All devices now have chips that do a handshake with the charger, exchanging information about supported standards and charging using the best common option. So I charge my prohe with a 90W laptop charger, even when it is unable to use the whole wattage
The point is that it is unclear which USB C can do what.
What’s the solution here though? I am 100% unwilling to go back to non-compatible and separate chargers for electronics where not completely necessary. It’s awesome taking only my laptop charger with me and being able to charge all devices optimally with it.
At least thunderbolt you usually get an icon plus number. Though most devices don’t label the ports.
All the other USB standards are confusing as shit.
there are too many standards.
for most part, rather than all that mess, maybe just stamp the cable/port with max wattage and max speed. So rather than worry about what standard am I using, I just know what I have and what goes where.
I think the complaint is more about the ports on computers, and the answer is for manufacturers to label the ports and for users to read them.
That last part is admittedly hard for a lot of people (myself includes at times).
The issue is, that’s not even enough! For example, the Dell 120 W laptop charger only supports 5V/1A or 20V/6A output, so phones will mostly charge at 5W because they dont support 20V input. Then there’s all the different charging protocols… Oh boy.
I’m not sure how your example is “not even enough”? If the charger is labeled as only having a 5v/1A and a 20V/6A profile, then where is the problem?
The problem is that the average consumer will have no idea what those numbers mean. If it was as simple as “this charger can output up to X watt”, labeling would probably be fine, but as soon as it gets more complicated than that, you’re beyond what most of the population is able and/or willing to deal with
Well, I’m all for universally easy things and a consumer not being stressed, but if we really got to the “I don’t get basic numbers” territory, then go learn some school physics, and maybe that Volts is the pressure in the pipe, Amps is how fast the water flows through it, and Watts is just pressure times flow rate - it’s that simple. Go and fucking learn what is what, there’s enough information in my comment alone.
On the other hand, I have a USB-C charged laptop, but it only accepts one specific spec of 45w, and one specific spec for 60w. This means that 90% of usb-c chargers don’t work for it, including chargers that support 45w or 60w charging. This means that even if you buy a charger with the right wattage, its effectively random whether it will work or not.
You just note down the company who delivered the idiotic product: next time your options for purchase are narrower, but it narrow the chance to buy products badly designed.
Just because some companies sells USB butplugs it doesn’t mean USB standard is necessarily a pain in the ass overall.
I have a fucking thinkpad that does not follow the USB PD spec!
The thing has only type-c ports, the thing is relatively recent (2023), the thing accepts 140W via type-c, I never bothered to check the actual specs and assumed PD 3.1
Turned out that no, this is not PD, this works only via proprietary power brick that outputs 20v@6.75A, that I didn’t get as I already have a bajilion of PD 3.0/3.1 power supplies at home.
back of the device
We used to have time to eat serial, but now everything has to catch the bus.
