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High power (~100W) charging with USB-C has been a game changer for me. I barely even remember the days when every electronic device came with its own grotty lit
by caconym_ 4y ago
High power (~100W) charging with USB-C has been a game changer for me. I barely even remember the days when every electronic device came with its own grotty little power brick I had to keep track of and carry around with the device.
I guess time will tell how reliable USB-C connectors are, but my naive impression is that the female connectors (device side) are very simple with no springs or other moving parts. I imagine my nice USB-C chargers (mostly Apple) will be useful for as long as USB-C lasts as an active standard.
- fiddlerwoaroof 4y agoI’ve personally found usb-c ports aren’t great longevity wise. They have a similar issue as I had with micro-USB: they stop clamping onto the plug and then you don’t get a reliable connection. I’ve found Lightning ports more reliable (with periodic lint cleaning) but it’s a shame that it’s a proprietary standard.
- jewel 4y agoI've been using this magnetic USB-C adapter on my laptop to reduce the wear and tear on the port: https://a.co/d/4JCadfi https://a.co/d/4JCadfi. I've been using it since March with no complaints. It'd be great if manufacturers could standardize on something like this so that the port could be flush.
- GauntletWizard 4y agoThey can't; Apple has a patent on Magsafe.
- coldtea 4y agoSince they already make it and sell it, they can (standardize too). They just can't call it Magsafe (trademarked) or use the patented Magsafe design.
- GauntletWizard 4y agoJust because someone is doing something, doesn't mean anyone can do something without Apple filing a lawsuit. The small players are small enough to fly under the radar. A consortium standardizing would be a target.
- amelius 4y agoMagSafe is derived from a magnetic power connection that deep fat fryers used to keep dangerous accidents from happening in the kitchen
- sizzle 4y agoFirst time hearing this, super interesting. Got any links to read more on how this prevents a dangerous accident? What does it do to stop the accident, from sparking the oil and ignoring it if the cord is accidentally sheered and exposed?
- jdeibele 4y agohttps://www.cpsc.gov/Newsroom/News-Releases/2001/CPSC-Announces-New-Standard-for-Break-Away-Power-Cords-on-Electric-Deep-Fryers https://www.cpsc.gov/Newsroom/News-Releases/2001/CPSC-Announ...
- cout 4y agoLooks like the magsafe patent will expire in 3 years: https://patents.google.com/patent/US7311526B2/en https://patents.google.com/patent/US7311526B2/en Also lightning (the connector used in iphones starting in 2012) is different from magsafe (the connector used in macbooks starting in 2006).
- tmikaeld 4y agoWe bought a similar, “the last cable” and they all lost connection after the metal got worn down in a year. Yet they where supposedly the best of this type. There’s also been reports of fire due to friction and dirt
- jononor 4y agoFor micro USB, I have found that this is almost always because some dirt is trapped and packed in the bottom of the socket - preventing the cable from being inserted deep enough. Cleaning with a toothpick or similar has fixed it each time.
- hef19898 4y agoThis simple thimg, as easy it is after someone points it out, extebded my old Pixel 2s lige by, so far, another year.
- adrian_b 4y agoAccording to the standard, the USB Type-C connectors should have a much longer lifetime than the USB Type-A connectors or any other older USB connectors and also than most other kinds of connectors. IIRC, the USB Type-C connectors should survive at least 12000 insertion cycles. In practice, this does not seem to be true, so I assume that many USB Type-C connectors substitute the more expensive alloys and coatings that they should use for the metal contacts in order to achieve conformity with the standard with cheaper alloys, and this is not something that a normal user can check when buying a device.
- SergeAx 4y agoTry to clean up your port with a needle. I am doing this with my phone about once a year. It is almost 4 years old now, no reason to complain.
- copperx 4y agoExtra credit for being able to charge your laptop easily in the car. Before this, you needed either a power inverter or a special DC connector.
- vladvasiliu 4y agoAre cars starting to have USB-C PD connectors? The most "advanced" I've seen are wireless chargers. My dad's 2021 Toyota only has USB-A.
- glowingly 4y agoMy Thinkpad, depending on BIOS revision, will trickle charge from a 5V1A charger. Not great, but not horrible. I know Vaio used to advertise that as a feature.
- vladvasiliu 4y agoThat's a great feature. When I got a new HP laptop with USB-C charging a few years back, I hoped it would support that, too. It didn't. My current one doesn't, either.
- copperx 4y agoMy MacBook Air M1 can, although I only tested it with a 2.xA charger, not a 1A charger.
- dreamcompiler 4y agoMy Tesla 2021 ModelY came with 4 USB-C ports (plus one in the glove compartment which is only for the camera memory stick). They support PD but they only go up to 9V at about 25W, which seems pretty dumb for a car that contains a 75kWh battery. They'll recharge a laptop but slowly. Still, I'm glad they exist. The car has a two-phone Qi charger as well.