Thank God for the EU.
If Apple and the Americans had their way, each of those would use a different proprietary connector.
this post was submitted on 21 Feb 2026
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Yes, Americans famously love having dozens of different chargers and cables to manage
They love letting their companies do so.
The reason we should thank the EU is because of this rule. While I cannot guarantee this rule is responsible, the fact that it's mandated means it's significantly more economically viable to use the same connector across all regions (including America), and so this rule is the primary factor in the standardization of charging cables.
I know why we have the EU to thank .
If Apple and the Americans had their way, each of those would use a different proprietary connector.
Americans don't want proprietary connectors. We're happy to get USB-C, too.
Ah, I misunderstood. I conflated "Americans" (lawmakers) and "Americans" (everyone else).
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It doesn't matter what they love in that regard, because they are incapable of making companies do things that help consumers or the environment
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I'm going to add Sony to this list.
100%.
Sony has continuously sought to make money on licensing royalties for proprietary formats whenever they can.
Oh, there are vanishingly few hardware vendors I hate with a greater burning passion than Sony. Over the span of literal decades, Sony has consistently and systematically found so many ways to piss me off that I will never give them another red cent so long as I live. I will happily pay slightly more money for a slightly inferior version of whatever gadget from somebody else rather than deal with Sony's bullshit.
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+1 for european regulations.
You get hit by a driverless taxi. The monkey paw curls one finger towards its palm.
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🇪🇺🇪🇺🇪🇺
The Samsung Galaxy?
iPhone. The title is a reference to the opening of Super Metroid.
Yeah, I was trying to be funny. Obviously not succeeding.
How the hell did Samus create peace throughout an entire galaxy by capturing metroids? Surely there are other things to worry about.
I'm still waiting for my EV to charge with USB-C
USB-C can only draw 6.5A of current, and even that has its issues if the user suddenly unplugs. It'd be great for a trickle charge, but the pins are just too dinky to carry kilowatt levels of power, physics gets in the way.
shakes fist at cloud Damn you physics!
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I just got an aftermarket multiport charger that supplies the voltage I need, and some handmade cables that also fit the spec and now I can have my VR headset actually charge while in use and not just while sitting turned off on the shelf while my phone and vape can fast charge at the same time.
Now enjoy the power brick roulette. My work laptop charger (dell) won't do anything more than trickle charge anything else (other than my girlfriend's Mac?!). I had to buy a new brick to get something that appears to charge everything at each devices rated speed.
Being able to charge a laptop from my monitor using the same cable that handles the display output and peripherals is cool though! (But that DOESN'T work on a Mac.... It won't pass the keyboard through!)
"Standards"!
I bought a very small 100w Anker charger that works on everything USB c so far. I don't carry my dell one anymore.
And then there's dumb devices like flashlights that may not have the resistor that negotiates a basic rate with C ports, barring it from charging. A-C cables work because they still allow 500mA without negotiation
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I just bought a more beefy laptop and it has a special charger cable because it's 170W :(
USB PD now supports up to 230W so thats on the manufacturerer being lazy, or the design having elements that are a few years old, since PD recently got that update.
I'm guessing its a lenovo, 170W is one of their bigger bricks.
But the next laptop you have might use the same charger as your ebike, so there's that.
The spec supports 240W, and there are lots of cables rated at that, but there are still no chargers on the market that can hit 240W.
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Now do yourself a favor and buy a good quality cable thats at least 10ft long and rated for 240W. The feeling of having one cable that can charge any of your devices from any seat on your couch is incredible.
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My laptop takes 300w to charge. We aren’t quite there yet with USB-C. It will trickle charge off USB-C though.
Edit: It’s a 16in Lenovo Legion from 2023.
Jesus Christ
This.
Original commenter: are you using a blender as a laptop?
Blender can be used on a laptop, too. Y'know, the other one.
I think your laptop may actually be a Mars rover.
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