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EU Regulators To Study Need For Action on Common Mobile Phone Charger (reuters.com)

Posted by msmash on from the how-about-that dept.

EU regulators plan to study whether there is a need for action in the push for a common mobile phone charger following a lack of progress by phone makers towards this goal, EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager said. From a report: The European Commission has been pushing for a common charger for nearly a decade as it cited the more than 51,000 tons of electronic waste yearly from old chargers as well as the inconvenience to consumers. iPhone and Android users have long complained about using different chargers for their phones.

34 of 230 comments (clear)

  1. Do they mean the cable? by b0s0z0ku · · Score: 2

    Most chargers have either USB-A (large) or USB-C output, with an appropriate cable to mate it to the phone, which is either micro-USB or USB-C.

    1. Re:Do they mean the cable? by b0s0z0ku · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Wireless-only charging is fucking idiotic -- you'd need to keep your phone down on the charging plate and not be able to use it while charging. Any phone that only supports wireless charging is crap, waterproof or not.

    2. Re:Do they mean the cable? by txoof · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Even among the non-Apple devices there are still issues. The USB-Micro standard is fragile, uni-directional and has skinny-ass wires that can't cary much current for fast charging. The USB-C standard is anything but standard with a mixed bag of features and compatibility from device to device.

      Apple's Lightening charger is nice that it works for all of Apple's recent handhelds and is reversible, but is incompatible for all the new laptops (USB-C). The Listening cable is also only good for ~2A of current meaning that fast charging is right out. But what good is a charging cable that only works one line of devices?

      USB-C *could* be great and last us for the next 10 years if only the industry could standardize the standard. It would also be great if you could count on USB-C cables actually being 100% compliant and not worry that your E-Bay special was going to toast your new phone, or burn down your house. Judging by the plethora of shitty cables out there, I would guess that the standard is simply too expensive or too difficult to comply with.

      I would definitely welcome a standard that could do something about the giant box of standard, half-standard, and proprietary cables that I've accumulated. We can do it with headphones and lights and HDMI cables (sort of), why can't we do it with phone and laptop chargers?

      --
      This one's tricky. You have to use imaginary numbers, like eleventeen... --Hobbes
    3. Re:Do they mean the cable? by jellomizer · · Score: 4, Funny

      My bad I got them confused. I guess the Lightning cable came out before Thunderbolt. Because light travels faster then sound.

      --
      If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    4. Re:Do they mean the cable? by danbert8 · · Score: 5, Informative

      Pokemon Go players disagree... I need to keep my phone constantly charging if I'm playing for more than an hour or so or the battery won't last the day.

      --
      Yes it's an anecdote! Were you expecting original research in a Slashdot comment?
    5. Re:Do they mean the cable? by yuriklastalov · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Sorry pal, your real world usage patterns get in the way of our aesthetic principles. We're making the BRAVE and COURAGEOUS design choices necessary to realize a more perfect world. Just deal with it, bro.

    6. Re:Do they mean the cable? by Tough+Love · · Score: 2

      The USB-Micro standard is fragile, uni-directional and has skinny-ass wires that can't cary much current for fast charging. The USB-C standard is anything but standard.

      USB-Micro is evil, I'm happy to see it in sunset. USB-C is sweet, good job guys.

      I had to invest in a new set of cables, but the new connector is so much better, it's worth it. I have not had one bit of trouble with third party cables. I am careful to avoid the crap ones. That has always been a problem with cable suppliers, USB-C is hardly the worst. When I pick up a USB-C cable I'm looking for 3.1 gen 1 compatibility, at least. If I ever get a device that actually needs gen 2, I really don't mind if my phone and tablet cables don't run it at full speed.

      So far, I only have one USB-C device so I don't have any immediate data about cross-device compatibility. With decent cables in good condition I just never have big issues with USB. Maybe my experience is partly due to Linux, because sometimes it's hard to tell whether you've got a cable issue or a software issue. With Linux, it's pretty much never the latter.

      If you plug in a usb 3.1 external drive that has one of those strange-duck double-wide 3.1 connectors, but use a standard micro-B cable instead, it just works. Not as fast, but usable. Of course, with the right cable it's as fast as an internal SATA drive, and if that ever matters then I will hunt around for the right cable. Better, in future any external drive I buy will be USB-C and I will just grit my teeth about the oddball one I have now.

      In short, I find the article you linked to be alarmist clickbait. In the real world, USB-C compatibility is looking good. Big shoutout to everybody involved.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    7. Re:Do they mean the cable? by Z00L00K · · Score: 2

      Add to it that wireless charging also is relatively inefficient and in the era of power saving demands where we chase after high efficiency and minimal magnetic fields it seems to be a pretty nasty idea.

