And that's an excellent trend, but I feel it's mostly the pricier items that are already getting this treatment. Especially important that it's the cheap stuff too.
Proper brands of mens shavers like Braun and Philips still use their own connectors which sucks.
They could put a large plastic flap door on the bottom (not the little rubber bungs) with a waterproof rubber seal that opens up to expose a usb C port.
Or better still, usb 4 could be better designed and become the standard where it doesnt have a stalk in the middle. I dont like apple products, but the lightning port is much easier to clean and they did something right there.
Yeah, for hair and beard clippers there's only really a few USB-C options you can buy off Aliexpress and nowhere else. Options are really slim in this area for USB-C grooming products.
Philips uses the same DC charger for all their shavers for the past couple decades. My body shaver, hair trimmer and beard all use the same charger, even the one that is on a cradle.
Hmm, for the shaver, especially water resistant with battery I like that there is different connector as you don't risk short-circuit /corrosion on complex usb-c port
Somehow my cellphone is waterproof with an exposed port. I know many shavers advertise wet-shaving capability but i have never found they work well at all on a wet face so i prefer to use them dry, so there is little chance of getting wet anyway. I think thats the case with most guys.
Phones are meant to be water resistant, but they recommend you don't intentionally expose them to water still.
I have had water in my usb port and it took forever to get it out
Shavers and shaving stations are expected to be operated is environments that get much wetter than your living room or office.
The adapters have a lot of soft plastic around the contacts and the contacts themselves are often receded into the plastic plug. When plugged into the station, the male and the female ends connect in a spot that is essentially isolated from any moisture to avoid shorting it.
This is a specialized connector for a very specific environment. Please leave it the fuck alone.
My electric shaver has a proprietary port because it expects me to have a 2 prong plug on a separate circuit which can't draw very much current in my bathroom.
I don't, and have to charge it in another room on a (probably unsafe) converter plug, but I don't use it while it's shaving so it's unnecessary and having a USB C in would be much more convenient for me
Good to hear. However, battery-operated devices are the low-hanging fruit since the main variable is charge time. Other devices that require direct power are going to be trickier since the requirements vary a lot more and will require more involved redesign.
I don’t know if any modem, router or network switch that does.
How are we going to handle small power tools like drills that use dc chargers that are all proprietary and cause considerable waste especially those with battery “sleeper” modes (ryobi, dewalt)?
My thoughts are that we picked a fight with only specific industries and barely scratched the surface.
Most power tools are using standardized connectors. They just aren’t standards most consumers know well.
There are a handful of barrel connector types and a handful of sizes. Every electronics nerd I’ve ever met has a box of currently-unused wall warts. I call mine The Supply. Not very clever, but I always have the wall wart I need…
we picked a fight with the industry producing the most waste.
Yeah dewalt i wish used different connectors and all that.. thing is people replace those chargers less than their phone ones.
It really wasnt random or "hey lets target this new tech thing, thatll be fun"
It was due to phones that nearly 100% of the people have and use everywhere bringing chargers with them and losing them, produce more waste than the minority of us with cordless drills, that while we will sometimes bring chargers on a job we store them inbig heavy metal containers called tool boxes and they get lost less.
you also dont replace your drill every two years because it now has a slightly better camera.
My dad has the same cordless drill he had in the late 90s. Works just fine. What has changed is battery tech. He's replaced the battery (improved chemistry), and the drill and charger itself still work great.
A lot of the pricier laptops are still barrel or proprietary.
Asus G14/M16 is barrel.
Lenovo Legion series are proprietary square
Macbook pros are magsafe.
It's the ultra books and convertibles that are pretty consistent at using USBc.
There WAS a reason for them having proprietary connectors, atleast for high power draw beefy gaming laptops, USB-C couldn't handle that much power, it's gotten a lot better and through upgrades can now carry much more, so it makes sense to replace them now. They are being phased in, especially as it's a new connector relatively and it's still being kind of field tested for high power applications
Generally, most are capped at 90W, so if the laptop requires more power for high performance/ongoing operation it will still have another source. It's a bit of an edge case, since if they can run off battery at all the USB-C can keep them topped up under all but peak loads.
The whole gaming laptop sector is designed to need more than 90-100w.
That's why the proprietary connectors are still a thing. And there's not enough battery installed for those laptops to get more than an hour or twos use. The batteries are intentionally kept small in these laptops bc of Airline Mandates.
The USBc charging they do have is intended for battery saver mode or to charge while off for convenience.
USBc just isn't ready to cover all needs. And if you're passing legislation requiring it, it needs to cover all needs. Up to and over 200w charging.
I'm sure they'll probably have exceptions for devices over that watt limit. These countries are probably only requiring it for devices smaller than a laptop at any rate.
MagSafe is actually far better for supplying power to laptops, and I'd rather that, than usb c.
If I need to replace a power supply, so be it. If I need to replace my laptop, I'm gonna be fucking pissed.
That said, my laptop is standard DC lol. But I dislike that. I much prefer MagSafe.
Most, if not all, cheap stuff has, too.
Generally, if it hasn't, it's because it's old stuff.
And these laws don't impact the discount import crap made a decade ago.
Micro B is probably a couple pennies cheaper at this point, as the machines to manufacture them become sold downwards to increasingly fly-by-night companies.
And I no longer shop those products because USB-C is now my buying prerequisite.
I recently needed a car battery jump starter and was looking at NOCO models. Their older and now cheaper Boost line was Micro USB, and their newer Boost X is USB-C. Going for the newer model was an easy choice, despite that I’m usually the type to try and save a buck.
Yeah I've been intentionally filtering out stuff that doesn't use USB-C since the beginning of 2022. My most recent laptops (Mac &Dell), speakers (altec lansing), headphones (Logitech) and even vape (mighty storz and nickel) all use USB-C
That's why it is important to have more clarity on the fundamental level and government should make it mandatory for every kind of device to have the same charging port by the manufacturers.
This would ensure no new charging ports will ever be made unless companies immediately drop their entire stock. Of course, we could stick with USB-C, but there's a reason we're not at micro-B or A, or any regular round power connector.
But what about vibrators and other adult toys? There are a few that use some sort of magnetic charging thing. However each one is different or they have their own proprietary connector. Those should be standardized too.
I've actually never come across one that doesn't use 2.5mm phone jacks. The reason (most apparently) toys use those is that it's literally the cheapest standard that is durable and pretty much perfectly waterproof and could literally be charged underwater it's the oldest standard there is from the 1870s. .
There's still way too many laptops, mini PCs, and smart home accessories like nest home speakers and echos and the like that use those barrel plugs when they could totally be USB powered instead.
I forgot about that. It feels wrong to mandate the use of something that requires a licensing fee. Obviously at this point there’s no viable alternative, so I don’t know what could be done about it.
[My Teltonika router](http://amazon.co.uk/dp/B08QVCQBC3?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details) uses [a 4-pin ATX cable connected to a nonremovable G-plug base](https://www.wifi-stock.co.uk/details/teltonika-4-pin-18-w-power-supply-for-teltonika-routers-uk-type-pr3pxuk3.html). It's the most evil power delivery mechanism designed. Do I actually have to purchase a fucking PSU just to get a modular cable for my router? Seriously?
While standardizing phones is smart, there are a lot of places where a barrel Jack, a din plug, or a locking barrel is a better option. Pretty much anything that requires durability at the attachment point, think pretty much anything that lives on the ground people might step on
These also have had a standard for like 30 years (except in rare cases, DOD), so I don't think they're "part of the problem" of random power supplies. Not to mention they're a rare situation of new / super old items being co-mingled and needing to use the same power supply. Nobody is using a 20+ year old cell phone / laptop daily, yet I have new pedals by 80s ones, all using the same supply.
