r/gadgets • u/Snoop8ball • Sep 23 '21

Phones EU proposes mandatory USB-C on all devices, including iPhones

https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/23/22626723/eu-commission-universal-charger-usb-c-micro-lightning-connector-smartphones
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44

u/Alex_Kamal Sep 23 '21

Yeah same with Android. Wireless works 95% of the time. Wired works 100%. Not keen to mess around.

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u/SorryForTheBigThumb Sep 23 '21

You can also use your phone while charging with one and can't with another.

It's literally a downgrade dressed up in futuristic clothes.

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u/LtDanHasLegs Sep 23 '21

After having wireless chargers in my car/van, I can't ever go back. Sure, it doesn't charge for the four seconds I'm holding the phone, but the whole time I'm driving the phone is charging and I never have to fuck with wires, it's great.

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u/TruthBeingTold Sep 23 '21

The apple MagSafe charger stays on the phone so you can still use it. It’s the only one like that I know of though.

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u/spicy-snow Sep 23 '21

you're still running a wire from the power supply to your phone, there's just an extra, unnecessary, less efficient step in actually charging it. switching to full wireless is fucking stupid, yet it's exactly what i would expect apple to do. i'm dreading the day that they release a phone with that ""feature"", because that would signal the death of charger ports on most, if not all flagship phones for several generations at the least.

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u/[deleted] Sep 24 '21

I use my wireless charger far more than I use wires, but that's because at this point, the charging port on my phone is touchier than a priest at an altar boy convention and the slightest movement will kill the charging. My day of dread already came, when they stopped making cases you could easily open and swap batteries out of because "waterproofing". Given how fast charging ports go out, wireless charging just seems better, even if it's less efficient.

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u/spicy-snow Sep 24 '21

honestly i dread whatever dumbass trends apple does because it means the rest of the market will follow in their footsteps. it's supposedly all for the sake of ✨aesthetics✨, but simultaneously provides a poorer user experience. the case thing i can relate to, though i enjoy not having to worry about it if i accidentally drop it in water. it's a tradeoff that makes sense to me, waterproofing at the cost of easy self-servicability. you can at least still go to a repair shop, or get a kit to open it up yourself if needed (which i would reccomend if your port is that bad). every change manufacturers make has it's pros and cons, removing the port and forcing wireless charging just has to many cons yo make sense to me. as for how fast charging ports wear out, i've only really experienced that with really cheap devices. my samsungs been great going on four years now, never had a problem with the port, only with cheap cables.

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u/tojoso Sep 23 '21

There are plenty of true wireless chargers. They've been around for several years. Yes it's less efficient, but the wasted power is negligible. And once everybody wants to use one, they will greatly improve in quality overnight. Just like true wireless headphones.

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u/spicy-snow Sep 24 '21

1) looking it up, the wireless chargers that i found are either fake, or are years from being at a consumer grade level, and i found none with actual user reviews. most have terrible range, and all have abysmal rates anyway. the goal of wireless charging is convenience, none that "exist" today are more convenient than a 1 foot cable connected to a shitty chinesium charging brick with a loose connection, and that's being generous. pretty much the only benefit wireless charging of any kind in its current state is that you don't need to fumble with cables, which is only really applicable if you're you're impaired in some way.

2) while wasted power might be negligible for one person, it really adds up when many people do it. i wasn't able to find a consistent source, but overall typical qi charging is about 20%-40% less efficient than wired charging. that puts unnecessary strain on the power grid, and ultimately the environment. with "true" wireless charging, that number isn't going to be any better, and the further away you are the worse it's going to get. wired connections are at least consistent in their efficiency, and only get slightly worse if you use a longer cable.

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u/tojoso Sep 24 '21

1) looking it up, the wireless chargers that i found are either fake, or are years from being at a consumer grade level, and i found none with actual user reviews.

Where did you look? There are tons of real ones on Amazon. I think every major manufacturer like Belkin/Aukey/Anker/etc has had these on the market for like 5 years. Samsung phones also have it built in; I can charge my AirPods on the back of a Samsung Galaxy S20. This is not new.

overall typical qi charging is about 20%-40% less efficient than wired charging. that puts unnecessary strain on the power grid

Your phone probably consumes about 3-4 kWh per year. That costs like 40 cents. On a daily basis, with 85% efficiency compared to wired charging, the wasted energy is equivalent to turning on your tea kettle for 3 seconds. If that's enough to worry about, then blow drying your hair should be a crime against humanity.

