It’s time for THE charger.
Today, the USB-C becomes officially the common standard for charging new mobile electronic devices in the EU.
It means better-charging technology, reduced e-waste, and less fuss to find the chargers you need!
#DigitalEU
Today, the USB-C becomes officially the common standard for charging new mobile electronic devices in the EU.
It means better-charging technology, reduced e-waste, and less fuss to find the chargers you need!
#DigitalEU
Comments
I can finally carry only one charger and cable with me, in a much lighter backpack.
I charge my old Surface Pro 4, Phone, and power bank from one much smaller charger.
Granted, you might need one for home and one extra for travels, but that still seems pretty convenient.
So, instead of 1 Switch charger + cable combo & 2 chargers & 2 cables for my phone & tablet, I only need to bring 1 universal cable & 1 universal charger.
Makes life a lot simpler.
USB-C FTW! 😎
Can we now have unified regulation on fireworks, please?
While USA and China innovate in space, AI, communication tech., autonomous vehicles, drons, renewable energy, etc, the EU is innovating with plastic bottles and cables.
But I guess some folks will be depressed that the EU is undermining their right to be burned as fuel by robot overlords. Probably jealous of their American cousins who get to be sacrificed for "advancement"
What a time to be alive.
Apple was very much against using usb-c at all and it was only the EU that convinced them otherwise.
The format was designed by USB implementers forum of which Apple is one of the many members.
Yet , HDTV antenna only gets WVC & religious channels
But I assume you’re saying that’s cool. I think not !
Also why no Turkey?
Second, you need an EU military.
Third, you need a common fiscal policy.
Fourth, good luck.
It's sad that it had to come to a forced standard instead of companies cooperating to establishing it by themselves.
Shows how important regulations like this are.
Time to drink all the tears of the rotten Apple cult members.
Similarly, UK mains plugs, which are robust, fused for protection and include safety features that few others have.
The only reason the plug needs a fuse is because of the ring mains installation used in many uk homes;a 30A mains breaker is far too high for a typical appliance cable so the plug fuse is required to provide fire protection
Misses at least half of the EUs point right?
So, that's under EU-rule.
BS546 is an old British standard for three pin plugs with round pins. These are still permissible in the UK, though they tend to be used for niche applications, such as circuits to supply table lamps, where the on/off switch is at the entrance to the room.
Do you know Honor Magic v3?
USB C is already thicker, practically the limits of this foldable: if they want to make thinner phones how the hell can they use USBC? ⛵️
The European Union has failed to unify the electric wall socket…
Try again. Will we be luckier? Who knows… ⛵️
Ergo:
A wrong choice in times and places.
My2ç. Ps: i’m italian… and EU.
Now do the same with the electric car chargers.
Musk will tear his hair off.
No, not all USB-C cables are equal. USB-C stands for the shape and type of connector, which is the same for all USB-C cables but not all cables support the same kind of protocols and transfer speeds.
Standardization is good.
Freedom has a down side.
Now that you know how-to, please do the same for e-bike battery chargers!
Brussels can only do one thing per 15 years.
Again, great that the port is standard, now let’s get the connectivity.
Vive l'Europe Unie ! 🇪🇺
Now it's just confusing, you can't call a connector standard if it works for you 1 out of 4 times.
It is also a well-established standard and not all cables are equal.
USB-C really feels messier to me.
As a software engineer I find the USB-C mess annoying. How is my mom (for example) supposed to figure this out ?
- plenty of devices still have headphone output jacks
- with a simple adapter you can use those headphones on you USB-C only phone
Spend €1 more and you can charge at the same time.
In any case in other countries you can buy them too
13 Australian dollars
9 US Dollars
2000 japanese YEN
700 indian rupees
F is usually "backwards" compatible with E and C
Two plugs in the lower row are identical...
C wasn't made illegal but all the new socket in Finland since early 2000s have been F ones.
I wonder what's the relationship between J and N?
They look identical
Type B: that's more shocked face, appropriate
Type H,I: crestfallen at too many types?
Type D,E,G,M: that's upside down face
Type A: come on you're not even trying
What is the difference?
All these was meant to prevent people from plugging their electric kettles into the UPS.
And since Type F is compatible with Type E plugs, there's zero need for Type E sockets.
When I was kid in the 1990s, C was common in Finnish houses but usually rooms with moisture or access to water had F plugs because they reduce the chance of getting a zap example from kitchen appliances
And it's not that much of an issue anyway since we have CEE 7/7 plugs which works with both type E and type F sockets.