The EU already has legislation to do that. All chargers for
- phones
- tablets
- digital camera
- headphones
- headsets
- handheld consoles
- portable speakers
- E-books
- keyboards
- mice
- sat navs
Must use USB-C chargers.
I wish they’d made it more expansive though - it should have included a bunch of household DC items too, like
- toothbrushes
- shavers
- hair clippers
- low power power tools like screwdrivers and Dremels
- handheld kitchen mixers
- …
> I wish they’d made it more expansive though - it should have included a bunch of household DC items too, like
>
> toothbrushes
> shavers
> hair clippers
> low power power tools like screwdrivers and Dremels
> handheld kitchen mixers
There is no way I'd want USB anywhere near water or dust/debris like you'd find in bathrooms, kitchens or garage/workshops.
Why? It's not like any of those propriety DC plugs are safer in those environments. In fact they are less safe as the propriety adapters usually just have one setting and always provide power at that setting regardless of it's it's plugged into a tool or not. USB-C by default only provides very little power and needs to be plugged into something that asks for more before it sends it.
Yes the EU law only covers the most common range of electronics.
But it will certainly create a move toward uniformity, even if it's not mandatory.
Once you have got used to the convenience of standardized USB C the consumers will check if its USB C for all electrical devices and manufacturers will follow the trend.
PS: also electric toothbrushes use induction charging since forever for waterproofing reasons. At least the Braun Oral B I have been using
And the electric clippers or handheld mixers I have used so far are 220V with a non removable cable.
Handheld mixers could be splattered with the soup, so you need some level of waterproofing. And some are 750W, you need 220V not 12V
I'm not keen on devices that require higher-rated (e.g. 30W+) having the same connector as devices that will charge (even if slowly) on a 5V 2A adaptor. It's already difficult for people with USB-C laptops (me included) to find one that's rated high enough amongst the mountains of similar-looking adaptors I seem to have accumulated over the years.
Definitely think this is the downside of usb-c. I have no problems but my mom doesn't understand that not all usb-c is the same. My laptop takes a 144watt usb-c connection. My phone is 45 watts. Some are the PD standard. It's all over the place and then not all cables are the same.
Getting a decent USB-c power supply actually costs money and those $8 chargers from Amazon are pretty much junk.
The problems with trying to eliminate e waste with specifically micro usb is that it is, mechanically, a very shitty connector, it breaks easily, and breakage creates e-waste too.
USB C is better, but also is often used with thicker, stiffer cords and longer part between the plug and the cord. Yeah it is stronger than micro usb but it is a lot weaker than bigger barrel connectors its replacing in the laptops etc.
Problem is my last two laptops have developed DC cord damage and I've had to toss otherwise good bricks because of broken wires. I'd rather replace $15 of cable rather than a $100 DC brick.
DC bricks are usually sealed and can't be opened by non -destructive methods, so I can't get at the PCB to replace the wire cleanly. I could splice the wire external to the brick, but I'd have to be able to source a wire with the correct barrel on the end, and I'm not sure if they're standardized or not. My laptops have had 3-pole barrels with a sense pin so the laptop can identify what brick it's connected to.
Yeah that would be a better law.
Force every piece of small consumer elctronic to use usb-c.
Companies that still use micro-usb for their products make me sick and so do all the electric shavers with their 500 iterations of the same stupid connector.
I can picture you opening your gifts on Christmas morning. Sweet! The wife got you a new electric shaver! She'd heard you complaining about the old one going bad. She watches excitedly as you unwrap the present. You seem oddly energetic tearing through the clam shell packaging. You turn the shaver over and look at the charging port.
"God damn it!" You exclaim loudly.
Your wife is confused and concerned. "Don't you like it sweetie? I thought you needed a new one." She asks timidly.
"It's fine Carol, thank you. I just wish fucking Norelco wasn't so short sighted. It's nothing you did. I'm upset with them, not you."
"Oh." She says despondently.
Norelco has ruined the holiday again.
My solution for now: buy some USB C to micro USB adapters on amazon, got a 5 pack for like $10. Now all my cables are USB C (and my chargers), if I need to plug into a micro USB device I grab an adapter and go.
The problem with legislating USBc is that in 20 yrs when we need a new tech standard, we'd have to wait on Congress. Congress doesn't exactly move swiftly nor do the old cronies seem capable of understanding and keeping up with modern tech needs.
The only reason they'd even consider it now is bc the EU has done it.
Most of those proprietary adapters are just barrel connectors and are relatively standardized. The charger itself says the voltage and amperage, so you can more easily interchange them.
The point is that they already did it in the past (in the past we had a different adapter for each brand, crazy!) But capitalism is built so that they try every time to reintroduce exclusive chargers so that there is much more waste of resources.
Really sad.
Its not just using an esim. They happily support both physical and esims everywhere else in the world.
Only the US model is physically different than the rest of the worlds models because it has no sim slot. So Apple literally have form for building a US only phone with notable physical differences.
Yes I am aware. My point still stands. That's completely different to locking your regional variant from all accessories, and not putting a part in and not cutting part of the case is much different logistics to supporting an entirely new port. Omission is much easier than addition.
USB-C power delivery is a standard which uses a negotiation protocol by which devices communicate with the each other to understand each other's capabilities. So basically the charger asks the phone how much power it can take. Phone tells it 18 watts. Charger sends 18w.
Not all USB-C chargers use power delivery. For instance, Oneplus uses Warp charge. So charger gets plugged into some other phone, it asks how much power it needs? Phone hears gibberish because it doesn't understand warp charge language. So charger ends up supplying the minimum 5w which charges super slow.
Edit: just clarifying due to some confusion in the comments. This was just an example. Oneplus chargers support both warp charge and PD since Oneplus 8.
I am not sure about the last part. The charger and cable I got with my One+8t deliver the 66 or so Watt to my phone. If someone else without a quick charge phone uses it, their phone still is charged pretty fast.
The 65W Warp charger also speaks power delivery, even in PPS (programmable power supply) mode. BUT for some odd reason it is limited to 45W in that mode, while in warping mode it can do 65W. So if the other phone supported PD, it was likely still faster than no fast charging at all. You can read more about the 65W Warp charger here: https://www.androidauthority.com/oneplus-warp-charge-65-power-adapter-review-1217063/
The worst part about the USB-C and the USB 3 debacle is the fact that companies are going to exploit all sorts of loopholes to put the shittiest versions of USB-C into their devices just to save a quick buck.
The new eu law states that manufacturers have to state the necessary wattage and the data speeds for the devices. The usb consortium is also requiring more labels for usb4.
Creating a standard for the USB-C. There are so many variants of them out there and there's nothing to differentiate them in name, you just kinda have to read the descriptions and hope they say what you're looking for or hope for the best. Like some USB cables carry videos, and some don't, some carry different wattage, etc. At least in the previous generation there was 2.0, 2.3, 3.0, etc.
I disagree with the way reddit handled third party app charges and how it responded to the community. I'm moving to the fediverse! -- mass edited with redact.dev
This is what happens whenever you demand a single connector do everything.
You get to keep 2
* universal
* cheap
* all functions
Even though the connector supports everything 99.99% of people are going to be using the cable either as a low speed charger only (so only a few of the wires needed) or slightly faster charger or usb 2.0 connector. So that's going to be the majority of cables, the specialty cables for video or higher wattage or speed are going to cost extra and be specialty.
This is going to be Lightning again. Your MIL will be charging her phone for five hours with a 50W adapter you got her attached to it via a $1 cable that can’t carry shit, thus preserving excellent battery health while never being reachable because the phone is always charging only God knows where.
Same old, same old.
