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Comment by thom_nic | Hacker News Reader

Minor gripe: Who thought it was a good idea to make a charger with a permanent cable attached? https://store.google.com/product/usb_c_charger

Also, does anyone have full specs? I don't see it anywhere.

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I agree that it's not a great idea, but I assume it has something to do with the abnormally high current that it can provide.

This is probably right.

They mention: "15W of power so you can charge your USB Type-C enabled phones and tablets quickly. Also works with large USB Type-C devices, like laptops.¹".

And the footnote: "¹Wattage is optimized for smaller devices, like phones and tablets. Larger devices, like laptops, will take longer to charge. Delivers maximum charge speed to Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P. Charge time depends on USB Type-C device. Larger devices, such as the Chromebook Pixel, will typically need more charge time with this adapter (Pixel estimated charge time is 5.6 hours at 15W with system off)."

So does that mean that normal USB A connector for some reason can't handle the current? That seems odd.

Yes, in fact. USB1 tops out at 2.1A, USB3 here is 3A. (Watts is volts times amps. 15W/5V = 3A)

USB Power Delivery chargers can deliver quite a lot more.

I'm only talking about the physical connector.

Well if you go by the spec then USB1 and USB2 can only deliver 0.5A. Apple seems to have settled as 2.1A as the most current you can run through a USB connector without getting it too hot.

The power delivery spec requires special cables but allows 5 amps over normal* type A connectors.

*except for a detection mechanism for higher-power cables

Not sure about the connector, but I have heard reports that some cheaper USB cables with thinner-gauge wires already cannot handle the current from some chargers that are on the market.

I can imagine USB-C only makes this more of a concern, since the USB Power Delivery spec allows up to 5 A @ 20 V.

That says nothing about a detachable cable.

That's a bad assumption and doesn't make any sense.

That's also probably true, but your comment lacks some kind of explanation for people like me who actually know nothing about electrical engineering and can only make reasonable guesses.

I'd love to hear what the reason is for not offering a detachable cable ("I don't know why they wouldn't offer a detachable cable" being a completely fair answer).

Nah, as another commenter mentioned, the dual version has normal, removable cables. So no idea why the single variant couldn't: https://store.google.com/product/usb_c_dual_port_charger

Funny how (other than current limit) the original iPhone charger cube is still like the gold standard for chargers.

https://store.google.com/product/usb_c_dual_port_charger

That's a pretty major gripe in my book. The beauty of the USB charger is that they continue to be useful when the standard changes to the next connector type. My USB chargers dutifully charge my regular (battery), mini (camera), and micro (phone) devices without protest.

Huh, I've actually been wanting something like this for my Macbook for travel (since the USB-C cable is charge-only anyways, it doesn't do me a lot of good for it to have two ends -- I'm not going to be plugging it into untrusted USB ports to charge anyways). Compactness is much more important to me. Will have to see what people say about the durability though.

EDIT: Of course, the wattage is too low, so no dice anyways.

Blackberry made one for their tablet. I picked up the charger for not much money on Amazon. I use it to charge my Android phone. It's a really nice charger with a long cable. It has enough output that Quickcharge likes it, too.

http://www.google.com/nexus/5x/

the us page has better information, for whatever reason.

Um...so you have a choice and lower price point?

Edit: The phone comes with both the charger you linked, and a type-c to type-c cable. No type-c to type-a cable however.

The 6p comes with that charger as well as a USB-C to C cable and a USB-C to A cable.

The 5x comes with that charger and a USB-C to C cable.

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