There was some discontent in last week’s poll – a lot of people really hate the idea of a port-less smartphone future. Quite a few believe the EU will block any such designs, but that may not be possible. The official post describes the rules like this:
All new cell phones, tablets, digital cameras, headphones and headsets, handheld video game consoles, and portable speakers, regardless of their manufacturer , e-readers, keyboards, mice, portable navigation systems, earbuds, and laptops that can be charged via a wired cable, operate at up to 23 watts, and must have a USB Type-C port .
All devices that support fast charging will now have the same charging speed, allowing users to charge their devices with any compatible charger Charge at the same speed.
The key part is this – Rechargeable via wired cable. That said, USB-C is not mandated in the EU, just that if a battery-operated device uses wired charging, it should. If a device only supports wireless charging, then it is subject to different rules.
As for the claim that the EU will bring back removable batteries on all smartphones, that’s not necessarily a hindrance either – the Galaxy S4, for example, and the S5 have removable batteries and wireless charging.
The EU also wants to regulate wireless charging, but its plans are as follows:
As wireless charging becomes more common, the European Commission must Harmonize interoperability requirements by the end of 2024 to avoid negative impacts on consumers and the environment. It would also get rid of the so-called technology “lock-in” effect, where consumers are dependent on a single manufacturer.
This further worries manufacturers that they are using proprietary technology to provide higher speeds than current Qi chargers. Apple, Samsung, and Google, for example, insist on Qi.
But that might not be enough, with a third of voters in the survey not convinced current wireless charging technology is up to par. That’s on par with the number of people who think wired charging will never go away.
They’re probably right, at least when talking about the smartphone market as a whole – some manufacturers still offer 3.5mm jacks for wired headsets (at least a couple of people in the comments said owning a headset ). Yet tens of millions of iPhones and tens of millions of Galaxy S phones are sold every quarter, as well as tens of millions of Bluetooth headsets. Small volume sales from a handful of brands are not enough to buck the trend.
There are also those who believe that portless is the inevitable future. They were divided into two groups, with those who were afraid of the idea being in the slightly larger group. Maybe they’ll show up, like most people do with bluetooth headphones.
What is the future? Tim Cook might be the only one who knows — if Apple only goes wireless, it won’t be long before other brands follow suit. Other brands probably have too much to lose by ditching the USB-C port, e.g. Samsung and Motorola don’t want to lose their desktop models, Xiaomi and Oppo don’t want to use their super fast charging (which is faster than the fastest wireless) , but maybe as technology develops they won’t have to.
2024