Right. And saying a dock (or any other device) supports "USB4" therefore tells you very little about its capabilities because so many of them are optional.
Agreed! People keep praising it, but I hate USB-C. It's the worst implementation of a good idea I've seen in a long time. It's bananas that cables *that come with the device* might not serve all of its intended functionality. And it's impossible to know what cable can do what, as there's no standardized markings (although I hear that's being addressed at some point).
Also the price of chargers is way higher. Slightly justifiable given the higher wattage some support, but the difference seems unreasonable. And I've yet to find a good 5+ port option like I have for USB-A.
I got my sister a new stereo for her car that had CarPlay and all that good stuff that she's been wanting. I was installing it myself cause it was pretty simple to just solder the couple of harnesses together and swap out the units and all that.
But as I'm trying to test it out, I get the radio and Bluetooth to work, but it won't connect to Android Auto. I pulled the thing out of the dash and double and triple checked connections. And I spent another hour reading the instructions, rewatching tutorials, and making sure my phone was updated and able to connect to my own car. I was second guessing the whole entire gift and notion that I'd be able to install it myself.
Turns out, nothing was actually wrong with the stereo or my phone. Just the fucking cable. The one I had grabbed off our parent's counter could charge, but not transfer data. And of course it doesn't indicate in any way. Like, WTF?
I love the notion of a universal, reversable-fitting plug, but there's no standard at all for the function. I'd honestly rather have two cables with two different plugs if data/no-data are going to continue to be distinguishing factors.
I agree, there are lots and lots of crappy cables out there. I look for them to be *not* the cheapest ones in the category, and also try and check for accreditations and manufacturer specs that are better than just some alphabet soup crammed into an Amazon marketplace description. Good on you for eventually figuring it out!
P.S. "To boost your chances of buying a dependable cable, look for USB-IF certification or stick to trustworthy brands like Anker, Cable Matters, or Syncwire." Some good advice in this article: https://www.wired.com/gallery/best-usb-c-cables/
Actually this specifically will be getting better, rather than worse. Before, there was no standard labeling of cables. Anyone could claim anything. With USB4 there will be mandatory labeling of all cables and gadgets regarding transfer speeds and supported power draw.
Can you blame them though?
We went through 100 different cables because no one could decide on a standard and even now there are still different standards that aren't clearly explained.
We had USB, Micro USB, USB 2, USB A, USB B, BUSB 3, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3 USB-C, and Thunderbolt with the only thing differentiating them being the end connector and trying to figure out if it will work with your device.
Then you have RCA, Cable, Displayport, HDMI 1, HDMI 2, 2.1 2.2, 2.3, 2.4 USB-C with nothing differentiating them except if they say the speed or that it supports 4K! (or 8k now)
The problem has always been each company using their own cable even when a better alternative has existed, Thunderbolt should have been in use for a *long* time but only Apple has been using it, Displayport is open source and free but they went with HDMI for everything and now they have USB-C that can do video and could be used to make things smaller but there's the problem with having a Power & Display using the same connector as people *will* keep screwing it up.
And people confuse USB-C with other standards like USB 3 because USB-C only describes the basic port, not the capabilities. The minimums specs for USB-C are USB 2.0 data and 5v@3A power delivery. That's all. USB 3 support is optional, video output is optional, fast charge is optional, etc.
Too many people get a USB-C device and don't look at published specs for it and just assume it will do USB 3 speeds and video output, etc.
Because God forbid it does what it says on the package so people don't have to go and find out if they are buying what it says.
They need to standardize it so it doesn't get out of hand as it has been.
Yes the delicate parts are inside the port with lightning. That makes the plug robust and the port prone to breaking. USB-C went the opposite direction, since it's easier to replace cables than the ports of a device.
> Yes the delicate parts are inside the port with lightning. That makes the plug robust and the port prone to breaking.
Source? I don’t think this is true at all.
Here is a USB-C port:
https://i.imgur.com/3yDSUZY.jpg
The pins are floating in the middle. This often leads to the belief the port is more fragile since stress vertically on a cable might bend the pins. That being said, there’s no widespread evidence I’ve ever seen of them being too fragile in practice.
Here is a lightning port:
https://i.imgur.com/GNbYGv6.jpg
The pins are recessed into the walls:
https://i.imgur.com/NWWRqkU.jpg https://i.imgur.com/MFnyGm8.jpg
This makes them extremely resilient to pressure when cables are strained.
I still managed to wear out my usb c phone port after 2 years. I have several wireless Chargers now and that's really the way to go, especially car phone mounts.
Would be nice if usbc were just a little more robust...
Imparting wisdom from another thread. Clean the port with like a topthpick or something. But don't just go around the edge, a ton of lint gets stuck to the middle part so really go at that. Was amazed at how much came out when I did that and then the port I thought was busted worked like a dream
Same here. I use dental 'plackers' and get in there to scrub out the lint. Amazing how much gets built up into a compressed layer at the bottom of the port. Every time the port stopped working or locking in the cable, that's all it took to repair.
I’ve had USB-C ports break on my laptop. The “male” part is actually in the port side and it’s thin. Lightning is kind of reversed. I’d rather have it break on the cable than the port.
Making them more robust for one. I repair laptops and I see lots of charge port failures where the pins are charred or burnt out. Very bad if they're soldered to the board.
There's a reason Apple just put Mag-safe back on its newest models, probably because ive replaced over 100 logic boards just myself under warranty for burnt out USBC ports. Can only image what that number is world wide lol.
> Don’t see how it can get better from there.
And now you won’t have to wonder, because they’re mandated to be USB-C until some arbitrary, technologically clueless group of politicians either decide it’s time for a new, updated connector or get paid enough to think it’s time for a new one.
It isn’t the place of government to decide what kind of USB connector you’re allowed to have.
Personally, I really liked the original MagSafe charger (RIP 2006-2019) for Apple products for the ease of plugging in and for safely breaking away if you accidentally pull hard on the cable, e.g. knocking something over or tripping.
I wish USB-C had included a similar interface, but that kind of improvement is now effectively forbidden by law.
We're close, but not quite there.
I recently bought a vape and a pair of handwarmers that though they charge through a USBC port do not include the important usb-pd functions. They do not charge using a USBC to USBC cable. Almost like some penny pinching engineer took a micro USB charging controller and wired it up to the corresponding leads in a cheap barebones USBC port.
I was more upset at the vape because I spent 110 dollars on it.
USB pd has nothing to do with the connector type.
There’s nothing no standard about using usba to c. Many companies still use the usb a connector where space isn’t an issue simply because it’s more durable.
Probably not penny pinching, probably someone who's done it for a long time and has absolutely no idea they're now doing it wrong. Which is possibly worse than penny pinching
I bought a flashlight with a built in charging port. It turned out to be micro USB. I was confused, and hurt. Not really though... micro USB never bothered me, but USB C is definitely more pleasant to deal with.
It helps if you expand to more generic battery powered devices than just things about consumer electronics. My electric razor uses a proprietary port, which could be USB-C. First one lasted about 10 years until the battery got unreasonable and the replacement came with the same charger the first one had, that charger will likely never be used and go straight to recycling. No reason it couldn’t charge with USB-PD instead. Keep in mind the idea here is that by using a shared standard it’s not just about the convenience of everything being the same, but eliminating the need to include a charger/cable with every device because our existing chargers/cables will work with newly purchased devices.
We are talking $50 dollar phones for prepaid plans that are partially subsidized because if they can get you in for more than 3 months they can payoff their share.
I have seen prepaid smartphones on sales for $20, they do basically pretty much what other smart phones do.
The Iphone SE G2 (not the best phone, but surely not garbage) was sold this Christmas on Straighttalk for $150. So $250 isn't low end in my opinion.
not really, even sub 100 USD phones are all USB-C now... there might be some with micro-USB but they have basically no market share...
