
EU: Call to introduce common charger for all mobile phones - tosh
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/agenda/briefing/2020-01-13/13/call-to-introduce-common-charger-for-all-mobile-phones
======
Renaud
Apple really dropped the ball on this and the argument they make (thing about
all of the old accessories!) is pretty moot for the consumer.

I want all phone to standardise on USB-C. No adapter for Apple, no exception.

The point is not just about charging: accessory manufacturers have to develop
2 physical versions of their equipment, for Apple devices and for Android
devices. This increases development and manufacturing costs and restricts the
use of the accessory to a single system.

Having more USB-C accessories would also force Apple to increase compatibility
with a broader range of accessories. For instance it's impossible to use an
off-the-shelf USB drive and connect it to an iPhone to, say, dump pictures to
it.

If the iPhone had a standard USB plug, it would be harder for Apple to ignore
the perfectly reasonable expectation that plugging in a drive should allow you
to do something useful with it.

Today the fact that lighting is not a common port means that you have to buy a
'special' USB drive with a lighting port and then have to find some app that
takes advantage of it.

~~~
zaarn
The EU simply told the manufacturers to agree on a single port or else they
would have to regulate one. Apple ruined the party for everyone.

~~~
briandear
Why does the EU actually have a say here? Is this really that important that
government should be involved? Don’t like Apple chargers, don’t buy them.

~~~
45ure
A government is involved, because it is fairly obvious that Apple and others
are not going to take the initiative themselves. A revamp of the regulation on
a common charger will help reduce considerable amount of electronic waste,
which will ultimately have a positive impact on the environment.

~~~
cellularmitosis
How is having a government-mandated charging port going to have a positive
environmental impact, other than by having a mandate which forces everyone to
stick with their current connectors and stop adopting new ones?

~~~
45ure
There is likely to be a grace period involving a pragmatic discussion, before
any regulation is passed. It will revolve around adoption of USB-C as a common
standard moving forward, rather than the knee-jerk reaction you are proposing.
The Commission's powers are subject to strict limits when adopting 'Delegated
acts' which cannot change the essential elements of the law and must define
objectives, content, scope and duration of the delegation of power. In any
event, the Parliament and Council may revoke the delegation or express their
objections.

~~~
cellularmitosis
Thanks for the feedback, didn't intend to come across as knee-jerk. Its just
that the idea of obsoleting every existing charger doesn't seem very
environmentally friendly.

------
fierarul
Why stop at mobile phones? Is there a reason laptops need so many different
connectors? I am willing to bet many random connectors are just planned
obsolescence or a secondary revenue stream for producers.

Also, let's take this further. Any reason laptop displays can't internally
have a rather standardised connector? We are throwing away perfectly good
displays on broken laptops. What if I could buy a $20 adaptor and use that
laptop display as an external screen?

The amount of anti-consumer and anti-reuse measures the hardware industry does
is baffling.

~~~
ken
Why stop at computers? Dewalt, Milwaukee, Makita, and every other power tool
uses its own proprietary battery connector.

Why stop at DC power? Last I checked, Germany, France, England, Italy, and
many of the smaller countries all had their own AC power connectors.

Why stop at hardware? iMessage, Hangouts, Messenger, Slack, and all the rest
use their own proprietary interfaces. I still can't even save "a spreadsheet"
in one program and reliably open it in another.

I can put any bit in any drill, and any blade in any saw, but as soon as
electricity gets involved, everything gets stupid. A lot of programmers say
they're interested in "visualization", but visualization was the default state
of the world before electrons got involved. Most programmers use the invisible
nature of software to disguise the proprietary and incompatible interfaces
they're creating.

I hear a lot of developers complain about how their Mac laptop is no longer
expandable or upgradeable, and then they turn around and use it to write a web
app which uses a custom client-server interface with no public API or
import/export. An industry is only anti-consumer when _I 'm_ the consumer.

~~~
wang_li
> iMessage, Hangouts, Messenger, Slack, and all the rest use their own
> proprietary interfaces.

For a certain core level of functionality, there should be regulations and
laws in place that these apps all support a public and open protocol. They can
have their own, but I should be able to use imessage to send an IM to skype on
the desktop. This is no different than requiring standard signalling on the
wires during the era of landlines.

> I still can't even save "a spreadsheet" in one program and reliably open it
> in another.

