what's the problem with the user using 5 individual small USB chargers versus a big one? :) This thread started with iamchp asking about "single multi-port USB

what's the problem with the user using 5 individual small USB chargers versus a big one? :) This thread started with iamchp asking about "single multi-port USB-C PD converters." The laptop should [...] accept whatever the supply can deliver. And both sides should renegotiate when available/needed power changes. If a laptop could say "I could use 240W but I can deal with 18W," a supply said "I can give you only 18W, but I'll let you know when I can give you 240W," and the laptop later said "you know what? Now I really need only 36W," then I think USB-PD would be good. My experience is the negotiation happens once, possibly days earlier, when the device is first plugged in. (By the way, it's not always the right product decision to include boosting circuitry from lower-voltage supplies. While a MacBook will charge from a 5-volt supply, you'll be sad when it dies during a critical work presentation even though it's charging, because the presentation needed more than 15 watts. It's a defensible product decision to require a minimum wattage, and thus effectively a minimum voltage, or refuse to charge.)