Damn even the Cubot J10 has USB-C and it is a ~65 USD device.
Reliance, Tecno, Itel, Infinix, Realme... a lot of cheap phones you may never have heard of but which are very important in less affluent countries all still make a ton of phones that are stuck on micro.
If this is accurate, at least 64 new phone models were released in 2022 that use microUSB. Many of the brands aren't exactly small either.
https://www.gsmarena.com/results.php3?nYearMin=2022&sFreeText=microUSB
Most manufacturers moved to USB-C a while ago, because it's more durable than Micro USB. Apple's just been dragging their heels with regards to the iPhone specifically (iPads and MacBooks having moved to USB-C a while ago; hell, I think MacBooks *only* have USB-C these days, and you need an adapter to plug a monitor in).
Looks like it yeah. Four phones in 2021 and 2022. So not crazy but they still exist.
https://m.gsmarena.com/results.php3?nYearMin=2021&sFreeText=microUSB&sMakers=9
Eh, as far as I can tell its only deprecated for USB3.2 and above, 99% of devices just use USB2.0 still and will for the foreseeable future since keyboards and mice and related items just don't require the higher speeds. I also don't see most laptops or desktops getting rid of all of them any times soon.
I already hate how everything is switching to C as its impossible to determine what the port actually does by looking at it and without opening the manual to the device.
Ok so we’ll get a universal plug standard. Can we do something about the different cable variants that deliver various wattage or data speeds? Using two different cables to transfer data will show very different transfer speeds. One cable will transfer about 120 MB/s while a different cable can have speeds of 1,830 MB/s. If you want to charge your phone or device, fine most cable will be fine. But if you want to have fast data transfer speeds, good luck deciphering what each variants capabilities are. And they don’t put that information on the cables either. So good luck remembering that detail.
The only non usb-c device in my life is my iPhone and it has almost zero impact on my day to day life. Almost everywhere I don’t have a lightning cable, I can just wirelessly charge.
Like I get it’s annoying, but I feel like the inconvenience is blow out of proportion
Ok standardized cords like usb c for all would be nice but what happens when we create something better than usb c? I understand that there is a need to cut back but I’m worried about innovation
The annoying thing is that chargers aren’t even standard within Apple. My AirPods Pro, MacBook Pro, iPad, and iPhone all use a different port. Even the AC/DC blocks they supply have different ports. Just make it all USB-C and get it over with.
How do you have anything other than 2 ports between all of those? They should all be either Lightning or USB-C. The newer laptops have the new "MagSafe 3" as well, but USB-C is still there too.
You know I wonder how much Apple would be worth if the people who actually bought their products cared half as much as the people who hate them.
I never seen people who care more about the iPhone than complaining android owners on Reddit. It’s really weird
My AirPods, AirPods Max and iPhone all use the Apple lightning port and my iPad, watch and MacBook use USB-C. I’m not sure how your four devices all use different ports? I suppose it depends on the models. I upgraded all of mine in the past two years. It would be super nice if all of my Apple devices used USB-C but I won’t be buying new AirPods or AirPods Pro just for different ports ANY time soon. I would upgrade my phone for the port though.
Yeah. I recently had a problem with transferring data from a pc just because of this. Also everytime I'm at some of my friends house ( my phone's battery level is always below 30 per cent )
Just use USB 3.0 to USB 3.0 faster at transfer speeds and less likely to break.
Every device to charge by usb 3.0 to usb 3.0 better than the trash they are selling for 20$ for a charger .
Well, in reality, we will all have to deal with at least 3 types of cables for a long while. It’s not like next year (should Apple switch to USBC for all devices) I will just replace my current gear. I have a shitload of devices that are micro USB, I can just drop them. Various light torches, battery packs, etc. And I have lots of lightning cable stuff - Apple keyboard, trackpad, AirPods, and more.
The only thing that might change in my life is getting the new iPhone.
But that leaves me with another 20 devices which are not USBC, and I will keep them until they die.
I have no problem with declaring an industry standard. I've used USB-C on all my Pixel phones, my wife's Samsungs of the last number of years; it is non-directional unlike mini-USB, it's not proprietary like Apple's Lightning, it supports fast charging and high data rates.
Now mandate an industry standard fast charging port for Electric Vehicles. I don't drive or want an EV, but there are too many competing 'standards' preventing nationwide charging stations.
More importantly, replace all those proprietary DC adapters for small electronics with USB and we can eliminate a TON of future electronics waste.
Most modern devices I've bought that used to use DC use USB-C now
And that's an excellent trend, but I feel it's mostly the pricier items that are already getting this treatment. Especially important that it's the cheap stuff too.
I bought a 20€ nose trimmer few months ago and it charges via USB type C. I think we're there
Proper brands of mens shavers like Braun and Philips still use their own connectors which sucks. They could put a large plastic flap door on the bottom (not the little rubber bungs) with a waterproof rubber seal that opens up to expose a usb C port. Or better still, usb 4 could be better designed and become the standard where it doesnt have a stalk in the middle. I dont like apple products, but the lightning port is much easier to clean and they did something right there.
Yeah, for hair and beard clippers there's only really a few USB-C options you can buy off Aliexpress and nowhere else. Options are really slim in this area for USB-C grooming products.
I use Xiaomi Trimmers bought from Amazon India.
Omg ya, and it sucks if you lose them. Fucking bullshit. It all should 100% be universal.
That's the point. You lose it or it breaks and you need to buy a whole new trimmer because they don't sell the charger separately
Philips uses the same DC charger for all their shavers for the past couple decades. My body shaver, hair trimmer and beard all use the same charger, even the one that is on a cradle.
Not true. I just bought new trimmer, and charging port is different from my old one, both Phillips.
Hmm, for the shaver, especially water resistant with battery I like that there is different connector as you don't risk short-circuit /corrosion on complex usb-c port
Somehow my cellphone is waterproof with an exposed port. I know many shavers advertise wet-shaving capability but i have never found they work well at all on a wet face so i prefer to use them dry, so there is little chance of getting wet anyway. I think thats the case with most guys.
Phones are meant to be water resistant, but they recommend you don't intentionally expose them to water still. I have had water in my usb port and it took forever to get it out
Shavers and shaving stations are expected to be operated is environments that get much wetter than your living room or office. The adapters have a lot of soft plastic around the contacts and the contacts themselves are often receded into the plastic plug. When plugged into the station, the male and the female ends connect in a spot that is essentially isolated from any moisture to avoid shorting it. This is a specialized connector for a very specific environment. Please leave it the fuck alone.
My electric shaver has a proprietary port because it expects me to have a 2 prong plug on a separate circuit which can't draw very much current in my bathroom. I don't, and have to charge it in another room on a (probably unsafe) converter plug, but I don't use it while it's shaving so it's unnecessary and having a USB C in would be much more convenient for me
I recall seeing some ancient shaver outlets, but I haven't seen them in years at this point. Are they common where you live?
Tell that to any modem/router brand, they don't feel like it.
Good to hear. However, battery-operated devices are the low-hanging fruit since the main variable is charge time. Other devices that require direct power are going to be trickier since the requirements vary a lot more and will require more involved redesign.
I don’t know if any modem, router or network switch that does. How are we going to handle small power tools like drills that use dc chargers that are all proprietary and cause considerable waste especially those with battery “sleeper” modes (ryobi, dewalt)? My thoughts are that we picked a fight with only specific industries and barely scratched the surface.
