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variousred t1_ir15ta1 wrote

Reply to comment by WallStreetDoesntBet in EU votes to force all phones to use same charger by 2024 by WallStreetDoesntBet

RIP charger innovation.

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jgzman t1_ir1hjn8 wrote

What exactly do we want in charger innovation, anyway?

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variousred t1_ir1hpcd wrote

A faster horse.

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Bill_Buttersr t1_ir1uva7 wrote

OnePlus has a proprietary changing brick that came with the OnePlus 8. Fastest charging at the time. USB C. Still charges from any old brick.

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flipmcf t1_ir1zbc3 wrote

You are correct. usbc is backwards compatible, but does have additional protocols for better charging. In fact, an old brick might not charge your new phone well, although the interface works. Newer phones might use power barely faster than the brick can provide. Try Charging a Note 20 with an old brick overnight....
For example, there is an entire handshake that happens over usbc that can say "can I do 10v" or "I can do 15v". An 80-watt USBC charger can potentially charge your phone in 5 minutes to full charge, but there is additional circuitry to implement the USB Power Delivery specification.
USB-C is superior to lightning in every category. Apple is going to drop lightning soon, and this makes sure they stay on a standards track.

https://www.lifewire.com/usb-c-vs-lightning-5206813

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Aceticon t1_ir1zwy3 wrote

That's the thing: nobody stops them from supporting "innovative" charging solutions as long as they also support this specific minimum.

Surelly Apple's "innovation" in charging can win in the market by its own merits rather than by owners of Apple devices having no other option.

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Bill_Buttersr t1_ir2a3d7 wrote

That's the beautiful thing about this. It won't innovate at all. Apple fan boys will cry that they aren't being forced to use an incredibly outdated connection. Apple will come in middle of the pack on charging, like they do for everything else. Maybe a generation or two will be nice, but it's a matter of time before they make a proprietary charging solution that only works on the iPhone, with slow charge (or wireless) as a fallback.

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ecmcn t1_ir3xh0s wrote

Back when Apple was using their original plug for the iPhone I really wanted something better. Then when I had an Android with micro USB I really wanted something better. I’m fine with Lightning and USB-C now, and maybe USB-C will get us through the next however many years before the EU updates their requirements, but history has shown that the simple little plugs can indeed be improved upon.

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flipmcf t1_ir22ewy wrote

  1. We want a charger to also be a data cable.
  2. we want a charger to understand the load that the device is asking for, and charge devices both safely and quickly.

This means that if a phone is wanting 120W to fast charge it's circa 2040 sulfer-hydride battery and you plug it in to a circa 2010 USB brick, you don't burn your house down.
Conversely, when you plug in your Galaxy Note 10 into your 2040 terawatt brick, your phone won't explode when it gets a 40V DC potential.

Yet - the actual interface, the 'connectors' should remain the same, so you don't have to go to computerzone and find out if your special cable is in stock.

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flipmcf t1_ir218o4 wrote

This is short-sighted and capitalistic.

https://www.lifewire.com/usb-c-vs-lightning-5206813

When a market leader has such a high adoption rate (monopoly-like) that's when innovation stops. That's what lightning and apple have.

USB-c protocol came out in 2012, the same year that apple lightning hit the market. Lighting was better than anything currently on the market, but usb-c was designed to be so much better, and to be a standard.

If anything, apple FAILED to innovate on charger tech. Otherwise they would have had an answer to the industry standard usb-c by now.

Don't get fooled by capitalist retorhic. Innovation can happen in socialist markets also. Look into the Bi-Pin connector to see a historical analog to this phone power charger fight today.

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variousred t1_ir15woq wrote

Here’s hoping usbc is good enough for the rest of time

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SnappyPoster t1_ir1dbxb wrote

Pretty good so far, good quality cables and good quality plug and your not going to wrong!

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danbriant t1_ir1diud wrote

Especially as that one cable providing it's the right plug can also do your laptops, phones, and some major games consoles as well.

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zeezyman t1_ir32lmt wrote

Lucky that the regulations in the EU have a special clause about revising said regulations periodically, so it can be adjusted or scrapped if needed

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Kewkky t1_ir1utvh wrote

Obviously if the technology community develops something better we'll swap to it legally. Laws aren't set in stone for all eternity. It's bullshit that you have to own so many cables of different connectors just to be able to charge all your devices at home. if anything, THAT'S what's causing waste.

Also, as an electrical engineer, there's only so much improvement you can do to plugs and cables. Most of the improvement is with the devices themselves. If you need to use more pins in a cable, then add them in there but keep the shell of the plug the same. Most of the time plugs don't even use all the pins they have available. As long as you can connect a USB-C cable to any device that uses USB-C and it works, then innovate within those bounds.

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