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The USB-C Charging Mandate Arrives in the EU (theverge.com)

(Friday December 27, 2024 @11:40AM (msmash) from the about-time dept.)


From December 28th, a large percentage of the gadgets bought inside the EU are [1]required to charge via USB-C . From a report:

> The goal for Directive 2022/2380, known colloquially as the common charging solution, is to reduce e-waste and solve market fragmentation. You may recall Apple and the EU butting heads over this a few years ago.

>

> The requirement for USB-C is just the surface of this directive though. It also includes regulations on fast charging, unbundling charging bricks from retail devices, and the introduction of improved labelling -- and it has the potential to make life for gadget enthusiasts in the EU a whole lot simpler. If it works, of course.



[1] https://www.theverge.com/24330106/usb-c-common-charger-directive-explained-europe



Unbundling bricks (Score:2)

by Registered Coward v2 ( 447531 )

While that may have an impact on ewaste, it also gives manufacturers a little extra profit since I suspect price won't drop and some % of power adapter sales will be from them.

Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

by Luckyo ( 1726890 )

Since power adapters are universal (USB PD), you can just buy a generic one.

Re: Unbundling bricks (Score:2)

by TuballoyThunder ( 534063 )

And the bundled chargers are typically not very good

Re: (Score:2)

by Luckyo ( 1726890 )

Depends on a brand. Some bundle really awful ones, some bundle decent ones, some bundle actually good ones.

Re: (Score:2)

by dgatwood ( 11270 )

And some bundle chargers that are awful, but become good if you spend an extra $19 for a three-prong cord. I'm looking at you, Apple.

Whoever thought that those awful two-prong flip-out plugs were a good idea should be sent to purgatory and forced to use one on a cruise ship with worn out sideways power outlets for a year. Occasionally I was able to get one to make electrical contact, but only rarely. I ended up swapping my cord back and forth between my power supply (MagSafe 3) and my mom's (MagSafe 2)

Re: (Score:2)

by Registered Coward v2 ( 447531 )

> Since power adapters are universal (USB PD), you can just buy a generic one.

I know, but in my experience a number of users will simply buy one when they buy the phone; whether it's for convenience or simply trust the phone manufacturer to make a quality brick capable of supplying the max charging power. I suspect convenience will be the driver for many buyers, since once you pay ~1000 for a phone ~20 for a brick is small change, if a bit annoying; and they don't want to have to search of a cheaper brick. That's why I said the rule will add a little marginal profit for phone manu

Re: (Score:2)

by kqs ( 1038910 )

Sure, but everything will be turned into more profit. Must remove chargers? Profit. Must bundle chargers? Bundle a shitty cheap charger and cable that barely works for this device, profit. I remember when every phone had a different port and charger combo. Big profit.

Don't judge a rule based on whether or not it might generate profit; they will ALL generate profit somehow. Judge it based on the likely effects of the rule. And I for one welcome our USB-c overlords!

Re: (Score:2)

by Registered Coward v2 ( 447531 )

> Sure, but everything will be turned into more profit. Must remove chargers? Profit. Must bundle chargers? Bundle a shitty cheap charger and cable that barely works for this device, profit. I remember when every phone had a different port and charger combo. Big profit.

> Don't judge a rule based on whether or not it might generate profit; they will ALL generate profit somehow. Judge it based on the likely effects of the rule. And I for one welcome our USB-c overlords!

Not judging the rule, just pointing out it has effects beyond the intended.

Re: (Score:2)

by Sique ( 173459 )

Right now, you often don't get the gadgets with a charger, as everyone assumes you already have one at home. And if not, 6,99 at the thrift store buys you one. Main advantage is that whenever you lose your charger or forget to pack it for travel, just get a new one, and be done. I just have a charger in my backpack. and whenever a device needs charging, I have one. Same goes for powerbanks, portable accumulators with USB outlets. Just have a generic one, and you can recharge your device whenever the need ar

Re: (Score:2)

by Luckyo ( 1726890 )

Absolutely, but then you'll buy your second phone. And you'll no longer think "I need a new charger". You'll think "I don't need a charger, I have a charger with same markings at home".

That was one of the key goals of this regulation.

Re: Unbundling bricks (Score:2)

by Fons_de_spons ( 1311177 )

Way too many USB chargers at home. Kids toys, electric razor,... Almost any gadget is accompanied by a USB charger these days. I think the move to USB was great, but now let's stop selling chargers with everything.

