5 ms·

> Using laptops the last decade, charging was such a pain: it’s a special charger in the first place, you can’t just borrow another brand’s cable lying around.

> Using laptops the last decade, charging was such a pain: it’s a special charger in the first place, you can’t just borrow another brand’s cable lying around. it's exactly the same now though. I have a dozen of USB-C cables and exactly one that can charge my higher-power devices reliably

EricE 5y ago
So get more higher quality cables and throw the other ones out? How is your lack of the proper cable when all you need to do is buy more of the right cables equivalent to a failure of the standard?!?
- albedoa 5y ago
  I have six opened jars of salsa in my fridge, and exactly one is not spoiled. This is a problem with salsa.
- boesboes 5y ago
  Because the standard allows for different quality cables? You get the cheapest possible cable for what they are selling you, so they are not really interchangeable. Not to speak of brand name devices that have usb-c ports but cannot be powered with usb-c chargers...
- jcelerier 5y ago
  I bought: - https://www.amazon.fr/gp/product/B08XNP4C2Z/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1 https://www.amazon.fr/gp/product/B08XNP4C2Z/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_... - https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0882V5Q8W/ref=pe_27091421_487030221_TE_dp_1 https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0882V5Q8W/ref=pe_27091421_48703022... - https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B081HQLMH4/ref=pe_27091421_487030221_TE_dp_1 https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B081HQLMH4/ref=pe_27091421_48703022... and I have issues with all of those. what else can I do ? how much is one supposed to put in to get good quality cables and hubs ? 200€ ? 500 ?
  - bin_bash 5y ago
    https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MLL82AM/A/usb-c-charge-cable-2-m https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MLL82AM/A/usb-c-charge-ca... $19 and can handle up to 96w. It's probably the only product that Apple offers as a bargain.
- lou1306 5y ago
  If the standard allows for "right" and "wrong" cables, then it is not a "successful" standard unless you stretch the definition of "success" almost beyond recognition.
bin_bash 5y ago
I can charge my phone, headphones, iPad, Oculus, and drone with my laptop charger. That's not worth nothing.
thebean11 5y ago
But that one cable can charge all of the devices reliably right? That's still a win over 5 different cables for 5 different devices.
- jcelerier 5y ago
  > But that one cable can charge all of the devices reliably right? no ! some charge at low speed, some at high speed, some don't even connect properly, some only allow keeping using the device while some others make the device think it's connected to a computer - it's a freaking pain
  - thebean11 5y ago
    Huh, that hasn't been my experience. The high spec USB PD cables I have seem to work with everything
- Brian_K_White 5y ago
  Not necessarily. The most sure-thing-do-everything cables are both expensive and short, like under 2 feet short. That is not an upgrade in any way from a simple cheap 2 conductor cord with a barrel connector. They carried any amount of current for dirt cheap, and with a 90 degree plug they even swivelled naturally making them practically break-proof without any fancy magnets and pogo pins. There is the same problem with the chargers, and it's not the case that the bigger more expensive more powerful charger can always handle all tasks. I have 65W laptop chargers that do work on my laptop, that my phone ignores. You know that old joke drawing of insering a usb plug and it doesn't go, user flips it over, doesn't go, user flips it over again goes this time? That's me trying different cables and chargers to get my google tv no to say the charger is not good enough. I can't use the charger and cable it came with since I need to add a usbc hub for ethernet and storage. These jacks and plugs all looking identical yet having wildly different function, features, & capacities is not really an upgrade from when different functions had different plugs.
makeitdouble 5y ago
To me that’s the beauty of it: you can still just pay for the highest cable and use that one and only, as a dedicated cable for your most power hungry device. Keeping the status quo doesn’t cost more, nor is less convenient. It’s up to each of us to decide what trade-offs we take, how we want to manage charging: buy cheap cables and find those who work, or throw money at the issue, or stick to specific brands (only by first party cables for instance), or take the time and effort to research the right cables. You just have more choice now.
Brian_K_White 5y ago
With the added joy that now all the different cables don't even look different any more. Same plug on everything. What an upgrade!

EricE 5y ago

So get more higher quality cables and throw the other ones out? How is your lack of the proper cable when all you need to do is buy more of the right cables equivalent to a failure of the standard?!?

albedoa 5y ago
I have six opened jars of salsa in my fridge, and exactly one is not spoiled. This is a problem with salsa.
boesboes 5y ago
Because the standard allows for different quality cables? You get the cheapest possible cable for what they are selling you, so they are not really interchangeable. Not to speak of brand name devices that have usb-c ports but cannot be powered with usb-c chargers...
jcelerier 5y ago
I bought: - https://www.amazon.fr/gp/product/B08XNP4C2Z/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1 https://www.amazon.fr/gp/product/B08XNP4C2Z/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_... - https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0882V5Q8W/ref=pe_27091421_487030221_TE_dp_1 https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0882V5Q8W/ref=pe_27091421_48703022... - https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B081HQLMH4/ref=pe_27091421_487030221_TE_dp_1 https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B081HQLMH4/ref=pe_27091421_48703022... and I have issues with all of those. what else can I do ? how much is one supposed to put in to get good quality cables and hubs ? 200€ ? 500 ?
- bin_bash 5y ago
  https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MLL82AM/A/usb-c-charge-cable-2-m https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MLL82AM/A/usb-c-charge-ca... $19 and can handle up to 96w. It's probably the only product that Apple offers as a bargain.
lou1306 5y ago
If the standard allows for "right" and "wrong" cables, then it is not a "successful" standard unless you stretch the definition of "success" almost beyond recognition.

bin_bash 5y ago

I can charge my phone, headphones, iPad, Oculus, and drone with my laptop charger. That's not worth nothing.

thebean11 5y ago

But that one cable can charge all of the devices reliably right? That's still a win over 5 different cables for 5 different devices.

jcelerier 5y ago
> But that one cable can charge all of the devices reliably right? no ! some charge at low speed, some at high speed, some don't even connect properly, some only allow keeping using the device while some others make the device think it's connected to a computer - it's a freaking pain
- thebean11 5y ago
  Huh, that hasn't been my experience. The high spec USB PD cables I have seem to work with everything
Brian_K_White 5y ago
Not necessarily. The most sure-thing-do-everything cables are both expensive and short, like under 2 feet short. That is not an upgrade in any way from a simple cheap 2 conductor cord with a barrel connector. They carried any amount of current for dirt cheap, and with a 90 degree plug they even swivelled naturally making them practically break-proof without any fancy magnets and pogo pins. There is the same problem with the chargers, and it's not the case that the bigger more expensive more powerful charger can always handle all tasks. I have 65W laptop chargers that do work on my laptop, that my phone ignores. You know that old joke drawing of insering a usb plug and it doesn't go, user flips it over, doesn't go, user flips it over again goes this time? That's me trying different cables and chargers to get my google tv no to say the charger is not good enough. I can't use the charger and cable it came with since I need to add a usbc hub for ethernet and storage. These jacks and plugs all looking identical yet having wildly different function, features, & capacities is not really an upgrade from when different functions had different plugs.

makeitdouble 5y ago

To me that’s the beauty of it: you can still just pay for the highest cable and use that one and only, as a dedicated cable for your most power hungry device. Keeping the status quo doesn’t cost more, nor is less convenient. It’s up to each of us to decide what trade-offs we take, how we want to manage charging: buy cheap cables and find those who work, or throw money at the issue, or stick to specific brands (only by first party cables for instance), or take the time and effort to research the right cables. You just have more choice now.

Brian_K_White 5y ago

With the added joy that now all the different cables don't even look different any more. Same plug on everything. What an upgrade!