This becomes more difficult when a spreadsheet could be the latest version of
excel v. a hobby project on github. Though I expect the vast majority of
spreadsheet applications will export a csv.

~~~
JoeAltmaier
I spent 8 years in a 'startup' trying to make collaboration into a service.
Couldn't get any traction. The idea of always-on collaboration services was
hard for folks. They would launch the service, have a 1-hour meeting, and kill
the service. With no expectation of available clients it was hard to market
APIs to talk with non-existant clients. Sigh.

------
jacknews
Didn't the EU force phone makers to standardize on USB a couple of decades
ago?

It was an absolute nightmare before that with every brand having completely
different connector, voltage etc.

I'm not sure how Apple got (and are getting) around this.

~~~
Mindwipe
Apple got them to water it down so manufacturing a Lightning to USB adaptor
was sufficient.

It appears to the EU have tired of this.

~~~
specialist
I love Lightning more than my first born child.

I've been using USB-C now for about 3 months. Expected to hate it. It's pretty
terrific. I'm sold.

But whatever. Rumors are Apple will transition their mobiles to fully wireless
charging. I'm totally on board.

~~~
mrep
I despise my pixels usb-c plug because it is so finicky. It's at the point
where it takes like 5 attempts to get it to connect to my cars android auto
and it frequently disconnects whenever I hit a bump.

~~~
ProZsolt
It's most likely lint in the phone's connector. You can clean it out with a
toothpick or any non-metallic pointy object.

------
vlozko
There's a lot to not like about this. I'm going to go under the assumption
that USB-C is the standard here.

1\. Companies will be forced into paying licensing fees. While not expensive,
it's essentially a forced tax on companies so that they get an assigned vendor
ID.

2.The language of the directive doesn't give any clarity of upgrading. What
happens when the USB standard is updated to a different plug, as it was from A
-> C? Will manufacturers now be forced to bundle an adapter for an undisclosed
amount of time until there's enough adoption. Would updating even be allowed
in this case?

3\. What happens when a superior and incompatible standard is released by a
completely different entity? Will companies not be allowed to adopt this
standard because of the EU requirement? This feels like a directive that will
stifle competition.

~~~
throwaway9d0291
Honest question: Do you need a vendor ID if your device only supplies/draws
power and doesn't use the data lines? Is a vendor ID necessary for things like
USB-PD?

~~~
elisaado
Yes.

~~~
limomium
How do old devices without Internet connection recognize new IDs registered
after their manufacture?

Clearly, there's no ID, but rather some kind of protocol for negotiating
voltage levels.

------
oxplot
Awesome.

I've already started doing my own move to all things USB-C by making a custom
made board [1] (which is also for sale [2]). I have so far converted 10
devices at home and gotten rid of their bulky bricks.

[1]: [https://blog.oxplot.com/usb-pd-standalone-sink-
controller/](https://blog.oxplot.com/usb-pd-standalone-sink-controller/)

[2]: [https://www.tindie.com/products/oxplot/stusb4500-compact-
bre...](https://www.tindie.com/products/oxplot/stusb4500-compact-breakout/)

~~~
johnwalkr
This is great! I have an idea for v2, can I email you?

~~~
oxplot
Sure thing!

------
rb808
> A common charger should fit all mobile phones, tablets, e-book readers and
> other portable devices, MEPs will insist.

The more important part is that those devices shouldn't ship with their own
charger. You should have one already, or you should be able to buy a good
quality efficient one.

~~~
thesmok
From my observations, people tend to buy the cheapest possible charger, if
buying separately. And cheap chargers are often dangerous.

------
tosh
Feedback from Apple: [https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-
regulation/initiatives/...](https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-
regulation/initiatives/ares-2018-6427186/feedback/F18119_en?p_id=342389)

Roadmap and other feedback: [https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-
regulation/initiatives/...](https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-
regulation/initiatives/ares-2018-6427186_en)

~~~
dzhiurgis
Apple could easily make 2 types of iPhones and let users choose - USB-C or
Lightning.

~~~
yummybear
That depends on your definition of "easily".

Besides the logistical issues in producing, selling and marketing two
different connector models, it also means third party accessories need to
support these connectors. Want that new FLIR camera for your phone? Please
choose between Model A or Model B.

One connector may also end up being the primary, where third parties only
create versions of their hardware for that one due to the user share,
effectively eliminating the other one and pissing of your customers.

~~~
dzhiurgis
You are already presented with a choice - iOS or "everyone else" option.
Besides, sometimes options are good. We're not talking here about some super
hard choice between thousands incomparable insurance policies. This is a
fucking connector. Fix it Apple.

Besides most of accessories are disappearing with Bluetooth, Wifi, cloud, etc.

------
mytailorisrich
Obviously a common charger would simplify things. We are already almost there.