Re: (Score:2)

by Luckyo ( 1726890 )

Until recently, a lot of these chargers came with wide variety of USB types. I've seen a lot of USB-A, at least one USB-B, Micro-USB used to be common and only recently USB-C is becoming a norm.

And now its getting standardized on USB-C.

Re: (Score:2)

by supremebob ( 574732 )

I have tons of old USB charger bricks from old phones and tablets at home, but most of them have USB-A plugs.

That makes the USB-C to USB-C cables that normally come in the box for the device kinda useless, and require me to either get a new charger or a bunch of USB-A and USB-C adapter cables. Either way, Amazon/Apple/Samsung gets their extra sale and we all end up with additional e-waste.

Re: (Score:2)

by ChunderDownunder ( 709234 )

One new year's resolution is to catalogue and then e-recycle my phone chargers. i.e. the half a dozen in various boxes. Yes, I am a hoarder! The one they included with a phone. e-reader, tablet, bluetooth speaker etc.

Unbundling is a good idea provided that people do their research. Are GaN still the 'good' tech or should I look out for a better spec, I wonder...

Re: (Score:2)

by Registered Coward v2 ( 447531 )

> One new year's resolution is to catalogue and then e-recycle my phone chargers. i.e. the half a dozen in various boxes. Yes, I am a hoarder!

Same here. I have a large box of various chargers and cables, many of which I have no idea what device they charged or used that cable.

Re: (Score:2)

by TheMiddleRoad ( 1153113 )

I have pulled a bunch of those old 5w chargers out and use them to put Wyze nightlights on various outlets with short USB cables. Now I have a ton of large, higher wattage charges, usually 65 watts, that sit in boxes.

Re: (Score:2)

by haxor.dk ( 463614 )

Are there any households anywhere that don't have at least five usb power adaptors from previous devices lying around?

Re: (Score:2)

by Luckyo ( 1726890 )

USB-A, Micro-USB, USB-C.

That's the other half of the formula. Standardize everything on USB-C and charging spec on USB-PD.

Re: (Score:2)

by brunes69 ( 86786 )

The problem is they continue to bundle in very shitty USB-C cables of questionable quality and specs - some of them have data pins, some do not.. some support fast charging bricks, some do not. Almost all of these end up in the landfill.

Re: (Score:2)

by Registered Coward v2 ( 447531 )

> The problem is they continue to bundle in very shitty USB-C cables of questionable quality and specs - some of them have data pins, some do not.. some support fast charging bricks, some do not. Almost all of these end up in the landfill.

Which is why the whole notion of "one cable to rule them all" will not be accomplished by this rule; all it ensures is some very low level compatibility.

Re: (Score:3)

by AvitarX ( 172628 )

Maybe, but I've thrown out at least a dozen crummy bundled chargers. I'll be happy to not receive them anymore.

Re: (Score:3)

by vlad30 ( 44644 )

Interestingly I've moved everything over to wireless charging wherever possible beats plugging cables in especially in the car where the phone connects with bluetooth and wifi for CarPlay. Just put things on the charger and done. Cables are now only for data transfer if needed and for items like Laptops which wireless isn't offered yet

We solved it! (Score:1)

by CEC-P ( 10248912 )

Yay, now we have identical ports and cables that all have completely different wattage ratings and voltages. WE DID IT! We solved it! I've already thrown away at least a dozen cables that couldn't support 12V charging or above 15 watts once I got my new S23. So eco friendly. Love all the tickets coming in too when someone wired up their work from home dock with a random Amazon C-cable after their cat ate their OEM one and it only does USB and no video. Yeah, that's not a 40gbps cable there, bud.

Re: (Score:3)

by brunes69 ( 86786 )

Perfect should never be the enemy of the good.

Re: (Score:2)

by serviscope_minor ( 664417 )

Why did you bin all of those cables?

Your S23 will charge just fine off them and from empty to full in about an hour and a half.

I appreciate some super fast charging but the majority of time, 15 watts is fine.

Also where on earth did you find such bad cables?

Working already (Score:2)

by sound+vision ( 884283 )

I'm not a "gadget enthusiast" and I'm not in the UK, but this has helped me already in my job. Every month I'm seeing less devices come with weird chargers as older devices hit EOL.

The only downside I see is that there are better connectors, like MagSafe. But if I was really worried about ripping a socket out, I'd get a magnetically detachable USB-C cable. A small cost compared to stocking 5 different kinds of chargers. Also I'm not worried about ripping a socket out with the way I currently use my devices.