      --
      If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
    8. Re:Do they mean the cable? by thegarbz · · Score: 2

      The USB-Micro standard is fragile, uni-directional and has skinny-ass wires that can't cary much current for fast charging.

      And yet fast charging works just fine.

      The USB-C standard is anything but standard [digitaltrends.com] with a mixed bag of features and compatibility from device to device.

      The USB-C standard is perfectly fine from a charging perspective and implimented 100% consistently on every mobile out there. It gets greyer on Laptops, but this isn't in scope.

      Judging by the plethora of shitty cables out there, I would guess that the standard is simply too expensive or too difficult to comply with.

      Wrong conclusion. Regardless of how simple and cheap you make something, someone will bring to market something non-compliant and shite. The standard has nothing to do with it.

  2. Re:oh thank god by Luthair · · Score: 3, Informative

    I'm not sure one can call proprietary tech like Qualcomm's QuickCharge a standard.

  3. Yes, about power connectors by tepples · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Correct. This EU study relates to the different connectors used by different makes and models of mobile device. Smartphones use three (USB micro-B, USB C, and Lightning), dumbphones and laptops generally use different sizes and voltages of barrel connector, and handheld video game consoles have their own proprietary power connectors (GBA SP/Nintendo DS, Nintendo DS Lite, Nintendo DSi/3DS).

    1. Re:Yes, about power connectors by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 2

      Smartphones use three (USB micro-B, USB C, and Lightning)

      Lightning is being phased out. USB micro-B is most common. USB C is the future. The market is already converging. Regulation may have made sense a decade ago to nudge the manufacturers along, but is mostly pointless today.

      The source of much waste is the excess numbers of cables and chargers, not the type. I already have dozens of USB dongles and cables. I don't need yet another included with every gadget I buy. They should be sold separately, so only those who need them can to buy them.

      Also, 51,000 tonnes per decade is negligible. We throw out many times that mass in disposable diapers EVERY DAY. Maybe the regulators should focus on something that actually matters.

    2. Re:Yes, about power connectors by tepples · · Score: 2

      Lightning is being phased out.

      Source: "Report: Apple actively seeking to phase out Lightning connector on future iPhones" by Jesse Hollington

      USB micro-B is most common. USB C is the future.

      But how long until those converge?

      The source of much waste is the excess numbers of cables and chargers, not the type.

      The last time standardization on micro-B was studied a few years ago, the intent was that reducing the types would end up reducing the number. If a manufacturer can assume that the user is far more likely than not to already have an appropriate cable, the manufacturer can leave the cable out of the bundle. Otherwise, manufacturers still conclude "We need to include a micro-B cable in case the user only has C" or "We need to include a C cable in case the user only has micro-B".

    3. Re:Yes, about power connectors by AmiMoJo · · Score: 2

      The market looked like it was converging a decade ago and didn't. Manufacturers were told to sort it out, and didn't.

      51k tonnes/year of electronic waste is significant. No need to excuse it with what-about-ism.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    4. Re:Yes, about power connectors by Hognoxious · · Score: 3, Informative

      Piss and shit are organic and go away pretty quickly on their own. Heavy metals & plastic, not so much.

      Spin the wheel ... your logical fallacy is: fake equivalence.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    5. Re:Yes, about power connectors by Hognoxious · · Score: 2

      There is almost never a need to even take the new cords out of wrapping.

      In a way you're right. I too have loads of the bastards.

      I try to have at least one of each type in the lounge, one of each type in my work bag and the rest live in my office/lair/lab, where I can never find the one I need even though I have at least nineteen of them because the place is a fucking tip.

      But yet, you see them in stores. So presumably somebody is buying them, which implies somebody doesn't have one already.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    6. Re: Yes, about power connectors by cyber-vandal · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Had they not threatened it then we'd have the same situation as laptops where you can't even get a standard power supply for different laptops from the same manufacturer.

    7. Re:Yes, about power connectors by harrkev · · Score: 2

      I, for one, appreciate having an included cable. The cables have a finite life, so getting a spare cable is never a bad thing.

      The wall adapter, on the other hand, I have way too many of.

      --
      "-1 Troll" is the apparently the same as "-1 I disagree with you."
    8. Re:Yes, about power connectors by Hognoxious · · Score: 2

      I'm planning to tidy up next week. I wouldn't be surprised if I find at least one Japanese soldier who doesn't believe the wars over.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    9. Re:Yes, about power connectors by CWCheese · · Score: 4, Informative

      Manufacturers were told to sort it out, and didn't.

