Should all phones use the same charging cables?

I presume that it won’t be long before wireless charging replaces charging cables for phones. I had to replace my phone after Christmas – a month before it reached its sixth birthday. 🙁 It seems that the new on can be charged wirelessly. I will use the supplied charger and Lightning cable for the time being, and now have a spare charger and cable from the old phone.

Maybe mobile phones of the future won’t have charging sockets, but if would be worth making sure that all wireless phone chargers are interchangeable.

Oops. That was not intended as a reply to your post, Derek.

I presume that if you have decent USB-C phone and laptop chargers no damage will occur if they are accidentally swapped. The specification for USB-C is very complex and I have seen warnings that using substandard cables can cause damage to connected devices.

From what I’ve seen of wireless charging for iPhone 8’s, it has some downsides from a design perspective, e.g.

The charging pad has a similar are to the phone, so is not as compact as charging cable.

A cable is still needed, between the pad and its mains adaptor.

To enable efficient electromagnetic coupling, phone backs are now made of glass, so can fail and crack rather like phone screens .

Relative to an iPhone 6, an iPhone 8 is much harder to repair.

As far as I know, wireless charging is not as fast as using a cable and there will be energy losses.

Having had a look at the battery replacement procedure it certainly looks like fun, but Apple is not the only manufacturer that glues the screen in place these days.

I presume that a charging pad will generally remain in one place, so there is less risk of damage to the cable. It is amazing how many people unplug their charger by yanking at the cable. 🙁

The new phone is tucked away in a leather case that protects the front and back. Old-fashioned I know but it works.

If the same power supply is used in a less efficient manner, then I’d also expect wireless charging to take longer.

I also think wireless charging will be useful for intensive phone users, as their phones will need continual recharging.

From what I have read, wireless chargers don’t generally charge as fast as ordinary cable chargers. That’s partly down to reduced charging current and partly because of the heat produced, as in inductive coupling in a transformer.

A conventional phone charger has a DC output whereas a wireless charging pad is operating at very high frequency to improve coupling efficiency. I cannot find details of the power supplies used for the charging pads but would be surprised if they use conventional phone chargers. My phone’s thick leather case will protect the phone from damage but it may reduce the charge rate or even block wireless charging.

It looks as if phone manufacturers are going to standardise on one type of wireless charger – the Qi charger.

With wireless chargers operating at high frequency, there is the possibility of radio interference.

I think the original goal of being able to sell phones without chargers has not succeeded. Most, if not all, phones do indeed seem to come with chargers and cables.

One of the issues here is that, at least in theory, a cheap, sub-standard, charger might damage or degrade a phone, so it makes sense for manufacturers to supply a charger of a known acceptable quality for each phone.

I think the best way to minimise electronic waste would be for manufacturers to produce durable phones and then support them with easy availability of parts and software upgrades. For example, I think the iPhone 6 is a good example of a phone for which parts are readily available and for which repairs can be undertaken without specialist skills or equipment (etc.).

Normally I would agree with what you say, Alfa, but the problem is that many of the cheaper third party chargers are not safe: https://www.which.co.uk/news/2019/09/killer-chargers-travel-adaptors-and-power-banks-rife-on-online-marketplaces/ In addition to the risks mentioned, a dodgy charger can wreck a phone, resulting in more electronic waste. At least genuine chargers are safe and likely to be durable. If Apple would reduce the ridiculous prices for their phone chargers, fewer cheap ones would be sold.

Edit: I agree with the comments made by Derek.

I see your point as people naturally look for the cheapest.

The only way around that would be only phone manufacturers could sell charging cables. I can’t see that working either.

I doubt it but consider the motor industry, where third party parts approved by the manufacturer are cheaper and of equal quality to the OEM parts.

Where people complain about the cost of Apple and Samsung chargers I suggest they buy another well known but cheaper brand such as Belkin.

I normally think of Belkin as an expensive brand for phone accessories, but then I’m not an iPhone user.

I have bough a couple of 2nd hand iPhones for family members who suffer from that addiction – and even those cost me far more than I’ve ever spent on brand new phones for my own use.

I mentioned Belkin because it’s a well known brand that seems to produce decent products, which are often discounted. My Belkin phone charger is rarely needed to charge the phone but I use it to charge a sat-nav. Apple sells some Belkin products.

Roger, that is an interesting point.

As a general rule, UK mobile phone and tablet chargers are not fused, but almost all laptop chargers are. The one exception I have is the charger for my cheapo GeoBook 1 netbook. It is rated at 240VA on its mains side, with an output of 12V, 2A.

In homes that are festooned with cables and wires feeding electrical devices, any chargers plugged into fused extension leads will at least gain the protection of a fuse there (but usually only a 13A one). Otherwise the only protection will be upstream at the consumer unit.

Your comment also prompted me to check the rating of my monitor. It was, of course, only visible after the removal of the VGA plug and was 1.2A. As I usually use PC “kettle leads” interchangeablybetween PC’s and monitors, I’d normally want mine fused to cover either duty. Even so, I think 3A fuses ought to cover anything I currently own. I believe some of the more powerful digital convector heaters, er sorry gaming PC’s, need power supplies rated at 750W, so probably need 5A fuses.