As of last Monday, all of my daily-driver tech is finally on native USB-C. I cannot express how convenient this is without writing an entire essay. It’s like all of those clunky universal AC adapters from the 90’s but better in every conceivable way.
I just plugged my laptop charger into my phone and my phone charger into my laptop. Both were just like “okey-dokey! 👍 Charging.”
The only negative is that it’s still a little annoying checking specs to be sure the PD chargers support the full 5, 9, 12, 15, and 20 volt options as well as finding reliable vendors of 100W, e-marked cables. Hopefully that improves in the future.
Still, it’s better than carrying around discrete chargers for everything. My travel bag feels at least 5 pounds lighter.
If anyone can recommend any high-wattage 12-24v DC power-delivery adapters that can output 20v, please do (i.e. cigaratte-lighter plug style for a car). The best I’ve found so far is a 45w one that will charge my laptop, but only if it’s asleep or off.
You must log in or # to comment.
To add a little bit of solarpunk to this: I’m charging my battery stack via solar power with a dedicated USB c in/out slot. It is smart connector indeed.
Which panel do you have?
I have a Chinese brand, ordered from Hanoi, so nothing special. In fact, I’m still chasing connecting cables. A bit annoying.
Yup - I quite agree. I have a portable powerbank which will also charge gadgets using USB-PD. I fill it up from solar and use it when I’m out and about.
Even my eReader has USB-C. Makes going on holiday much more convenient.
What’s the significance of the different voltage options? Is there a downside beyond slow charging? I pretty much just plug in any USB-C device into any random USB-C charger, except for some higher wattage fast chargers for my phone.
For the most part, the different voltages aren’t a concern. However, I want to be able to charge my laptop which requires 20V. A lot of Power Delivery chargers that are designed for phones/tables will only output 15V at most, though usually only 9, 12, or whatever the spec is for Quick Charge.
Getting one that supports the full PD range makes it more universal.
Good to know, thanks! I think my Macbook is happy with whatever my regular chargers provide (I don’t always use the Mac charger), so yay?
I agree, USB-C is magic and I want it everywhere !
I have a USB-C hub at work and at home. When I arrive with my laptop I can just plug the USB-C and I have the screen, keyboard, mouse, power and Ethernet connected instantly. Same thing at home, where I’m sharing the desk with my wife. Whoever is using the desk just need to plug their laptop with the USB-C and that’s it !
Even better, one day I arrived at work and realized I forgot my laptop. No problem, I just plugged my smartphone on the hub AND IT WORKED ! I just had to do a remote desktop on our server from the phone and I could work for the day !
I discovered this point a few months ago. I left my laptop’s native power cable somewhere, and I was pretty concerned because I needed to use it. And someone plugged a USB-C in and I was like, “Wait, what? What did you just do?”
The guy explains that most laptops can charge using any ordinary USB-C cable. And I was just astounded. It’s so simple and intelligent. It’s like… maybe there is hope for our civilization after all.