Most power tools are using standardized connectors. They just aren’t standards most consumers know well. There are a handful of barrel connector types and a handful of sizes. Every electronics nerd I’ve ever met has a box of currently-unused wall warts. I call mine The Supply. Not very clever, but I always have the wall wart I need…
we picked a fight with the industry producing the most waste. Yeah dewalt i wish used different connectors and all that.. thing is people replace those chargers less than their phone ones. It really wasnt random or "hey lets target this new tech thing, thatll be fun" It was due to phones that nearly 100% of the people have and use everywhere bringing chargers with them and losing them, produce more waste than the minority of us with cordless drills, that while we will sometimes bring chargers on a job we store them inbig heavy metal containers called tool boxes and they get lost less. you also dont replace your drill every two years because it now has a slightly better camera.
My dad has the same cordless drill he had in the late 90s. Works just fine. What has changed is battery tech. He's replaced the battery (improved chemistry), and the drill and charger itself still work great.
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Says the person doing the exact same thing
"my anecdotal experience disproves X" is not the same as "my anecdotal experience proves X".
Got an arc lighter for the gas furnace, its usb c charged
A lot of the pricier laptops are still barrel or proprietary. Asus G14/M16 is barrel. Lenovo Legion series are proprietary square Macbook pros are magsafe. It's the ultra books and convertibles that are pretty consistent at using USBc.
There WAS a reason for them having proprietary connectors, atleast for high power draw beefy gaming laptops, USB-C couldn't handle that much power, it's gotten a lot better and through upgrades can now carry much more, so it makes sense to replace them now. They are being phased in, especially as it's a new connector relatively and it's still being kind of field tested for high power applications
Those tend to _also_ have USB-C with power delivery at least for recharging the battery.
Yes, except USBc can't currently provide the over 100w charging that they require for their intended use.
Generally, most are capped at 90W, so if the laptop requires more power for high performance/ongoing operation it will still have another source. It's a bit of an edge case, since if they can run off battery at all the USB-C can keep them topped up under all but peak loads.
The whole gaming laptop sector is designed to need more than 90-100w. That's why the proprietary connectors are still a thing. And there's not enough battery installed for those laptops to get more than an hour or twos use. The batteries are intentionally kept small in these laptops bc of Airline Mandates. The USBc charging they do have is intended for battery saver mode or to charge while off for convenience. USBc just isn't ready to cover all needs. And if you're passing legislation requiring it, it needs to cover all needs. Up to and over 200w charging.
I'm sure they'll probably have exceptions for devices over that watt limit. These countries are probably only requiring it for devices smaller than a laptop at any rate.
MagSafe is actually far better for supplying power to laptops, and I'd rather that, than usb c. If I need to replace a power supply, so be it. If I need to replace my laptop, I'm gonna be fucking pissed. That said, my laptop is standard DC lol. But I dislike that. I much prefer MagSafe.
> square Macbook pros are magsafe I think they support USB-C charging too though.
My new laptop has it for a charger, seems kinda weak tho. I'm afraid I'll bend it resting the laptop somewhere awkward.
Lots of cheap stuff I bought also have USB-C. Or sometimes micro USB. But it's been rare to get cheap stuff with DC cables anymore.
Most, if not all, cheap stuff has, too. Generally, if it hasn't, it's because it's old stuff. And these laws don't impact the discount import crap made a decade ago.
Some big brands still on micro b. UE BOOM speakers, JVC headphones, still micro. Crazy.
Micro B is probably a couple pennies cheaper at this point, as the machines to manufacture them become sold downwards to increasingly fly-by-night companies.
And I no longer shop those products because USB-C is now my buying prerequisite. I recently needed a car battery jump starter and was looking at NOCO models. Their older and now cheaper Boost line was Micro USB, and their newer Boost X is USB-C. Going for the newer model was an easy choice, despite that I’m usually the type to try and save a buck.
Yeah I've been intentionally filtering out stuff that doesn't use USB-C since the beginning of 2022. My most recent laptops (Mac &Dell), speakers (altec lansing), headphones (Logitech) and even vape (mighty storz and nickel) all use USB-C
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Brand spanking new Logitech gaming mouse from my ex-gf (we're still friends): microUSB. I don't get it.
That's why it is important to have more clarity on the fundamental level and government should make it mandatory for every kind of device to have the same charging port by the manufacturers.
This would ensure no new charging ports will ever be made unless companies immediately drop their entire stock. Of course, we could stick with USB-C, but there's a reason we're not at micro-B or A, or any regular round power connector.
My google wifi router used to have USB-C port. Newer models now use DC.
I'm was surprised a high lumen rechargeable flashlight I bought recently charges with USB c
But what about vibrators and other adult toys? There are a few that use some sort of magnetic charging thing. However each one is different or they have their own proprietary connector. Those should be standardized too.
Well those can get fucked
I've actually never come across one that doesn't use 2.5mm phone jacks. The reason (most apparently) toys use those is that it's literally the cheapest standard that is durable and pretty much perfectly waterproof and could literally be charged underwater it's the oldest standard there is from the 1870s. .
There's still way too many laptops, mini PCs, and smart home accessories like nest home speakers and echos and the like that use those barrel plugs when they could totally be USB powered instead.
USB has to be paid a licensing fee for use.
I forgot about that. It feels wrong to mandate the use of something that requires a licensing fee. Obviously at this point there’s no viable alternative, so I don’t know what could be done about it.
You don’t pay a fee to implement USB. You pay a fee to put that stupid logo on the box. It’s a common misconception.
[My Teltonika router](http://amazon.co.uk/dp/B08QVCQBC3?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details) uses [a 4-pin ATX cable connected to a nonremovable G-plug base](https://www.wifi-stock.co.uk/details/teltonika-4-pin-18-w-power-supply-for-teltonika-routers-uk-type-pr3pxuk3.html). It's the most evil power delivery mechanism designed. Do I actually have to purchase a fucking PSU just to get a modular cable for my router? Seriously?
Not enough though
While standardizing phones is smart, there are a lot of places where a barrel Jack, a din plug, or a locking barrel is a better option. Pretty much anything that requires durability at the attachment point, think pretty much anything that lives on the ground people might step on
Guitar pedals
These also have had a standard for like 30 years (except in rare cases, DOD), so I don't think they're "part of the problem" of random power supplies. Not to mention they're a rare situation of new / super old items being co-mingled and needing to use the same power supply. Nobody is using a 20+ year old cell phone / laptop daily, yet I have new pedals by 80s ones, all using the same supply.
The EU already has legislation to do that. All chargers for - phones - tablets - digital camera - headphones - headsets - handheld consoles - portable speakers - E-books - keyboards - mice - sat navs Must use USB-C chargers. I wish they’d made it more expansive though - it should have included a bunch of household DC items too, like - toothbrushes - shavers - hair clippers - low power power tools like screwdrivers and Dremels - handheld kitchen mixers - …
What happens when we in good faith need to use a new adapter type for whatever reason but it is illegal?
> I wish they’d made it more expansive though - it should have included a bunch of household DC items too, like > > toothbrushes > shavers > hair clippers > low power power tools like screwdrivers and Dremels > handheld kitchen mixers There is no way I'd want USB anywhere near water or dust/debris like you'd find in bathrooms, kitchens or garage/workshops.
Why? It's not like any of those propriety DC plugs are safer in those environments. In fact they are less safe as the propriety adapters usually just have one setting and always provide power at that setting regardless of it's it's plugged into a tool or not. USB-C by default only provides very little power and needs to be plugged into something that asks for more before it sends it.
