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USB 3.0 100W Power Standard Seeks To End Proprietary Chargers
judgecorp writes "The USB 3.0 Promoter Group has published a Power Delivery standard which will deliver up to 100W. The specification (press release with link to full details) includes new bi-directional — and backward compatible — USB cables, and has been proposed as the new connector between mains adapters and laptops, eliminating e-waste by standardizing a proprietary component."
At home, only having to run one cable to the wall might be nice, and being able to grab some juice from any friend may end the disaster that is forgetting your laptop power brick when on the road. And imagine only having to pack a single power hub instead of three or four redundant transformers (how many people don't use their laptop to charge their phone nowadays?).
The good thing about standards is that there are so many to choose from. -- Andrew S. Tanenbaum
From he article: The high power charging will require special, electronically detectable and very clever “USB Power Delivery” certified cables, which will be backwards compatible with all types of USB 2.0 and 3.0. So yeah, if resistance > X, its not a proper cable and you can't use it for > 4.5W (standard USB3 charging power)
This would save me from carrying extra junk about and having to find a very specific type of junk when it fails. This is a brilliant idea.
Everyone seems to be bashing this idea, I've no idea why.
Right. Because all those different chargers cover wildly differing use cases, such as "charge battery" and "charge battery".
They aren't designed for 1kW or line voltage, they're designed for 100W, which according to the article will be delivered at a maximum of 5A, 20V, charging in this mode will require a cable rated for this amount of current.
Are you living in the 90's? Switcher power supplies nowadays accept a wide range of current inputs at a wide range of frequencies, this isn't a serious issue anymore.
Mini-usb had its problems that manufacturers complained about regarding durability and size, so they listened to the complaints and offered their improved version in micro-usb. Now manufacturers are saying they want to use the usb to charge devices and they need more power, and have been running more current than standard through the usb connectors. So in response they're improving the interface to allow more current for faster charging. I feel that the current pace in which they roll out new standards isn't terrible.
Offering the different speeds allows for great fowards and backwards compatibility. When you connect two devices they can communicate as fast as the slowest one permits, allowing you to use older hardware with newer hardware.
Ridiculous Speed. Next one will be Ludicrous Speed. Don't you know anything?
From the FA:
At home, only having to run one cable to the wall might be nice, and being able to grab some juice from any friend
That would made you lose some friends, and make others quickly.
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