Comment by maccard | Hacker News Reader

Comment by maccard | Hacker News Reader

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> I don't know what you think we lost, but every type-C plug I could find in any household or office, always managed to charge my Android phone, just like micro-B before that.

if I show you a photo of two USB chargers, can you tell me which one will provide 5w to my phone and which will provide 15w?

Why do the two ports on my 45w USB adapter provide different wattages with no visible difference to them?

Why does my macbook have the same ports as my phone and iPad but not charge from them when using the almost identical charger to the one I'm supposed to use with it?

Why does my PS5 controller only charge to 2 out of 3 bars when using any/all of the adapters above?

> I think you're looking at other issues.

There are enough issues with where we've gotten to that didn't exist 5 years ago for me to be confident in saying we're going in the wrong direction. We've standardised _cables_, but the important part is the protocols, not the cable. I _want_ different cables for different protocols .

The output tends to be written on the USB charger, and beyond that lots of places label "power delivery" on special ports as well. You might have bought a badly designed USB adapter that doesn't label that, but that at least is fixable (hell, by you with a sticker!)

And of course you can choose to charge your macbook with an iPad charger, but (surprise I guess?) you won't get a lot of power because the thing is rated for lower rates.

But if we compare to the past.... everything USB-like was charging at 5W. I don't think you will find any USB-C cable + charger that doesn't do that. So things are _by definition_ not worse for that.

For your laptop.... you used to have a proprietary connector or a barrel connector. Now you have a USB-C connector. Now granted, the confusion around the cables and chargers is true! So... put a sticker on it. You now have a proprietary connector again, and things are the same as before.

You can pretend to be in the good old days, and have the nice surprise of added benefits when you need to be. This is a _mathematical proof_ that things are better if you use some colored tape.

PS: since you're only mentioning charging.... we did standardise the charging protocols. The cables are the same and the charging protocols are the same. Just if you buy a weaker charger it will output less.

>if I show you a photo of two USB chargers, can you tell me which one will provide 5w to my phone and which will provide 15w

Why? Did you also care about that with micro-B on Android? Or when using different wattage lightning chargers from Apple?

It's up to you to read the wattage on them an decide which one you want to use. Mobile tech has gotten more powerful and so have the chargers.

It's your responsibility to keep track of the chargers in your household, but the great part is, even if you don't and mix them up, they'll both charge your phone either way, just ar different speeds, and most likely any other low power type-C gadget in your household like your earbuds. You can't expect us to go back to having different plugs for different wattages just because you can't keep track of the different chargers you own. Devices and chargers are smart and they'll negociate the quickest and safest charging wattage regardless.

Since you're being obviously obtuse just to be snarky, I'll stop answering your questions as i think i provided enough arguments so far.

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