One upon a time, the concept behind a universal USB-C connector was so we could do exactly that.
Laptop? Phone? Camera?
America? Germany? Japan?
Power? Connect the to TV? Internet?
Wouldn’t matter anymore. USB-C to cover it all. Voltage high for the laptop, low for the camera, all available just the same in every country, universal. So yes, fill the airports and hotels with them. Use them for power and to play videos on the TV. Because we weren’t supposed to have to question the voltage or abilities of the ports and cables in use.
No one’s gonna buy a $30 cable rated for 100w and 120fps video to charge their phone. They’re gonna buy the $5 one at the gas station that’s only rated for low power charging.
No manufacturer is gonna put the hardware to safely deliver 100w in their phone charger. They’re gonna do the cheaper lower power option, and people already say the ones that do include this functionality are greedy price gougers for charging more than the $5 low power charger at the gas station.
How soon before manufacturers start stripping those high power delivering ports out of laptops because they raise the risk of permanent damage under a failure too high for the market/brand to bear?
It’s no fun to be laughing at the people who all wanted a usbc-only world and are now having to live in it but here we are.
Actually, that leads me to another point:
One upon a time, the concept behind a universal USB-C connector was so we could do exactly that.
Laptop? Phone? Camera? America? Germany? Japan? Power? Connect the to TV? Internet?
Wouldn’t matter anymore. USB-C to cover it all. Voltage high for the laptop, low for the camera, all available just the same in every country, universal. So yes, fill the airports and hotels with them. Use them for power and to play videos on the TV. Because we weren’t supposed to have to question the voltage or abilities of the ports and cables in use.
Did/will that future materialize?
It will never happen.
No one’s gonna buy a $30 cable rated for 100w and 120fps video to charge their phone. They’re gonna buy the $5 one at the gas station that’s only rated for low power charging.
No manufacturer is gonna put the hardware to safely deliver 100w in their phone charger. They’re gonna do the cheaper lower power option, and people already say the ones that do include this functionality are greedy price gougers for charging more than the $5 low power charger at the gas station.
How soon before manufacturers start stripping those high power delivering ports out of laptops because they raise the risk of permanent damage under a failure too high for the market/brand to bear?
It’s no fun to be laughing at the people who all wanted a usbc-only world and are now having to live in it but here we are.