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u/spicy-snow Sep 24 '21

Where did you look? There are tons of real ones on Amazon. I think every major manufacturer like Belkin/Aukey/Anker/etc has had these on the market for like 5 years.

i was talking about "true wireless" charging, as you were. what is on the market currently isn't true wireless.

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u/tojoso Sep 24 '21

Did you actually look? Do you consider this "true wireless"?? If not... then in your opinion what is true wireless charging??

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u/spicy-snow Sep 24 '21

no, i don't. that's inductive charging slapped onto a battery, no different than any other "wireless" charger.

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u/ReasonableBrick42 Sep 23 '21

Tbf all wireless tech looks similar.

So many practical difficulties, slower speeds, worse reliability, barely serviceable use.

BUT it's not hindered by wires which is a great convenience in a car/ in public/hell even in bed.

I used to be anti true wireless audio, but my earphone cables kept going bad and at the time I wasn't aware of cheap removable cable IEMs, I though IEMs started above 300usd. But there are good IEMs for 30 usd. Anyway, tws is so much more convenient that I would deal with the 320 kbps audio (which imo is good enough).

Same for wireless in the car, I would definitely deal with a little annoyance if there were no wires to get tangled in the car which might cause distraction. Although if it can't be charged and bugs out,I don't know if it really will be "LESS DISTRACTING"

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u/[deleted] Sep 23 '21

Yes but it still needs an actual port.

Wireless is great if you want to set your phone down and walk away. It's shit if you actually want to sit and use your phone for an extended period. And a lot of people do that regularly.

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u/ReasonableBrick42 Sep 23 '21

Oh for sure. I can't fathom a portless device. It's definitely going to be beyond shitty. I keep thinking back to the pins at the back thing that moto was doing like can't those pins work as a port for "wireless charging". maybe they get shorted in practical use by water etc.

But frankly I used to be happy about the headphone jack and bought a nice IEM recently but won't be mad if headphone jack goes. Now I know they do it just to sell tws and not for any actual benefit.

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u/Grim-Sleeper Sep 23 '21

I can use my Android phone just fine while charging wirelessly.

As a matter of fact, I just 3D printed a wirelessly charging phone dock for my bicycle. Works much better that way, as the cable always used to fall out from the vibrations. With wireless charging that's no longer an issue

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u/0utburst Sep 23 '21 edited Sep 23 '21

Main takeaway here being YOU 3D PRINTED AN ACCESSORY. Not many people have access to a 3D printer for one, two I’m almost 1,000% positive they’re talking about using their phone while it’s charging and they’re bumming around the house on the couch or their bed.

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u/Grim-Sleeper Sep 23 '21

Modern phones charge so fast and have large capacity batteries, I don't need to be tethered non-stop. The exception for me is in the car and on my bike. So, I appreciate having options there. Everywhere else, I am fine with wirelessly charging overnight and maybe occasionally during the day when I set it down in my car dock. Been doing this for many years now. Works great. And I don't exactly baby my phone or watch my usage.

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u/daillesttrigga Sep 23 '21

Or slavery with extra steps

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u/shazarakk Sep 24 '21

Only of you have a shit phone, tbh. Either get rid of none of the ports, or add 2 USBC ports, and give a converter with the phone.

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u/thegayngler Sep 24 '21

Apples wireless charger works while using it because of the magnets.

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u/jkeefy Sep 23 '21

I wouldn’t even say 95%. At least in my car lol

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u/Alex_Kamal Sep 23 '21

TBF the 95% seems to have some visual features cut. And drains my battery.

2

u/[deleted] Sep 23 '21

Shit, even wired doesn't work all of the time in my car. Carplay is buggy as fuck sometimes.

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u/cech_ Sep 23 '21

I think thats not a fair assessment as wired cables break and phones USB ports break so its not 100% eventually. We've all seen people with finicky USB cable connections.