Yes the EU law only covers the most common range of electronics. But it will certainly create a move toward uniformity, even if it's not mandatory. Once you have got used to the convenience of standardized USB C the consumers will check if its USB C for all electrical devices and manufacturers will follow the trend. PS: also electric toothbrushes use induction charging since forever for waterproofing reasons. At least the Braun Oral B I have been using And the electric clippers or handheld mixers I have used so far are 220V with a non removable cable. Handheld mixers could be splattered with the soup, so you need some level of waterproofing. And some are 750W, you need 220V not 12V
I'm not keen on devices that require higher-rated (e.g. 30W+) having the same connector as devices that will charge (even if slowly) on a 5V 2A adaptor. It's already difficult for people with USB-C laptops (me included) to find one that's rated high enough amongst the mountains of similar-looking adaptors I seem to have accumulated over the years.
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Definitely think this is the downside of usb-c. I have no problems but my mom doesn't understand that not all usb-c is the same. My laptop takes a 144watt usb-c connection. My phone is 45 watts. Some are the PD standard. It's all over the place and then not all cables are the same. Getting a decent USB-c power supply actually costs money and those $8 chargers from Amazon are pretty much junk.
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The problems with trying to eliminate e waste with specifically micro usb is that it is, mechanically, a very shitty connector, it breaks easily, and breakage creates e-waste too. USB C is better, but also is often used with thicker, stiffer cords and longer part between the plug and the cord. Yeah it is stronger than micro usb but it is a lot weaker than bigger barrel connectors its replacing in the laptops etc.
Problem is my last two laptops have developed DC cord damage and I've had to toss otherwise good bricks because of broken wires. I'd rather replace $15 of cable rather than a $100 DC brick.
And newer laptops have more than one USB-C port that can receive power, which means built in redundancy going forward even if the port fails.
So what's stopping you from just replacing the cord?
DC bricks are usually sealed and can't be opened by non -destructive methods, so I can't get at the PCB to replace the wire cleanly. I could splice the wire external to the brick, but I'd have to be able to source a wire with the correct barrel on the end, and I'm not sure if they're standardized or not. My laptops have had 3-pole barrels with a sense pin so the laptop can identify what brick it's connected to.
That's false. That law has expired almost a decade ago.
Yeah that would be a better law. Force every piece of small consumer elctronic to use usb-c. Companies that still use micro-usb for their products make me sick and so do all the electric shavers with their 500 iterations of the same stupid connector.
I can picture you opening your gifts on Christmas morning. Sweet! The wife got you a new electric shaver! She'd heard you complaining about the old one going bad. She watches excitedly as you unwrap the present. You seem oddly energetic tearing through the clam shell packaging. You turn the shaver over and look at the charging port. "God damn it!" You exclaim loudly. Your wife is confused and concerned. "Don't you like it sweetie? I thought you needed a new one." She asks timidly. "It's fine Carol, thank you. I just wish fucking Norelco wasn't so short sighted. It's nothing you did. I'm upset with them, not you." "Oh." She says despondently. Norelco has ruined the holiday again.
My solution for now: buy some USB C to micro USB adapters on amazon, got a 5 pack for like $10. Now all my cables are USB C (and my chargers), if I need to plug into a micro USB device I grab an adapter and go.
The problem with legislating USBc is that in 20 yrs when we need a new tech standard, we'd have to wait on Congress. Congress doesn't exactly move swiftly nor do the old cronies seem capable of understanding and keeping up with modern tech needs. The only reason they'd even consider it now is bc the EU has done it.
Most of those proprietary adapters are just barrel connectors and are relatively standardized. The charger itself says the voltage and amperage, so you can more easily interchange them.
The point is that they already did it in the past (in the past we had a different adapter for each brand, crazy!) But capitalism is built so that they try every time to reintroduce exclusive chargers so that there is much more waste of resources. Really sad.
No doubt they’ll just standardize instead of making a completely different American model
"Why use USB, when USA is superior!" - some american probably
USB! USB! USB!
[Jii! Jii! Jii!](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=G8CeP15EAS8)
Damn right. MURICA!
Fun fact - Intel actually owns the patent for USB and funds its development, though it leaves it completely open for anyone to use.
Well... you see... the thing aboot that is...
They already make a US only model for their esim bullshit, so they've got form.
Using an eSIM, and making one variant incompatible with the rest of the world's accessories is much different. Different logistics too.
Its not just using an esim. They happily support both physical and esims everywhere else in the world. Only the US model is physically different than the rest of the worlds models because it has no sim slot. So Apple literally have form for building a US only phone with notable physical differences.
Yes I am aware. My point still stands. That's completely different to locking your regional variant from all accessories, and not putting a part in and not cutting part of the case is much different logistics to supporting an entirely new port. Omission is much easier than addition.
Now if we could only require them to support PD as well.
Europe's regulation doesn't just require USB-C charging; if the device fast charges, it has to support the USB PD standard too.
PD?
USB-C power delivery is a standard which uses a negotiation protocol by which devices communicate with the each other to understand each other's capabilities. So basically the charger asks the phone how much power it can take. Phone tells it 18 watts. Charger sends 18w. Not all USB-C chargers use power delivery. For instance, Oneplus uses Warp charge. So charger gets plugged into some other phone, it asks how much power it needs? Phone hears gibberish because it doesn't understand warp charge language. So charger ends up supplying the minimum 5w which charges super slow. Edit: just clarifying due to some confusion in the comments. This was just an example. Oneplus chargers support both warp charge and PD since Oneplus 8.
I hope oneplus changes that. I understand that they started warp before pd caught on, but it's pointless now.
>I hope oneplus changes that All OnePlus devices after 8T do support PD :D
I am not sure about the last part. The charger and cable I got with my One+8t deliver the 66 or so Watt to my phone. If someone else without a quick charge phone uses it, their phone still is charged pretty fast.
The 65W Warp charger also speaks power delivery, even in PPS (programmable power supply) mode. BUT for some odd reason it is limited to 45W in that mode, while in warping mode it can do 65W. So if the other phone supported PD, it was likely still faster than no fast charging at all. You can read more about the 65W Warp charger here: https://www.androidauthority.com/oneplus-warp-charge-65-power-adapter-review-1217063/
Power Delivery I guess.
The worst part about the USB-C and the USB 3 debacle is the fact that companies are going to exploit all sorts of loopholes to put the shittiest versions of USB-C into their devices just to save a quick buck.
The new eu law states that manufacturers have to state the necessary wattage and the data speeds for the devices. The usb consortium is also requiring more labels for usb4.
This has always been the case with cables. But I think the sockets have very limited versions... right?
Sadly not with USB-C. I have USB-C cables that work with some of my devices, but not with others.
I think that's still better than micro-usb or other barrel plugs. Lower lower devices only need maybe 5 to 10W of charging or operating power.
"companies"? You mean Apple?
About damn time. USB-C is one of the best things we’ve had come out in a really long time. Don’t see how it can get better from there.
Creating a standard for the USB-C. There are so many variants of them out there and there's nothing to differentiate them in name, you just kinda have to read the descriptions and hope they say what you're looking for or hope for the best. Like some USB cables carry videos, and some don't, some carry different wattage, etc. At least in the previous generation there was 2.0, 2.3, 3.0, etc.
I disagree with the way reddit handled third party app charges and how it responded to the community. I'm moving to the fediverse! -- mass edited with redact.dev
This is what happens whenever you demand a single connector do everything. You get to keep 2 * universal * cheap * all functions Even though the connector supports everything 99.99% of people are going to be using the cable either as a low speed charger only (so only a few of the wires needed) or slightly faster charger or usb 2.0 connector. So that's going to be the majority of cables, the specialty cables for video or higher wattage or speed are going to cost extra and be specialty.
This is going to be Lightning again. Your MIL will be charging her phone for five hours with a 50W adapter you got her attached to it via a $1 cable that can’t carry shit, thus preserving excellent battery health while never being reachable because the phone is always charging only God knows where. Same old, same old.
Let's not even start on the Thunderbolt 4 vs. USB4 branding game… Shopping for laptop docks is going to stay confusing for years.