Recycled 5lbs of lightning cables (Score:5, Informative)

by BeepBoopBeep ( 7930446 )

I moved family of 4 to iPhone 16. Just recycled 5lbs of lightning cables. Itâ(TM)s sick how much waste that one connector created. Apple had usb-c on iPad Pro in 2018. No excuse why they waited until 2023 to finally move to it.

Re: (Score:2)

by ThosLives ( 686517 )

Or the reverse: without that regulation, you wouldn't have had to throw out that 5lbs of cables; you could use them with your new equipment instead of having to get all-new cables.

The e-waste argument was and is the dumbest justification for this regulation.

Re: (Score:2)

by sound+vision ( 884283 )

You think that perpetually selling unnecessary chargers is less wasteful than a one-time throwaway of obsolete cables?

Re: Recycled 5lbs of lightning cables (Score:2)

by BeepBoopBeep ( 7930446 )

I didnâ(TM)t buy new cables the iPad and MacBooks been using USB-c since 2018 and 2020. One wire charges them all. One laptop brick charges them all.

Re: (Score:2)

by drhamad ( 868567 )

I'd argue this just created a ton of waste. You were formerly able to continue using those cables. Long term maaayyyybe it reduces waste but history tells us that cables are going to change over time regardless. Even if they use a similar design connector doesn't mean they do the same things (just look at the advances in HDMI cables despite the same connector for a couple decades). I'm not anti-this law but I don't see it as really helping much when it comes to waste.

Re: (Score:2)

by Zocalo ( 252965 )

That's not all on the connector though. 5lbs is a LOT of cables (even if you include some wall warts), so I'm assuming that this is from multiple generations of phone per person, e.g. it's also the bundling of yet another cable and a new wall wart with every single device instead of having them as an optional extra. While I'm all for standard connectors and only having to have a minimal number of identical cables and a single socket bank with the suitable number of ports on it, the real generator of waste

USB -C (Score:1)

by gary s ( 5206985 )

Having governmental controls like this can stifle advancements. What happens with usb-D comes out and is better than usb-C but you need government changes to go to the new standard.

Re: (Score:2)

by AvitarX ( 172628 )

I imagine it'll be a while before a mechanically and electrically (for power delivery) standard comes about.

USB D, E,F will likely all use the C connector and same power delivery spec.

And even when the connector changes I'd expect the same power delivery spec to be usable and the old bricks, just with a cable that has the new connector on one end.

A 240w power brick will be useful for small devices in perpetuity with maybe a cable change when they decide they need more data pins in the USB standard.

Re: (Score:3)

by ArchieBunker ( 132337 )

You enjoyed the days when every model of phone had its own unique connector? The data rate of usb C should be safe for another 10-15 years.

Re: (Score:2)

by RockDoctor ( 15477 )

I've owned precisely 2 USC-C devices since they were introduced when was it - 5 years ago? (I see dates of 2014, 2016, 2017. Pick a number, any number.) One was (and still is) a phone ; the other is a wireless charger for it, which I use of-preference.

On that basis, if your "USB-D" is out yet (wiki doesn't recognise the term ; there is "USB-4" from 2019~2022), and if it gets enough traction to be considered common, then you'd expect adoption in this respect to be some time between 2029 and 2034.

I think th

It works (Score:2)

by Pascal Sartoretti ( 454385 )

If it works, of course

It works. My new iPhone has a USB-C connector.

This would probably explain the plethora ... (Score:2)

by RockDoctor ( 15477 )

... of "Bad USB-C cable - horror story" videos that YT was recommending to me of the last few days.

It seems that there are complexities to the cables about negotiating power- and data delivery that can lead to significant issues. In particular "USB-C extension leads" (USB-C female one end ; male the other end) are a no-no becasue the power-supplying device can only talk to the first cable it encounters, and if the second cable in a chain is physically capable of only a lower power than the first device ...

Re:This would probably explain the plethora ... (Score:4, Funny)

by ArchieBunker ( 132337 )

Your first mistake was watching recommended YouTube videos.

While I agree that... (Score:1)

by MpVpRb ( 1423381 )

Universal charging standards are a good thing, I'm a bit skeptical of government control of tech.

This rule is good, the next one may not be

Damn! (Score:2)

by PPH ( 736903 )

Now it will take forever to charge my Tesla.

And if sometime, somewhere, someone asketh thee,
"Who kilt thee?", tell them it 'twas the Doones of Bagworthy!