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The European Parliament (EP) just voted 582 to 40 to require one standard for chargers for all mobile phones. The EP cited the goals of reducing both frustration and electronic waste. The next step would be for the European Commission to draft a law and vote on it in July. Currently most of the industry uses micro-USB and is slowly adopting USB-C, however there are also phones using other connectors.
From the European Parliament resolution on a common charger for mobile radio equipment (2019/2983(RSP)):
1. Strongly stresses that there is an urgent need for EU regulatory action to reduce electronic waste, empower consumers to make sustainable choices, and allow them to fully participate in an efficient and well-functioning internal market;
2. Calls on the Commission to present and publish without further delay the results of the impact assessment on the introduction of a common charger for mobile telephones and other compatible devices with a view to proposing mandatory provisions;
3. Emphasises the need for a standard for a common charger for mobile radio equipment to be adopted as a matter of urgency in order to avoid further internal market fragmentation;
4. Calls, therefore, on the Commission to take action to introduce the common charger without any further delay by adopting the delegated act supplementing Directive 2014/53/EU on radio equipment defining a standard for a common charger for mobile phones and other small and medium-sized radio equipment by July 2020, or, if necessary, by adopting a legislative measure by July 2020 at the latest;
Earlier on SN:
The Dream Of A Common Charger Is Alive, Despite Apple's Complaining (2020)
European MEPs Back Single Charger Standard (2014)
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Sunday February 02 2020, @01:06AM (6 children)
If you have one of the older chromebooks (or laptops, for that matter), is there a way to make a little circuit board to convert/adapt those to charge via USB-C with the "Power Delivery" option, even if it charges really slowly?
If I'm planning to recharge my laptop/chromebook overnight, leave it plugged in most of the time, or bring it to only a handful of locations, taking advantage of a mass-produced charger's cost/ubiquity benefits would be pretty awesome.
(Score: 2) by ikanreed on Sunday February 02 2020, @01:27AM
Yeah, any hobbyist power supply kit should be possible to make do the job, but it won't look professional.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Sunday February 02 2020, @01:36AM (2 children)
Just get a new system. The charger on my previous one started to fail, so I picked up a Lenovo 100e that was superior in every way, less than $100, and has a USB-C charger.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Sunday February 02 2020, @01:42AM (1 child)
Black Friday special? They're a little pricier now. I'm also looking for these for other people and maybe for schools too.
(Score: 3, Informative) by takyon on Sunday February 02 2020, @01:58AM
Micro Center had them for $80 [slickdeals.net].
The new hotness is the $200 [slickdeals.net]-$300 [slickdeals.net] Motile from Walmart, which has received a lot of attention lately. I just checked, it doesn't use a USB-C charger.
Other interesting options can appear in the $100-$200 range, like laptops using AMD A6-9220C or Intel Pentium Silver N5000.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by Kymation on Sunday February 02 2020, @01:48AM (1 child)
Most modern phones charge from 5 Volts DC, so all you need is an adapter for the connector(s) you need to use. I charge Apple iPhones and Android devices that use USB C and Mini-A connectors from the same cable (Which is USB C). I bought an adapter kit that has all of these and more. Works well for all devices that I have. Of course I haven't tested this on every device ever made, so YMMV.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 02 2020, @11:58AM
Wrong! Apple has engineered in functionality to disable charging if the charger doesn't return the proper verification codes, which only Apple-branded chargers can do, because their device require properly certified iElectrons to work as intended.