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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

#681

Post by ziml77 »

znpy wrote: post #425
sidewndr46 wrote: post #287

Does anyone feel it is a little strange to have a government entity mandating a physical interconnect? I guess it has worked out well enough for receptacles. But on a phone it acts as a data connection as well. I guess I just wonder if in 20 years will every device still have a USB-C port on it in some odd location? No one is using it anymore, but it is still mandatory on everything.

It honestly feels strange that this hasn't arrived earlier. Think about going back to every device having its own proprietary charger, as it was in early 2000s: - mobile phone? branded charger, incompatible with everything else - mp3 player? branded charger, incompatible with everything else - boombox? branded charger, incompatible with everything else - cordless phone? branded charger, incompatible with everything e…

And it the connector had essentially no relation to the voltage or current required by the device so you couldn't tell just by fit alone what was compatible with what. You could easily damage a device with too much voltage. USB-C might be unclear about what the cable and endpoints capabilities are, but it also won't damage anything to connect stuff together without knowing.

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

#684

Post by goalieca »

giancarlostoro wrote: post #481
goalieca wrote: post #314

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Like wireless charging pads?

Unless those transfer data and charge as quickly I dont see that being the case, I mean moreso in the case of actual charging cables. Apple dropped the ball on their magsafe wireless charger by not including a wall plug and charging $40 for something a lot of people couldn’t use. Some of the Amazon reviews are people who think its a counterfeit.

Airdrop transfers data at full wifi speed and I’m sure we could make a universal standard for that. The charging pads go as high as 15 watts right now. I’m certain we will see more improvements in the future.

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

#686

Post by jopsen »

elzbardico wrote: post #598
InsomniacL wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"900 million active iphones in use" - CFO Luca Maestri 14.26 Wh * 900000000 * 365 (days) = 4684 GWh/yr 46% = 2154 GWh/yr wasted energy That's about the total energy output of Madagascar with a population of 27 million people. There's a lot of reasons why the above numbers are wrong but I just wanted to highlight that at current efficiency, there would be a lot of wasted energy. :)

not exactly a lot of energy in the big scheme of things

Yeah, it's not so much efficiency.. phones don't have that big batteries anyways.

I would be more concerned about charging speed and heating.

Inefficiency implies heating :)

And wow, do I love charging my phone using my laptops USB-C charger.. it's just so fast!

I don't really see the appeal of wireless charging. Faster direct charging would be a bigger win, IMO.

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

#687

Post by cnst »

kylecordes wrote: post #456
cnst wrote: post #430

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Before Covid, every booth at every trade show would give you a free wall charger. Some of them were just 1-port 1A 5W throwaway, but also some better stuff, too. I can't imagine buying a charger together with the phone is a thing. You either lose them nonstop, or you have so many of them you don't need anymore.

Yet I threw away many such throwaway-grade chargers, and use the one that came with my Pixel phone, because it delivers a much faster charge. If we all shift the buying the wall charger separately, hopefully something can be done about the wide variety of incompatible fast-ish charging systems. Rather than everyone revert to the lowest common standard of a very slow charge.

Isn't slow charging actually better for the phone?

I prefer to slow change even if the phone supports fast charging — I wish it was easier to do by having a setting instead of having to use incompatible charger and/or cable. The stop limit at 80% should also be made available as a setting, too.

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

#688

Post by occamrazor »

gumby wrote: post #655
belltaco wrote: post #632

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can't one make similar arguments for cars for types of gasoline(beyond premium gas) and the gas pump/tank receptacle design?

They do so — for example hose pipe diameter is regulated so you can’t accidentally put regular fuel into a diesel car (sadly, not the opposite though).

Actually the opposite. The Unleaded nozzle is thinner (and the reason was to avoid leaded fuel that would damage the catalyzer)

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

#689

Post by occamrazor »

sidewndr46 wrote: post #287

Does anyone feel it is a little strange to have a government entity mandating a physical interconnect? I guess it has worked out well enough for receptacles. But on a phone it acts as a data connection as well. I guess I just wonder if in 20 years will every device still have a USB-C port on it in some odd location? No one is using it anymore, but it is still mandatory on everything.

The EU also mandates the connectors for charging electric cars. It is a good thing.

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

#690

Post by CivBase »

rocgf wrote: post #498
CivBase wrote: post #405

Why is this so important to the EU? The stated purposes of this proposal are to reduce e-waste and improve consumer convenience, but it's easily argued that the actual impact of the proposal is the exact opposite.

I would be genuinely impressed if you can successfully defend your point of view. I fail to see how it would be possible for a single type of port for everything to increase waste and worsen consumer convenience.

iPhone users who buy new models with USB-C would have to replace any old stuff that uses the lightning connector. All this proposal would do is force a bunch of stuff to become obsolete.

How would it significantly reduce ewaste? Most phones - including the iPhone - come with a cable that connects to a USB-A or USB-C port. I guess it would reduce the amount of male lightning to female USB-C dongles manufactured, but that seems pretty inconsequential.

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