Comment by scarface74
3 years ago
The EU is suppose to be mandating a “standard”. What good is a “standard” that doesn’t support the “standard”?
USB C cables that come with the iPad supports all of those standards. What are the chances that unsuspecting users in the EU dancing in the streets go in an buy a “standard USB C” and find out that it doesn’t work when they get ready to plug their phone to the TVs or when they find out the promise of “USB3 speeds” because it was the “standard” is a lie because the EU didn’t mandate that as part of the standard?
Personally I like that the cables can get better over time, I just want them to have the speed labeled on them.
But this is a charging standard and for charging all cables are the same for the vast majority of devices.
All the stuff that might break because I don't have high speed data is no worse than lightning which never has high speed data*.
*Except for a single model of iPad.
> Personally I like that the cables can get better over time
Everything I mentioned has been part of the standard fir years.
> But this is a charging standard and for charging all cables are the same for the vast majority of devices
The purported goal is to “prevent ewaste”. How does it prevent ewaste if you still can’t depend on the cords working the way they should?
> All the stuff that might break because I don't have high speed data is no worse than lightning which never has high speed data*.
Is that the bar we set now? It’s no better than what came before?
> The purported goal is to “prevent ewaste”. How does it prevent ewaste if you still can’t depend on the cords working the way they should?
For charging, it's fine.
> Is that the bar we set now? It’s no better than what came before?
A charging standard shouldn't care about data except to avoid getting in the way, and it probably shouldn't mandate more expensive cables for devices that don't have data.
Also USB C supports more power than lightning.
But to directly answer: That bar is just fine, because the point is the make everyone use the same thing. It doesn't need to be better, it needs to be good and everyone the same.
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People just want to charge their phones. Maybe if someone actually cares about USB3 transfer speeds, they'll go buy the slightly more expensive cable for that. It's not like TVs even have USB-C.
And I don't think this reduces ewaste. It's about the same.
Thought experiment: grab a random “standard USB C” cable.
Now answer a few questions just by looking at it:
- what wattage does is supper?
- what data speed does it support?
- will it support video over USB C?
Why didn’t the EU in all of its technical brilliance at least attempt to come up with a minimum “standard”?
What wattage, enough to charge my phone. What speed, don't really care but it's at least the same as Lightning. Video, never used it.
EU wanted to break up Apple's proprietary control over the iPhone ports and create a charging standard, cause charging is the important part. Anyone can make a higher-spec USB-C cable without going to Apple, and chargers are uniform for all phones.
Worth repeating that I don't agree with the EU's law, just saying why they did it. Nobody in this thread has brought up the real con, which is that tech regulation hinders innovation, and the minor frustration with chargers wasn't a big enough problem to warrant that.
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