It can be argued it is marginally safer than some other types of plugs used in Europe.
But not by much.
The arguments have turned out to be mostly for protection of the Danish company producing these plugs.
Schuko plugs are now allowed and (slowly) used more
But this change is just on the equipment label because most suppliers range on an interval of +- 10% that translates between 210V - 250V
https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/publications/emerging-chemical-risks-in-europe
Putin.
I think the point is how accurate are claims by the EU that it is doing a good job
But, you only own usb-c devices? Nothing legacy? Nothing old but still usable? Did you just throw out all your stuff and start again when USB-c came out?
How about you stop lying and embarrassing yourself and start dealing with actual problems like Russian aggression against Europe?
NATO troops and mercenaries in Ukraine and Russia are putting European lives at risk for the sake of BlackRock.
https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20241227-estonia-begins-naval-patrols-to-protect-undersea-energy-cables-with-finland
The Russians are welcome to help us get rid of Von der Pfizer and the North Atlantic Terrorist Organization.
It's not like they spent years concentrating solely on standardizing port design.
Also, IDK about you, but I find non-standard & incompatible ports & cables infuriating, and e-waste daunting.
This solves A LOT of problems.
USB A(m) to USB C(f)
USB A(f) to USB C(m)
USB A(m) to USB C(m)
USB C(m) to USB C(m)
cables.
Whoever thought the standard of USB A on the back and front of every PC *since the invention of USB* should change should be fired.
Now everyone needs adapters for new periphery.
Old PC/Laptop with new devices
New PC/Laptop with old devices
Charging cables, we had these, gonna need them still
New PC/Laptop with new devices and as new charging cable
also, USB C is at leat in theory not directional, you don't have to turn the male right side up ?
also doesn't the USB a take up a lot of space in a smartphone or slim laptop ?
USB-C is the product of 30 years of private innovation. In 5 years it will be old, replaced by something new. Will the EU now take over innovation in serial communications technology?
Will the next USB standard come from a bunch of bureaucrats? No. This is a recipe for stagnation.
wherever & whenever the status-quo is contrary to the people's interests, feel free to oppose
=>
the faster you improve EU's efficiency & effectiveness, the broader & stronger your fanbase
Macron then sent one of his clone to do the job.
This is actually embarrassing.
A single post in 15 years is all they do
1) All those discussion and things are maybe not the best way to spend public money
2) It’s making noise about an irrelevant things, hiding true environmental, sovereignty and European integration problems.
Much easier to optimise to just one standard, and much less e-garbage.
Not much in Watts/device but significant when applied to all devices in Europe
If only apple wants to keep its standard why not, I mean eu has problems more important that this, how is it their role ?
With a population of 450 million it is as a total not any small thing.
🇮🇪🇪🇺
I got plenty of usb-c chargers which isn't good enough for other types of usb-c devices. Also, most USB-C cables have different capabilities meaning the only standardised USB-C cables is Thunderbolt cables, anything else is a wild west.
examples;
"Laptop is not charging"; client used weak cable, discharging faster than charging.
"No video on display"; client didn't know they needed cable with active signal conversion
"I thought I brought a standard usb-c cable, why doesn't it work with X? why is it so slow?"
"why should I buy that 70eur HDMI adapter when I can get this for 20eur, it's both just standard usb-c"
Stop bleating about something that isn't a problem.
Outside the EU there’s still FireWire and Lightning. The newest products cost you buying a power block if you want to actually charge your device. And the multiple amp/volt requirements mean you’re likely to buy a sub-optimal or incompatible block.
https://www.macworld.com/article/1341317/lightning-usb-c-iphone-ipad-airpods-magic-keyboard-mouse-trackpad.html
Apple has stopped producing new products with Lightning because of the EU regulations.
Apart from that, I'm mighty glad when govt steps in to regulate a market driven beyond sense in the hunt for profit. Thankfully USB-C was on its way to being a standard —
(Although I did love when iPhone users asked if I had a charger, only to find mine isn't lightning.)
USB-C is very different. iPhone owners might not know, but USB-C is now 10yr old, and has been upgraded many times already to include features like faster data, faster charging, video, ethernet and more, because it's JUST a port not a protocol
As time moves on, these capabilities can be extended WITHOUT needing a new physical port change.
This is no different at all, USB-C is the pipes and fittings, how you send stuff down them and what you send can change over time.
But, like others have mentioned, I worry that this sort of thing will stifle innovation.
Let’s just assume that the majority do, for the sake of argument.
