, and it was sold by a third party on Amazon.

Re: The Broken Promise of USB-C: We'll Never Get a Universal Cable

#34

Post by hu3 »

stephenr wrote: post #27
hu3 wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's basic logic why why watches and earbuds generaly don't charge while in use. So bad example there. If my Logitech G502 Lightspeed mouse couldn't charge while in use, I wouldn't even consider buying it. Because when I pay for premium service, I expect premium delivery. Anything else is fanboyism, handwaving and/or stockholm syndrome. Specially because previous generation of apple's mice could be charged while in u…

> If my Logitech G502 mouse couldn't charge while in use, I wouldn't even consider buying it. Similarly, if a mouse doesn't support touch gestures I wouldn't consider buying it. I guess we both make compromises: you never have gesture support, I maybe can't use the mouse for two minutes while I go make a coffee if I forget to charge it overnight once a month. > Specially because previous generation of apple's mice co…

Gestures suck for me.

I prefer many physical buttons for reliable macros :)

But when it comes to charging, there's no reason to just happily accept and defend an inferior solution for no tradeoff whatsoever.

Re: The Broken Promise of USB-C: We'll Never Get a Universal Cable

#35

Post by Tagbert »

ryandrake wrote: post #15
grouchomarx wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

charging the magic mouse for two minutes will give you weeks of battery life

The point is that a peripheral device should not be unusable while it’s charging, whether that charge takes two seconds, two minutes, or two hours. I can’t think of any other recent electronics device that cannot be used while charging.

Yes, but the other point is that, in a practical sense, it is not really a problem. Just a silly design decision.

I expect, if they ever get around to redesigning that mouse, they’ll change the port, if only to avoid derision. The recent port change was not enough to warrant moving the port. That front edge is quite thin so there may not be enough room in the current case.

Re: The Broken Promise of USB-C: We'll Never Get a Universal Cable

#36

Post by stephenr »

hu3 wrote: post #34
stephenr wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If my Logitech G502 mouse couldn't charge while in use, I wouldn't even consider buying it. Similarly, if a mouse doesn't support touch gestures I wouldn't consider buying it. I guess we both make compromises: you never have gesture support, I maybe can't use the mouse for two minutes while I go make a coffee if I forget to charge it overnight once a month. > Specially because previous generation of apple's mice co…

Gestures suck for me. I prefer many physical buttons for reliable macros :) But when it comes to charging, there's no reason to just happily accept and defend an inferior solution for no tradeoff whatsoever.

Here's a hint: the thing you clearly think is "inferior"... I don't even think about at all.

It's literally a non issue that gets paraded out by people who don't use it at every opportunity.

Re: The Broken Promise of USB-C: We'll Never Get a Universal Cable

#37

Post by lttlrck »

USB-C is amazing. I can buy USB-C PD spoofers for a couple of bucks that give me a wide range of voltages, at reasonably high amps, for all my electronics projects. It's brilliant.

Outside that application the most annoying issue for me is power only cables - which isn't its fault. Aside from that it's the best we have a by a long way.

Re: The Broken Promise of USB-C: We'll Never Get a Universal Cable

#38

Post by hu3 »

stephenr wrote: post #36
hu3 wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Gestures suck for me. I prefer many physical buttons for reliable macros :) But when it comes to charging, there's no reason to just happily accept and defend an inferior solution for no tradeoff whatsoever.

Here's a hint: the thing you clearly think is "inferior"... I don't even think about at all. It's literally a non issue that gets paraded out by people who don't use it at every opportunity.

It is inferior :) Sorry

When my mouse starts blinking I just plug cable and continue whatever I'm doing and it's a solved problem. No second guessing if I can take a break now in the middle of a meeting, no unnecessary cognitive load, no need to remember to charge it when "I have the time", it's... magical.

It just works.

Re: The Broken Promise of USB-C: We'll Never Get a Universal Cable

#39

Post by phil21 »

creshal wrote: post #30
Valgrim wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure what functionality is not covered by current cables. Both my laptop and phone, which are several years old, use the usb-C connector for power, data, video, audio, and combined with a hub can connect to any usb peripheral out there. Sure, the weird triple-split usb-c connector that came with my son's cheap walkie-talkies from Amazon doesn't do all that. But I don't expect it to, and it will at least charge my…

Try buying an USB-C cable in a random brick and mortar store, or on Amazon. Between "fully thunderbolt 4 certified" cables that do everything, reliable, and "you get two wires for basic 5W charging" cables that reliably disappoint, there's a wild world of maybe sorta compatible cables (don't ask what they're compatible with), and that's before you get into counterfeiting problems (thanks, Amazon). Edit: Yes, like wit…

Honestly I haven’t had much of an issue at all. Just buy trusted brands like Anker, Monoprice, Cables Direct, etc. for slightly more than the cheapest on Amazon. Have yet to receive a counterfeit, checking who is selling and fulfilling the item like you would anything else you buy from any other marketplace style site.

I’m starting to believe the whole counterfeits/commingled inventory zeitgeist on Amazon is another one of those things that was somewhat true at one point, but is more overblown social media bluster like so many other topics are today. Do they happen? Of course. I just doubt it’s as common as trotted out on here.

I buy an exceptionally large amount of stuff like this off Amazon for projects, and must be in the top single digit percentile for consumers of theirs for “cheap Chinese generic junk” and have yet to receive a single item I’ve noticed was not what it said it was. Some useless junk for sure, but those were all my fault and returned without issue.

We are talking hundreds of USB-C cables now, ranging from charging only to full on thunderbolt driving multiple daisy chained 4k monitors.

Re: The Broken Promise of USB-C: We'll Never Get a Universal Cable

#40

Post by culebron21 »

I don't see how USB-C is improvement. Its socket has the flimsiest feet that keep it, and it its connectrs break off the board, and are impossible to solder back, unless you're pro fixer with a very good microscope. MicroUSB could be fixed with naked eye and thin iron, and type A sockets just never broke off the board.
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