USA checking in.
Just bought a new USB-C charging beard trimmer on clearance.
Feels good, man.
Thamks if EU helped.
this post was submitted on 28 Dec 2024
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Now for those swappable batteries
And make all power tool batteries compatible.
That's actually the next goal
Including cars.
Drive in, swap non-proprietary batteries with an autoloader, drive out. Done.
This sounds great until you've had to repair an old car.
Everything rusts, warps, etc. The same things that make it hard to change your brakes will make it hard to change the battery pack, and you're expecting a robot to do it for you (and fast!).
There were companies built on this idea. I think they've all gone under at this point.
The things that seize do so because they are infrequently operated/removed so I don't see that being the main issue with this.
It still ain't happening any time soon though...
Aside from not having to charge I think the biggest benefit to this would be charging the packs off peak to even out grid load, or when there is excess solar etc.
Yes and no. No need to hot swap massive EV batteries. Rapid is fast enough. But yes so the EV can be upgraded. The batteries go obsolete quicker than they degrade. So make it so we can swap the batteries and keep the rest running. In fact, just right-to-repair the whole car. In fact, the whole everything!
Hot Swapping batteries is actually surprisingly good for the life of the battery if done well.
Rapid charging the battery does do permenant damage over time especially if you fast charge every time. Whereas if you can hot swap a battery and have a suitable stockpile of them you can trickle charge the battery over a couple of hours instead of 30 mins and prolong the overall lifespan of the battery. Even slowing down the charge rate to 1 hour reduces wear on the battery significantly. Plus, without time pressure from a customer, more time could be taken to replace damaged cells or blocks in a battery so that one pack will more effectively use the whole battery up instead of throwing away perfectly good cells.
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In fact, just right-to-repair the whole car. In fact, the whole everything!
Boy, that escalated quickly
But yes, please.
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That is something that I wish would come true. This would also open EVs to the industry in some new ways. Currently it kinda sucks if you have machines that have to be able to run the whole day without big interruptions. When you're able to just swap the batteries in like 5 Minutes this machines don't have to rely on fossil fuels that much and are open to be replaced by electric ones.
What I'm thinking about are machines like tractors for farming. During the summer it happens that they are running for 8+ hours without interruptions. Building a battery this big will be quite challengening. However, if you're able to swap out the batteries after like 2 hours and then continue with work you effectively solved one of the biggest problems with not that much of a hassle.
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Thx EU, glad to live here
Thx EU, I live in the the land of the fee but will benefit from you forcing apple to be compatible.
Don't buy Apple to be compatible.
Just don't buy apple
Don't buy Apple ~~to be compatible~~.
Couldn't agree more mate
I don't but my kids do and I'm forced to maintain their crap at work.
Does this law allow for any standards progression or is it USB-c forever?
Kudos to the EU, end the waste.
Can we bring back the charging as well, and not just the USB cable... Oh, and while you're at it, screws instead of glue, to replace batteries would be awesome.
Thx!
There's a rule coming into effect in 2027 that enforces user replaceable batteries for devices in the EU. https://www.pcmag.com/news/eu-smartphones-must-have-user-replaceable-batteries-by-2027
while 2027 is better than nothing, I still wonder why it took them so long. Glue in smartphones has been around for probably a decade now.
Also, I think, anything that has a battery, should be user replacable... even teeny-tiny earbuds.
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Eu once again doing more to improve my life than my own government (tax holiday).
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My only concern with this law, is that what happens when USBC is no longer the best option. Idk how to express what Iβm saying but what if USB-G ends up being 1000x as fast. Does this law allow for chargers to evolve and if so, how? I admit I havenβt looked into this but Iβve been wondering about it.
Iβm 99% wireless these days so I wouldnβt be surprised if chorded chargers are largely on their way out, but Iβm still curious.
Manufacturers are allowed to add supplementary charging standards on top of USB-C PD, and the commission is required to review the landscape every 5 years to see if a new technology is better than USB-C that should be adopted in the future
Awesome! I knew by commenting someone educated would come along. Thank you very much.
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USB-C doesn't have speeds, it's just a connector type. USB 1, 2, 3-3.2, 4 etc. is the protocol responsible for speed. You can have a USB-C connector with any implementation (except maybe USB 1). It can even do DisplayPort stuff.
So for USB-C to become irrelevant we need to come up with a better connector form factor. Which is unlikely to happen soon. But also, same thing happened with USB-B Micro connector (colloquially called micro USB), it was designated as a standard (but Apple managed to get an exemption) and manufacturers had no issues moving to a better connector, which is USB-C.
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The benefit is that by being standardized, there will be less proprietary cords and adapters. And the capability of USB-C should be adequate for sometime with the power and data transfer.
One issue, is that not all USBC cords are of the same quality. I found this recently when trying to find a cord that can be used for an external SSD, and video for a monitor. Some cords worked, the rest did not. All the cords could be used for charging, but after that, all bets are off.
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Praise the EU
With the iPhone 14 no longer being sold the specs of the rumored SE 2025 make a lot more sense.
While this is good news, the likes of Apple will still find ways to be "compliant" while still being total assholes about it. e.g. the device might charge with USB C but they'll gimp the data transfer rates on non-pro phones. And they'll do the same when mandates about repairability come in - all of a sudden the battery will have a bunch of expensive DRM'd up the ass circuitry attached to it that will cripple the phone if its not recognized or registered by one of their techs and means Apple can kill old phones by being "out of stock" of the battery.
This is absolutely true,however the EU has proven to be not someone you mess with. Apple has already tried shenanigans to stop side loading and got beaten by the EU to comply with the rules.
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Only suck it lightning. It still allows standard chargers like micro USB and mini USB
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