Sigh…
We in the UK will enjoy our Pyrrhic victory and retain our right to allow companies to make whatever they want. Some idiot politicians will mumble stuff about 'innovation' and 'sovereignty' while companies chuckle at the idea of making different products for the UK market.
Basically a rule follower. Total sovereignty. Oh and a blue passport.
Brexit is an absolute disaster. This is not one of the disastrous outcomes.
As was pointed out to Brexiters many times, we were never going to be able to set out own standards 1/2
We voted to become rule takers, not rule makers. We gave up sovereignty - in this and in so many other areas.
Brexit'd a fractal fustercluck. There's no reason to make stuff up. 2/2
Now do cars.
EU: burocracy for nothing, revolution for uselessness.
And the plugs? 😂😂😂😂
But the UK sovereign mobile phone might be a large two hands model?
please, this is a family web site!
He got off on a technicality.
🇪🇺🇮🇪
Or you know, not.
In this case, we're talking about cables.
Trabajáis para la industria. Cuando la industria quiere cambiar, vosotros obedecéis.
My chargerinos D:
🙄
You do know what a standard is, right?
https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2022/06/07/apple-will-be-forced-to-use-usb-c-charger-in-iphones-under-landmark-eu-agreement/
Also, v.tired of mad orange dictator saying what Chinese technology we in West can have, or not.
Thank you @appleinsider.com 🍏
Some will argue this because they like their own one, but from an engineering point of view, it's a fact.
It doesn't provide anything the type F socket doesn't, while lacking in usability. It's harder to use for the visually impaired or in darkness. The plug also has a tendency to fall flat on the floor, becoming painful as Lego to step on.
The UK socket is vastly superior to the American though.
It'll be like bottle tops all over again.
And the Brexshitards will lose their shit over the whole thing!
It will be beautiful to watch.
Common Market Sense
We can stick all the other chargers up Far'right'rages racist Nazi ass.
I doubt if it will spark an original thought but it would be great fun using the machinery needed!
But when the data rate on USB-C is *less* than Lightning, it suggests intent.
Hopefully Apple stop dragging their feet soon enough.
And with the resistance from Apple to USB-C, claiming Lightning was better.
Thunderbolt is a different story.
How will we understand the differences between the different cable types when they all have the same connector but have different electronics?
How will you stop retailers (eg. Amazon) from selling dangerous cables?
Some older spec devices won't with a USB-C to C charger, but that will change.
The only way to resolve e-waste completely is to halt progress. We all know that isn't going to happen.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB-C
If transferring data then there is some speed difference. USB2, 3.1,3.2 & 4 supported. 4 is quickest, but cable length is restricted (0.8m). Get yourself a USB 3.2 and you can get 3M length.
For a device capable of charging on 5 V / 1 A the cable indeed shouldn’t matter… but in turn there are some that won’t charge off USB-PD at all.
Also many small devices/phones now ship w/o charger…
>> https://youtu.be/qV03FfdPHOw?si=0YqxRNd1DuF9KOwn
I'm capable of choosing viable components that will work with my devices. Sure, not everyone may be RIGHT NOW, but some people are. And the word will quickly get out about good universal charging setups.
USB had a $0.25 per device fee but that’s not been charged since 1998 afaik.
Though there are still costs for compliance tests with USB-C PD standard. Plus costs to get a CE certificate. It’s not free, but fairly negligible.
Apart from any political message, blue would be a nice change from hidden-in-dark-corners black or grubby white. Good product for eu-parliamentshop.eu, in a package including adaptors for all the nations?
Hint: they already have caved and sell USB-C-charged phones etc here.
Plenty of cheap manufacturers skip connecting a bunch of pins and you end up with a cable that fits but doesn't work for data transfer. Throwing it bc broken.
An even worse situation for the consumers. GJ
- https://www.androidauthority.com/phones-with-replaceable-batteries-2027-3345155/
- https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/06/22/new-eu-law-to-force-smartphone-makers-to-build-easily-replaceable-batteries
However, there's an intentional loophole where you can just offer a different solution in _addition_ to USB-PD.
And in the darkness, update them!
I had initiating EU treaty reforms and the EU becoming a geopolitical actor on my #Christmas2024 wishlist. Copy-pasting to #NewYear2025 and working to make it happen with @volteuropa.org 💜
Join us https://volteuropa.org/get-involved
It also means Apple doesn't have a stranglehold on port design.
And there are browser extensions for that if that’s what you want.
On a technical standpoint this is easy to design as a standard and to implement in browsers.
On a legal standpoint this is impossible because of the current regulation.