I think wireless will eventually take over.
My biggest concern is really powerful laptops. Mine sometimes uses 250 watts when doing heavy photogrammetry, which is higher than even the new PD standard for USB-C.
Comment on The EU common charger : USB-C
recarsion@discuss.tchncs.de 10 months ago
This is great news, the only thing I’m wondering is what happens when USB-C becomes obsolete… or if it will ever be improved upon now that there’s a huge legal hurdle.
chiliedogg@lemmy.world 10 months ago
T156@lemmy.world 10 months ago
I’m not sure that wireless will. Induction charging a laptop at 250W seems like it could conceivably turn your laptop into a nice cooktop.
My biggest concern is really powerful laptops. Mine sometimes uses 250 watts when doing heavy photogrammetry, which is higher than even the new PD standard for USB-C.
At the same time, there’s a few years until then, and USB-PD is an actively evolving standard. It doesn’t seem implausible for the consortium to extend the standard for high power charging at some point in the next 2+ years, seeing as it was 100W not that long ago.
chiliedogg@lemmy.world 10 months ago
Oh, I don’t see wireless doing 300 watt performance laptops, no.
I’m sure they’ll push the standard as much as possible, but when it comes down to it the connectors can only handle so much current, and unless they make exceptions for exceptionally powerful devices, we’re going to have to start plugging in 2 power wires as performance laptops become increasingly power-hungry.
LukeMedia@lemmy.world 10 months ago
I responded to someone else, but I have a gaming laptop that needs the DC Barrel plug for playing games, but also lets you charge it with USB-C (useful for traveling). That would meet the standard set forth, as it is compatible with USB-C charging.
T156@lemmy.world 10 months ago
They’ll switch it again. They changed to USB-C from MicroUSB, no reason why the standard could not be updated as necessary.
i_r_n00b@lemmy.world 10 months ago
Right but MicroUSB was not enshrined into law as a standard like this.
Tbh I’m conflicted because on one hand it’s great to have a common standard, but on the other this might very well impede progress. Also does USBC even provide enough wattage to power a gaming laptop?
efstajas@lemmy.world 10 months ago
Which doesn’t mean that it can’t / won’t be changed. It’s in the EU’s best interest to update the law should the industry push for a new standard, so they will. Of course USB-C can and will be updated to handle newer protocol & charging specs over time, so it’ll be a long time before that’ll be necessary.
I really don’t see how it realistically could. Look at the history of mobile phones so far. Almost the entire industry standardized around USB on their own rather early, and deviations from this (e.g. Apple) only very briefly provided an actual consumer benefit before they became horrible nuisances and cash grabs. The industry has and will continue to develop improvements to the USB spec, and now thanks to this law no-one is allowed to deviate from the common standard anymore. It’s a win for everyone except companies that want to cash grab on proprietary bullshit.
It supplies up to 240 watts with USB-PD. The standard just says they need to be power-able via USB C though — it doesn’t forbid additional charging connectors (like Apple’s magsafe or the barrel jacks found often on gaming laptops).
LukeMedia@lemmy.world 10 months ago
Good point with that last bit, I have a gaming laptop that comes with a big DC Barrel plug and power brick, which is essentially needed for playing games. However, it also lets you charge with USB-C which is what I use when travelling/doing productive work. I see no reason why this approach can’t be applied more regularly, as it increases flexibility and maintains compatibility with the standard.
darn@lemmy.world 10 months ago
USB-PD is something that continues to evolve over time, so if usb-c doesn’t power a gaming laptop right now, they’ll make it work down the road