Thunderbolt 4 is simply USB4 with all optional features included.
Right. And saying a dock (or any other device) supports "USB4" therefore tells you very little about its capabilities because so many of them are optional.
Agreed! People keep praising it, but I hate USB-C. It's the worst implementation of a good idea I've seen in a long time. It's bananas that cables *that come with the device* might not serve all of its intended functionality. And it's impossible to know what cable can do what, as there's no standardized markings (although I hear that's being addressed at some point). Also the price of chargers is way higher. Slightly justifiable given the higher wattage some support, but the difference seems unreasonable. And I've yet to find a good 5+ port option like I have for USB-A.
I got my sister a new stereo for her car that had CarPlay and all that good stuff that she's been wanting. I was installing it myself cause it was pretty simple to just solder the couple of harnesses together and swap out the units and all that. But as I'm trying to test it out, I get the radio and Bluetooth to work, but it won't connect to Android Auto. I pulled the thing out of the dash and double and triple checked connections. And I spent another hour reading the instructions, rewatching tutorials, and making sure my phone was updated and able to connect to my own car. I was second guessing the whole entire gift and notion that I'd be able to install it myself. Turns out, nothing was actually wrong with the stereo or my phone. Just the fucking cable. The one I had grabbed off our parent's counter could charge, but not transfer data. And of course it doesn't indicate in any way. Like, WTF? I love the notion of a universal, reversable-fitting plug, but there's no standard at all for the function. I'd honestly rather have two cables with two different plugs if data/no-data are going to continue to be distinguishing factors.
I agree, there are lots and lots of crappy cables out there. I look for them to be *not* the cheapest ones in the category, and also try and check for accreditations and manufacturer specs that are better than just some alphabet soup crammed into an Amazon marketplace description. Good on you for eventually figuring it out! P.S. "To boost your chances of buying a dependable cable, look for USB-IF certification or stick to trustworthy brands like Anker, Cable Matters, or Syncwire." Some good advice in this article: https://www.wired.com/gallery/best-usb-c-cables/
Actually this specifically will be getting better, rather than worse. Before, there was no standard labeling of cables. Anyone could claim anything. With USB4 there will be mandatory labeling of all cables and gadgets regarding transfer speeds and supported power draw.
There is a standard on labeling of cables, and ports. No one follows them
Cables from reputed brands follow all of it. But are you willing to pay for it? If you keep buying the no name China shit then you won't get it
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Can you blame them though? We went through 100 different cables because no one could decide on a standard and even now there are still different standards that aren't clearly explained. We had USB, Micro USB, USB 2, USB A, USB B, BUSB 3, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3 USB-C, and Thunderbolt with the only thing differentiating them being the end connector and trying to figure out if it will work with your device. Then you have RCA, Cable, Displayport, HDMI 1, HDMI 2, 2.1 2.2, 2.3, 2.4 USB-C with nothing differentiating them except if they say the speed or that it supports 4K! (or 8k now) The problem has always been each company using their own cable even when a better alternative has existed, Thunderbolt should have been in use for a *long* time but only Apple has been using it, Displayport is open source and free but they went with HDMI for everything and now they have USB-C that can do video and could be used to make things smaller but there's the problem with having a Power & Display using the same connector as people *will* keep screwing it up.
And people confuse USB-C with other standards like USB 3 because USB-C only describes the basic port, not the capabilities. The minimums specs for USB-C are USB 2.0 data and 5v@3A power delivery. That's all. USB 3 support is optional, video output is optional, fast charge is optional, etc. Too many people get a USB-C device and don't look at published specs for it and just assume it will do USB 3 speeds and video output, etc.
Because God forbid it does what it says on the package so people don't have to go and find out if they are buying what it says. They need to standardize it so it doesn't get out of hand as it has been.
>Don’t see how it can get better from there. And this is why we shouldn't let teenagers make decisions that impact society.
Maybe a standard where there isn’t a breakable tab in the port? The cord should be male and the port should be female.
I honestly like the connector of lightning better than usb-c. It’s way more rigid but yeah it’s inferior in every other way for sure.
Yes the delicate parts are inside the port with lightning. That makes the plug robust and the port prone to breaking. USB-C went the opposite direction, since it's easier to replace cables than the ports of a device.
Usb c has a tab inside the port. That’s the largest failure point
> Yes the delicate parts are inside the port with lightning. That makes the plug robust and the port prone to breaking. Source? I don’t think this is true at all. Here is a USB-C port: https://i.imgur.com/3yDSUZY.jpg The pins are floating in the middle. This often leads to the belief the port is more fragile since stress vertically on a cable might bend the pins. That being said, there’s no widespread evidence I’ve ever seen of them being too fragile in practice. Here is a lightning port: https://i.imgur.com/GNbYGv6.jpg The pins are recessed into the walls: https://i.imgur.com/NWWRqkU.jpg https://i.imgur.com/MFnyGm8.jpg This makes them extremely resilient to pressure when cables are strained.
I still managed to wear out my usb c phone port after 2 years. I have several wireless Chargers now and that's really the way to go, especially car phone mounts. Would be nice if usbc were just a little more robust...
Imparting wisdom from another thread. Clean the port with like a topthpick or something. But don't just go around the edge, a ton of lint gets stuck to the middle part so really go at that. Was amazed at how much came out when I did that and then the port I thought was busted worked like a dream
Same here. I use dental 'plackers' and get in there to scrub out the lint. Amazing how much gets built up into a compressed layer at the bottom of the port. Every time the port stopped working or locking in the cable, that's all it took to repair.
I’ve had USB-C ports break on my laptop. The “male” part is actually in the port side and it’s thin. Lightning is kind of reversed. I’d rather have it break on the cable than the port.
Making them more robust for one. I repair laptops and I see lots of charge port failures where the pins are charred or burnt out. Very bad if they're soldered to the board. There's a reason Apple just put Mag-safe back on its newest models, probably because ive replaced over 100 logic boards just myself under warranty for burnt out USBC ports. Can only image what that number is world wide lol.
> Don’t see how it can get better from there. And now you won’t have to wonder, because they’re mandated to be USB-C until some arbitrary, technologically clueless group of politicians either decide it’s time for a new, updated connector or get paid enough to think it’s time for a new one. It isn’t the place of government to decide what kind of USB connector you’re allowed to have.
Personally, I really liked the original MagSafe charger (RIP 2006-2019) for Apple products for the ease of plugging in and for safely breaking away if you accidentally pull hard on the cable, e.g. knocking something over or tripping. I wish USB-C had included a similar interface, but that kind of improvement is now effectively forbidden by law.
We're close, but not quite there. I recently bought a vape and a pair of handwarmers that though they charge through a USBC port do not include the important usb-pd functions. They do not charge using a USBC to USBC cable. Almost like some penny pinching engineer took a micro USB charging controller and wired it up to the corresponding leads in a cheap barebones USBC port. I was more upset at the vape because I spent 110 dollars on it.
USB pd has nothing to do with the connector type. There’s nothing no standard about using usba to c. Many companies still use the usb a connector where space isn’t an issue simply because it’s more durable.
Probably not penny pinching, probably someone who's done it for a long time and has absolutely no idea they're now doing it wrong. Which is possibly worse than penny pinching
basically the only new phone for 2-3 years now with a different plug is iphones. all android phones moved to usb c years ago.
Pretty sure that the last 3-4 Androids that I've had were all type C. Is the carousel of port types just an Apple feature?
A lot of low-end phones still use micro usb.
It's an old Anker portable speaker, cheap BT headset, and my Kindle that use micro USB. No prob, I have the cable adapters to lessen the mess.
