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EU plans to force OEMs to use a common charger for all phones

xda-developers.com

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Re: EU plans to force OEMs to use a common charger for all phones

#671

Post by ziml77 »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #669
pg_1234 wrote: post #652

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The intention is clearly that the consumer be able to charge any phone using a generic usb-c charger. Apple's proprietary wireless charging would fail that criteria. I imagine that if Apple made their technology an industry standard, that a) others could implement, and b) Apple were themselves governed by, then the EU would consider it in addition to usb-c.

> intention is clearly that the consumer be able to charge any phone using a generic usb-c charger The stated intention is to reduce e-waste. Removing the cable altogether accomplishes that goal.

Wireless charging doesn't mean that there's no cable. It just means that the cable terminates in a coil instead of a plug.

Re: EU plans to force OEMs to use a common charger for all phones

#672

Post by rvense »

elzbardico wrote: post #657
rvense wrote: post #635

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because they were forced to use it due to EU legislation.

Absolutely no, you're making things up. USB was part of the android specification since day one as it was a natural technical choice at that time, due to the availability of chipsets, and due to the fact that google wanted standardization across android manufacturers. There's no alternate universe where google wouldn't use USB because it was not told so by some eurocrats.

Plenty of feature phones in the late 00's had USB on non-standard connectors.

Re: EU plans to force OEMs to use a common charger for all phones

#674

Post by Kirby64 »

amelius wrote: post #630
Kirby64 wrote: post #629

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An interesting point to think about is that MagSafe appears to be about 75% efficient (due to alignment of coils from the magnets), but also the battery size on iPhones tends to be much smaller than competitor phones. For example, Samsung S21 uses a 4000mAh battery. iPhone 12 Pro uses a 2700mAh battery. At 75% efficiency, it's effectively like charging a 3600mAh battery. Both likely get a full charge every day. So, e…

Still, throwing away 25% electricity because "minor convenience" is not such a great idea.

Sure, but let's say efficiency comes up to closer to like 85-90%, which should be achievable. Would you suggest that it's still not worthwhile? You'd never need to worry about damaging your charging port, since everything is now solid-state.

I know a few folks that moved to exclusively wireless charging because they broke the USB port on their phones over the years.

Re: EU plans to force OEMs to use a common charger for all phones

#675

Post by nybble41 »

selfhoster11 wrote: post #637
nybble41 wrote: post #592

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> When USB-C outlives its usefulness, it can be legislated away in favour of a different standard. When USB-C outlives its usefulness there won't be any ready-made standard for the legislation to switch to. Or at least if there is such a standard it won't come from the EU, or any other jurisdiction with similar regulations. Why would anyone develop a new standard for mobile devices when the law says they have to use…

The payoff is huge. Assuming that your connector will be allowed to charge royalties, you can make the money on the fact that literally every phone will be using it once you lobby to update the standard. Besides that, whichever organization is behind USB is the obvious candidate. A new standard that's backwards compatible with the old one (because that's what consumers are likely after) except for the connector is be…

Sure, the payoff is huge if you can charge royalties, but so is the risk. You don't want to be the one that spends tons of money to develop a new standard only to have someone else's design chosen. You're also limited in how much real-world testing you can do since you can't market devices with the new connector to the public until the law is changed. And if the government is going to mandate that everyone use a certain kind of port then it ought to be made available royalty-free, which removes the prospect of a huge payoff.

Re: EU plans to force OEMs to use a common charger for all phones

#676

Post by rglullis »

alpaca128 wrote: post #621
rglullis wrote: post #398

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So, it's the latter. They will have another excuse to increase the prices further. "We had to spend $BILLIONS to change the design of the iPhone, so this is why the new iPhone EU Edition is going to be 1400€". This is the kind of thing that really makes me understand Brexit.

> This is the kind of thing that really makes me understand Brexit. It seems a tad inconsistent to be against restrictions on imports but also for the kind of fallout that resulted from Brexit. That makes your understanding of Brexit seem incomplete. And if you don't like price increases on Apple products, don't buy them. That's the only language they understand.

It's not the restrictions on imports that I am against. It is the all-encompassing political bureaucracy that the EU has become and how upside-down its priorities are.

> And if you don't like price increases on Apple products, don't buy them.

I don't buy them already, but the type of connector they use is way down on my list of reasons not to use them. Closed source? Hard to repair? Exploitative app store practices? Spyware that scans your data? An unwilling intermediary into developers and consumers? Greenwashed, overpriced hardware that can only be used by the terms dictated from Cupertino?

Those are reasons to not use Apple. Yet, here we are discussing the most irrelevant feature of their devices like it is the only issue that is wrong with them.

Re: EU plans to force OEMs to use a common charger for all phones

#677

Post by kyriakos »

GhostVII wrote: post #298
ethbr0 wrote: post #280

From the announcement https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_21_... (linked in article) > Today, the Commission is proposing: > A harmonised charging port for electronic devices: USB-C will be the common port. > Harmonised fast charging technology will help prevent that different producers unjustifiably limit the charging speed and will help to ensure that charging speed is the same when using any c…

Wait isn't unbundling the sale of the charger the thing everyone got mad at Apple for? And now they are legislating it?

the law is not meant to punish companies but to reduce e-waste. if everyone uses the same charger there is no need for a new one every time you buy a new device

Re: EU plans to force OEMs to use a common charger for all phones

#678

Post by luma »

dragonwriter wrote: post #438
adrr wrote: post #401

Earlier quoted context omitted.

USB C is a huge mess. I have at least 3 types of USB c cables. Standard USB C cables, Cables that can charge my MacBook Pro, and cables that can hook my pro to a dock. I understand the differences but try explaining the differences to your parents.

> but try explaining the differences to your parents. Wheh my Boomer parents first got computers as adults, the number of radically different cables with the same connectors (especially DB9 or DB25) on the end was dizzying, as well as the set of different connectors, and remembering what each was for (or attaching tape and labelling whatever wasn’t the most common function with the same combination of connectors) was…

It was far worse with phone chargers before the EU mandated USB, nearly every manufacturer had several different designs across their product lineup, none of which were compatible with each other.

Re: EU plans to force OEMs to use a common charger for all phones

#679

Post by londons_explore »

emteycz wrote: post #650
londons_explore wrote: post #270

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The engineer in me says I want to quit my job and spend the next 6 months and $100k prototyping a 3.5mm compatible jack that can charge a car, and safe even when licked by toddlers, underwater, full of grit, and cut with powertools... But the business person tells me that even if I could do it and make it safe enough to use, there is zero chance any big company would license the tech.

No, but I'd jump at the opportunity to build my startup around your tech

If your startup has funding...

Re: EU plans to force OEMs to use a common charger for all phones

#680

Post by bastawhiz »

hexa22 wrote: post #643
Version467 wrote: post #365

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple didn't lower the price after removing the charger.

The charger probably costs about $1 to the BoM. I wouldn’t expect to see any change. But this is not the biggest thing which is that the parts of the iPhone do not determine the price. The price is already set and determines what parts go in. If something somewhere else becomes cheaper, that’s more room in the budget to spend elsewhere whether that be better hardware, hiring more software developers, higher skilled r…

> I wouldn’t expect to see any change.

But then you subsequently need to buy a charger, which is what? $15 if you want to get a reputable one?

Even if you only got a new one every three phones, that's essentially a $5 tax on every device. ($6 if you consider that the cost of the device wasn't reduced, with a $1 actual cost like you suggest)

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