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Comment by tokamak-teapot | Hacker News Reader

I'm not sure they are clear what they are solving. The statement says:

"European consumers were frustrated long with multiple chargers piling up with every new device"

This was solved by companies no longer providing chargers with new devices. When you buy a new phone, you use your existing charger, only buying a new one when you actually need it.

If you buy a new iPhone, you get a cable that plugs into a USB-C charger.

If USB-C is mandated on the phone end:

    * I'll spend the next 20 years realising I have the wrong white phone charging cable with me
    * I still won't trust random USB-C cables
    * I still won't trust random USB-C chargers

But - let's just do it. Maybe in 40 years it'll have seemed worth it.

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> I'll spend the next 20 years realising I have the wrong white phone charging cable with me

> I still won't trust random USB-C cables

> I still won't trust random USB-C chargers

My answer to all three of these is the same: Why? My phone charges with every crappy USB cable and charger. Heck, my laptop will trickle charge [!] off a crappy cable on a crappy airline USB-C port.

There's one place where I'm very careful about USB-C: keeping the specific USB-C cables with my laptop with the chargers themselves, just in case I need the Thunderbolt capability. The TB monitor I bought has a specific cable that stays attached to it.

From looking on AliExpress the last few weeks, TB 100W cables appear to be getting commoditized. It's likely this worry I have about keeping laptop C cables straight won't be a big issue for much longer.

[!] Amusingly, my laptop won't actually charge off the _standard_ A/C plugs on most airplanes because the 100W charger blows a soft fuse that requires unplugging and replugging the A/C adapter!

> [!] Amusingly, my laptop won't actually charge off the _standard_ A/C plugs on most airplanes because the 100W charger blows a soft fuse that requires unplugging and replugging the A/C adapter!

To be fair, 100 W may not seem like a lot when you're used to plugging in to the national power grid, but it's a lot to ask for a non-essential system supplied by an off-grid generator shared by hundreds of passengers. And 100 W is the maximum allowance for In-Seat Power Support Systems according to the FAA, before any conversion losses in your power adapter; the actual amount available to you may be much less.

Oh yeah, that's totally fair. With a standard USB-C DC plug, however, the charger could negotiate a lower current and even provide power fairness across all seats to support the entire plane's load.

My point was really that even the most entrenched "standards" are all just leaky abstractions.

I’ll have the wrong cable with me because I’m just bad at having the right stuff with me anyway. Adding to my confusion is fine though. I’ll just buy particular colours or cable or put tags of them or something.

I don’t trust random cables to plug into my phone because I’m paranoid about getting hacked. I access some systems with sensitive data via my phone and I don’t want to be the route of compromise.

I don’t trust random chargers not to set my house on fire while I sleep, or - worse - fail to charge properly and I don’t have enough charge left to run the crossword app on my phone.

> If USB-C is mandated on the phone end:

ever heard of adaptors?

apple loves them and loves charging 29 dollars for them!

Perhaps the “problem” being solved is overcoming the logical resistance to politicians dictating technical decision?

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