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IMHO everything that can be safely and reliably powered via a USB cable (of whatever a relevant standard connector type) should be powered that way nowadays (wi

IMHO everything that can be safely and reliably powered via a USB cable (of whatever a relevant standard connector type) should be powered that way nowadays (with exception of PoE and other cases where a non-USB power supply actually adds significant value for the consumer). An unpleasant surprise I have recently experienced was a Nintendo Switch refusing to connect to an HDMI TV without being attached to a Nintendo brand charger. I can hardly believe rendering to HDMI increases power consumption so much that this is necessary and there are no standard-conformant 3-rd party chargers which can handle that. IMHO such practices should be outlawed.

qqii 7y ago
DC jacks still have their use, especially in simpler devices. The complexities USB PD specification doesn't make that much sense to impliment in say an electric drill.
- qwerty456127 7y ago
  That qualifies as significant value for the consumer - making the device notably (relatively to the price of the rest of its parts) cheaper to produce and easier to repair. In just so many cases using a proprietary DC jack (like in my Dell laptop) decreases the value by forcing you to carry around your PSU wherever you go and buying overpriced replacements every now and then. The same applies to batteries - having a single (or some) standard for easily replaceable Li-Ion blocks would increase the value a lot.
johnwalkr 7y ago
Power consumption increases a lot for better graphics quality, depending on the game. And while I think it’s true that the switch is non-compliant or at least strange, it generally works if the power supply can provide 15V (somewhat uncommon).
kyriakos 7y ago
It's actually a different story with the Switch. Apparently it doesn't follow the USB specification correctly which means if you use a charger with higher power output than the expected it damages its battery whereas if the spec was followed the device negotiates it's power requirements with the charger and avoids any damage.

qqii 7y ago

DC jacks still have their use, especially in simpler devices. The complexities USB PD specification doesn't make that much sense to impliment in say an electric drill.

qwerty456127 7y ago
That qualifies as significant value for the consumer - making the device notably (relatively to the price of the rest of its parts) cheaper to produce and easier to repair. In just so many cases using a proprietary DC jack (like in my Dell laptop) decreases the value by forcing you to carry around your PSU wherever you go and buying overpriced replacements every now and then. The same applies to batteries - having a single (or some) standard for easily replaceable Li-Ion blocks would increase the value a lot.

johnwalkr 7y ago

Power consumption increases a lot for better graphics quality, depending on the game. And while I think it’s true that the switch is non-compliant or at least strange, it generally works if the power supply can provide 15V (somewhat uncommon).

kyriakos 7y ago

It's actually a different story with the Switch. Apparently it doesn't follow the USB specification correctly which means if you use a charger with higher power output than the expected it damages its battery whereas if the spec was followed the device negotiates it's power requirements with the charger and avoids any damage.