But if the main goal is to reduce electronic waste then it won't change
anything by itself because every device we buy comes with a charger, anyway.
In order to reduce waste, purchases of devices and chargers should be
decoupled (I don't need a new charger every time I change my phone). A
universal charger would thus just be an enabler for that.

~~~
silon42
Battery without a phone would be even better...

~~~
mytailorisrich
It used to be the case, but replaceable batteries disappeared in the race to
flatness...

~~~
0x2371
Enforcing user replaceble batteries would actually be quite nice. Also
publicly availabe original spare parts.

------
tbrock
Am I the only one that thinks regulation like this is ultra heavy handed?

You get the charger in the box, it works. They change once a decade because
technology advances, we live on.

I do see it helping to standardize the smaller players that have a haphazard
ecosystem but consumers and corporations can largely vote with their wallets
without living in a nanny state.

------
kgwxd
Standardized batteries, required to be user-replaceable would be really nice
too. Then just solve the planned OS obsolescence issue somehow and e-waste
would drop dramatically.

------
kstenerud
Aren't we already there? I can't think of any mobile phones that don't charge
via USB.

~~~
FactolSarin
The iPhone

~~~
misnome
Yes, the Charger with my iPhone was definitely USB.

------
mendelmaleh
Why? standardization is nice, but to impose it? Is there any definition for
'overreach' for the EU, or those this have no end?

At what point is a product too 'complex' to standardize?

Why not standardize the phones themselves, the cars, then standardize life and
give us barcodes...

------
utf985
This would have been great if it was introduced 15 years ago when pretty much
each phone model had it's own special charger, but not so much know when
they're almost all entirely standardized. Except for Apple, of course. They're
special.

------
andy_ppp
Um so this really is just for Apple right? I assume everyone else has moved to
USB-C now?

~~~
notatoad
low end android is still largely on microUSB. although by the time any
legislation gets passed, they'll probably be on USB-C

------
mvanbaak
I think it's about time all this can/is easily fixed with QI. No more need for
a cable to charge your battery!

BTW: the title is a bit misleading, as the article states a lot more products
then just mobile phones.

------
ksec
What if;

Apple introduce USB-C _Port_ , that could only be charged with MFi validated
USB-C Cable? Essentially you still have to buy MFi USB-C Cables to charge your
iPhone. Would that make your life a little easier?

The whole point of MFi was to get rid of the crappy cables and save guard its
users and iPhone. And most no idea how far manufacturers would go just to take
short cuts in their products.

Personally I have no problem buying a MFi USB-C Cable. But then most cable
manufacture will surely want to support the 1.4 billion Apple ecosystem. And
you end up having an Apple Tax on _most_ USB-C cable people will definitely
cry foul.

~~~
villgax
They already have USB-C on the iPad Pro

~~~
ksec
The USB-C is used entirely different to the iPhone. And iPad Pro USB-C
controller is like 4 times the size of iPhone counterpart.

------
OrgNet
This is exactly how micro-usb became the standard (except for apple of
course)... but yeah now it appears to be a good time to switch to usb-c

------
walterkrankheit
I'm surprised this hasn't been done before! The trouble it would have saved me
throughout life when stranded somewhere without my own charger, but unable to
use another's. Someone mentioned laptop connectors, too. That would also be
great, but since I usually travel with intention with my laptop while I
passively have my phone on me all the time, the need isn't exactly on the same
level.

------
tinus_hn
Turns out the common charger is not a connector but QI wireless charging.

------
glogla
Good.

Let's also make 3.5 mm jack mandatory on any device that outputs audio -
without dongles.

~~~
em500
No, let's not force your particular preference on everybody else.

~~~
glogla
But now that I'm thinking about it more, yes, let's force my preference for
open standards, interoperability and reusability on everybody else. It is the
ethically right thing to do, it's best for the people.

------
villgax
USB-C all the way

------
unstatusthequo
Maybe an EU state can horse trade massive GDPR fine for caving on USB-C?

------
rooam-dev
What about calling to stop the planned obsolescence?

Things like replaceable batteries, longer support (security patches and parts)
should be a good start.

~~~
notatoad
A standard charging port is a clear and achievable milestone.

defeating planned obsolescence is a vague and unacheivable goal, and any
regulations that directly address it are more likely to stifle innovation and
be circumvented by big companies than they are to actually help.

~~~
Proziam
defeating planned obsolescence isn't 'that' vague to be fair. Mandating 4-5
year manufacturer warranties, right to repair, and replaceable
batteries/screens/button components would pretty much get us there.

We're basically already able to do these things, it's just made more difficult
and complex because you can't buy the original piece you need directly from
apple. And, in the past, Apple has been known to intentionally break phones
that have been user-repaired (the print scanner/button on an old iphone comes
to mind.)

