There was a time when USB power adapters were new, when mobile devices used various cables. If you go far enough back, every phone had a different wall wart and connector. The start answer is that we have a standard, so in most cases no dedicated adapter must be purchased.
Now virtually every device, with the exception of Iphone, uses USB C. Almost all phones can simply be plugged in using any USB plug, which are increasing available. No adapter is needed. While the PD standard is not absolutely uniform
The EU forcing standards for cell phones has been one of the best things that has happened to the industry. Of course Apple is still in the corner with its own Lightning standard, getting past the EU mandate with bundling an adapter, but before this went into effect, basically every phone had a completely different charging cable. Some phones used their own flat-edge connectors like Apple's 30 pin, some had round connectors, some used oddball USB variants, one phone I saw even used the audio jack with additional contacts for charging through that. I still have a drawer with tons of chargers that are useless now and should be gotten rid of, but it is a monument to how things were. Back then, if you lost your phone charger, you could be out $50-$100.
The EU mandate has made it easier overall. MicroUSB, USB-C, and Lightning cables are available at every gas station and drug store, and one can buy a wall charger or 12 volt charger to go with it as well. A step up from that, and one can get a decent multi-port charger so one can charge their phone, laptop, tablet, earpieces, mouse, and other stuff.
One can even buy portable battery banks that will work well, where in the past, one would have to have an inverter, just to support that weird charger. Phone about to die on a camping trip? Pull out a battery bank, plug it in, let it charge, regardless of make/model, assuming the battery bank puts out enough amperage for the phone to feast on.
Of course, the next standard will be wireless charging, and I'm hoping that remains standardized and doesn't fragment, like Power over Ethernet has.
Yes (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Now virtually every device, with the exception of Iphone, uses USB C. Almost all phones can simply be plugged in using any USB plug, which are increasing available. No adapter is needed. While the PD standard is not absolutely uniform
Re: (Score:1)
You can thank the European Union [europa.eu] for that standardization effort.
Re: (Score:0)
Europe call it "standardisation"
Re:Yes (Score:2)
The EU forcing standards for cell phones has been one of the best things that has happened to the industry. Of course Apple is still in the corner with its own Lightning standard, getting past the EU mandate with bundling an adapter, but before this went into effect, basically every phone had a completely different charging cable. Some phones used their own flat-edge connectors like Apple's 30 pin, some had round connectors, some used oddball USB variants, one phone I saw even used the audio jack with additional contacts for charging through that. I still have a drawer with tons of chargers that are useless now and should be gotten rid of, but it is a monument to how things were. Back then, if you lost your phone charger, you could be out $50-$100.
The EU mandate has made it easier overall. MicroUSB, USB-C, and Lightning cables are available at every gas station and drug store, and one can buy a wall charger or 12 volt charger to go with it as well. A step up from that, and one can get a decent multi-port charger so one can charge their phone, laptop, tablet, earpieces, mouse, and other stuff.
One can even buy portable battery banks that will work well, where in the past, one would have to have an inverter, just to support that weird charger. Phone about to die on a camping trip? Pull out a battery bank, plug it in, let it charge, regardless of make/model, assuming the battery bank puts out enough amperage for the phone to feast on.
Of course, the next standard will be wireless charging, and I'm hoping that remains standardized and doesn't fragment, like Power over Ethernet has.