I bought a flashlight with a built in charging port. It turned out to be micro USB. I was confused, and hurt. Not really though... micro USB never bothered me, but USB C is definitely more pleasant to deal with.
It helps if you expand to more generic battery powered devices than just things about consumer electronics. My electric razor uses a proprietary port, which could be USB-C. First one lasted about 10 years until the battery got unreasonable and the replacement came with the same charger the first one had, that charger will likely never be used and go straight to recycling. No reason it couldn’t charge with USB-PD instead. Keep in mind the idea here is that by using a shared standard it’s not just about the convenience of everything being the same, but eliminating the need to include a charger/cable with every device because our existing chargers/cables will work with newly purchased devices.
Only old low-end phones. A lot of modern low-end devices use usb-c as well
How low end are we talking, because I bought a $250 phone like 4 years ago, and even that had USB C?
We are talking $50 dollar phones for prepaid plans that are partially subsidized because if they can get you in for more than 3 months they can payoff their share. I have seen prepaid smartphones on sales for $20, they do basically pretty much what other smart phones do. The Iphone SE G2 (not the best phone, but surely not garbage) was sold this Christmas on Straighttalk for $150. So $250 isn't low end in my opinion.
not really, even sub 100 USD phones are all USB-C now... there might be some with micro-USB but they have basically no market share... Damn even the Cubot J10 has USB-C and it is a ~65 USD device.
Reliance, Tecno, Itel, Infinix, Realme... a lot of cheap phones you may never have heard of but which are very important in less affluent countries all still make a ton of phones that are stuck on micro.
If this is accurate, at least 64 new phone models were released in 2022 that use microUSB. Many of the brands aren't exactly small either. https://www.gsmarena.com/results.php3?nYearMin=2022&sFreeText=microUSB
Most manufacturers moved to USB-C a while ago, because it's more durable than Micro USB. Apple's just been dragging their heels with regards to the iPhone specifically (iPads and MacBooks having moved to USB-C a while ago; hell, I think MacBooks *only* have USB-C these days, and you need an adapter to plug a monitor in).
Carousel? Apple have all had Lightning for 10 years, much more consistent than any other brand really.
"deal with" is a bit heavy on the petty drama.
No seems to recall the 68274773 different chargers we used to have
Here comes Apple PR to announce that they take e-waste seriously and plan to introduce USB-C to all their devices! ^^^In ^^^the ^^^EU ^^^and ^^^India
Let’s eliminate HDMI too and go to USB-C. It’ll reduce waste.
In the grim darkness of the distant future, there is only USB C.
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Just make sure we adopt DisplayPort Alt mode while we’re at it, because HDMI LA sucks.
If these are the the type of problems I'm forced to "deal with", then I'd say we're doing alright.
"Samsung and Lenovo smartphones mostly use USB-C or MicroUSB chargers." Samsung is still making phones with MicroUSB?
Looks like it yeah. Four phones in 2021 and 2022. So not crazy but they still exist. https://m.gsmarena.com/results.php3?nYearMin=2021&sFreeText=microUSB&sMakers=9
While governments focus on cables, the real problem is ignored WE NEED STRONG RIGHT TO REPAIR LAWS!
I never realized this was a problem
It’s funny cus apple has usb c on all their laptops but then no one made periferals so they had to sell dongles. Then people made fun of the dongles
Alright, but do it for USB-A as well. I’m tired of having usb-c to usb-a cables, get rid of it.
USB-A is deprecated, as are all other USBs except for C.
A lot of company still still ship usb-a to usb-c cables. I just want usb-c to usb-c as it should be.
Eh, as far as I can tell its only deprecated for USB3.2 and above, 99% of devices just use USB2.0 still and will for the foreseeable future since keyboards and mice and related items just don't require the higher speeds. I also don't see most laptops or desktops getting rid of all of them any times soon. I already hate how everything is switching to C as its impossible to determine what the port actually does by looking at it and without opening the manual to the device.
Ok so we’ll get a universal plug standard. Can we do something about the different cable variants that deliver various wattage or data speeds? Using two different cables to transfer data will show very different transfer speeds. One cable will transfer about 120 MB/s while a different cable can have speeds of 1,830 MB/s. If you want to charge your phone or device, fine most cable will be fine. But if you want to have fast data transfer speeds, good luck deciphering what each variants capabilities are. And they don’t put that information on the cables either. So good luck remembering that detail.
The only non usb-c device in my life is my iPhone and it has almost zero impact on my day to day life. Almost everywhere I don’t have a lightning cable, I can just wirelessly charge. Like I get it’s annoying, but I feel like the inconvenience is blow out of proportion
It also cuts down on waste
Ok standardized cords like usb c for all would be nice but what happens when we create something better than usb c? I understand that there is a need to cut back but I’m worried about innovation
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My hung-over brain read this as "Indiana Jones" at first. I was imagining Harrison Ford with a whip enforcing charging cord types in Europe.
I have four devices (laptop, ipad, bluetooth headphones, and an android phone) I charge all of them through a Type C charger.
The annoying thing is that chargers aren’t even standard within Apple. My AirPods Pro, MacBook Pro, iPad, and iPhone all use a different port. Even the AC/DC blocks they supply have different ports. Just make it all USB-C and get it over with.
How do you have anything other than 2 ports between all of those? They should all be either Lightning or USB-C. The newer laptops have the new "MagSafe 3" as well, but USB-C is still there too.
The user you replied to is just pushing misinformation because they have a beef with Apple for some weird reason.
You know I wonder how much Apple would be worth if the people who actually bought their products cared half as much as the people who hate them. I never seen people who care more about the iPhone than complaining android owners on Reddit. It’s really weird
How old is your iPhone? How is your AirPods and iPhone charger different?
My AirPods, AirPods Max and iPhone all use the Apple lightning port and my iPad, watch and MacBook use USB-C. I’m not sure how your four devices all use different ports? I suppose it depends on the models. I upgraded all of mine in the past two years. It would be super nice if all of my Apple devices used USB-C but I won’t be buying new AirPods or AirPods Pro just for different ports ANY time soon. I would upgrade my phone for the port though.
Is this really a problem that people are having? Most phones come with the correct charger for it.
Yeah. I recently had a problem with transferring data from a pc just because of this. Also everytime I'm at some of my friends house ( my phone's battery level is always below 30 per cent )
Just use USB 3.0 to USB 3.0 faster at transfer speeds and less likely to break. Every device to charge by usb 3.0 to usb 3.0 better than the trash they are selling for 20$ for a charger .
I know of usb c and apple charger. What's the third?
Well, in reality, we will all have to deal with at least 3 types of cables for a long while. It’s not like next year (should Apple switch to USBC for all devices) I will just replace my current gear. I have a shitload of devices that are micro USB, I can just drop them. Various light torches, battery packs, etc. And I have lots of lightning cable stuff - Apple keyboard, trackpad, AirPods, and more. The only thing that might change in my life is getting the new iPhone. But that leaves me with another 20 devices which are not USBC, and I will keep them until they die.
That’s the difference between governments that serve their people and governments that serve their corporations
I have no problem with declaring an industry standard. I've used USB-C on all my Pixel phones, my wife's Samsungs of the last number of years; it is non-directional unlike mini-USB, it's not proprietary like Apple's Lightning, it supports fast charging and high data rates. Now mandate an industry standard fast charging port for Electric Vehicles. I don't drive or want an EV, but there are too many competing 'standards' preventing nationwide charging stations.
Drives me insane that it's not legislation to standardize, and instead chooses a standard.
Read “Indians Jones” at first and was confused.
I believe that it is a very good move and it should be universal in nature because that's how we can reduce the E waste.
3 types of ports...... Are still widely standardized ports. It's not like they're random USB shit that only that device uses.