      Swap the word Apple for Manufacturers and the picture becomes much clearer. Apple has resisted and rejected common connectors for all its history, and even as the world seemingly is converging on USB-C they drag their feet. More important to feed the trillion$ beast with sales of $50 adapters for everything.

      --
      Have a Day!
    10. Re: Yes, about power connectors by rahvin112 · · Score: 2

      It was EU action that forced the industry to standardize on Micro-USB before USB-C came out.Phones converged because of the EU but then splintered again when USB-C showed up and Apple brought lightening to the table. Hopefully it will reconverge around USB-C but if not the EU will hopefully force that.

      The EU also needs to act on combining phone/laptop chargers around USB-C for smaller laptops and a standard connector for larger power needs. We've still got hundreds of different connectors on laptops for no bloody good reason, it's frankly criminal.

    11. Re:Yes, about power connectors by sjames · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Clearly you have forgotten the state of affairs before the EU pressured manufacturers the last time, back when even different models from the same manufacturer had their own special snowflake chargers. Without that, they wouldn't be USB at all.

  4. While I understand the clear benefit of a standard by JudgeFurious · · Score: 2

    I don't understand why this benefit is so compelling that it would require a need for action (legislation). Why should there be a law of any kind mandating that different manufacturers all use the same charger? Of course it would be best. Not getting an argument out of me on that one but why should they be compelled to do that? It just seems like the EU regulators don't have enough real problems on their plate and now they're just down to the real minutia. What's next? Finding the optimal size of crepes and mandating that all businesses that serve them comply with the standard or face an escalating series of fines?

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    Appended to the end of comments you post. 120 chars.
  5. Re:oh thank god by tbuddy · · Score: 2

    QC is independent of what the plug type is. I have USB-C and Micro-B USB phones that use QC3.

  6. Re:Everything should go wireless by AuMatar · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Waste of electricity broadcasting power, short enough range to be nearly unusable, cannot use the phone while charging, cannot easily charge from a laptop while on the road, another piece of equipment that can get broken or lost and not easily replaced. Wireless is a shitty idea that's less convenient and costs more. No thanks.

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  7. E-waste by tepples · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Why should there be a law of any kind mandating that different manufacturers all use the same charger?

    Because it's a consequence of the long-standing law against polluting the land and water with your e-waste. Or would you prefer to abolish that as well?

    1. Re:E-waste by JudgeFurious · · Score: 4, Insightful

      You're talking about what people do with chargers they no longer need or want. This is a question of asking people to properly dispose of things they discard. If you recycle your broken or no longer needed waste then outstanding. That's what you should do and it's what I do. Yes making them all use the same cable will give people an incentive to keep their old cable to use with their new phone and that's fine but each phone will continue to come with a cable and people will continue to discard their old cables improperly. Having people all throw away matching cables isn't much of an improvement.

      --
      Appended to the end of comments you post. 120 chars.
    2. Re:E-waste by Wycliffe · · Score: 2

      The point of regulation like that described in the featured article is to make this no longer the case.

      As long as chargers and cables are relatively cheap compared to the cost of the phone, manufacturers will continue to include them. Customers expect it, it costs very little, they don't have to worry as much about a cheap charger charging their nice new phone either too fast or too slow or a bunch of other things. It just makes for a better customer experience and costs very little. Same reason that many phones come with headphones.

  8. Apple by Artem+S.+Tashkinov · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Let's be honest: there's just one company which shows "a lack of progress towards this goal" and that's Apple. All others have already transitioned or are transitioning from MicroUSB to USB-C.

    Even certain modern "dumb" phones already come with a USB-C connector.

  9. Re: too late by Zorpheus · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The micro USB connector on most phones already the result of this EU initiative. I am not sure where they see need for more success of their initiative, maybe for laptops or they really mean iPhones.

  10. apple will lock out non apple USB-C changes by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 2, Insightful

    apple will lock out non apple USB-C changes

  11. Re:Politicians != engineers by txoof · · Score: 2

    Because they're rightfully horrified by the massive piles of E-Waste gathering around the world.

    --
    This one's tricky. You have to use imaginary numbers, like eleventeen... --Hobbes
  12. Re:So much for innovation by volodymyrbiryuk · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Troll comment. If not for the EU you would still have to use a different charger + cable for each manufacturer or sometimes even for each model from the same manufacturer. What innovation are you talking about? Changing the shape of a connector and make you pay for it is not innovation. You must have forgotten the times where you would have been fucked if you forgot your charger on vacation. Now you can borrow a charger from 90% of phone users.

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  13. Re:Everything should go wireless by Tough+Love · · Score: 2

    You already can't, as headphones for recent iPhone models plug into the charging port.

    Correction: you already can't, not me. I'm fine because I avoid Apple.

    --
    When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.