USB is kind of a physical standard. I have a few things like an alarm clock that uses USB, but I feel like the lower build quality is way more obvious than if it just had a wall wart.
The problem with calling USB a DC power standard is that it often doesn't work. I have a lot of trouble trying to charge my PS4 controller using random USB cables when it's attached to my PS4--I'm not even introducing an a/c adapter. I've had things like Qi chargers where I had an insufficient a/c adapter so they behaved poorly. If I'm at an airport and need a quick charge on my phone I'm definitely not going to use their USB port because if it works it'll likely charge slowly.
USB-c is worse with all of this. With a/c power it's only an issue when traveling to other countries and in many cases a physical adapter is good enough.
Slightly OT, but have you managed to actually find an acceptable quality USB power bank (PD/Type C or otherwise) that actually supports this "UPS mode" of operation? Most of the one I have tried cannot simultaneously output and input, or introduce a second of switching delay in between.
Some discussion about pass through charging on the Anker forum boards [1]. Pretty much everyone I know who carries a power bank only remembers to charge it at the same time they want to use it, so pass through charging capitalizes upon this consumer behavior to use the power banks more frequently.
The possible dark pattern I see operating instead is manufacturers are opting to ship power banks charged up to the retail shelves, and likely don't mind if people keep buying more new units because they can't wait for the units they already have to charge up?
I tend to keep all my gear plugged into chargers whenever I'm stationary because I know all of them have charge protection circuits and I have a work profile closer to that of a digital nomad than an office-worker, so I'm an outlier with that common consumer behavior of only charging when one must.
pfranz|6 years ago
The problem with calling USB a DC power standard is that it often doesn't work. I have a lot of trouble trying to charge my PS4 controller using random USB cables when it's attached to my PS4--I'm not even introducing an a/c adapter. I've had things like Qi chargers where I had an insufficient a/c adapter so they behaved poorly. If I'm at an airport and need a quick charge on my phone I'm definitely not going to use their USB port because if it works it'll likely charge slowly.
USB-c is worse with all of this. With a/c power it's only an issue when traveling to other countries and in many cases a physical adapter is good enough.
chendragon|6 years ago
yourapostasy|6 years ago
The possible dark pattern I see operating instead is manufacturers are opting to ship power banks charged up to the retail shelves, and likely don't mind if people keep buying more new units because they can't wait for the units they already have to charge up?
I tend to keep all my gear plugged into chargers whenever I'm stationary because I know all of them have charge protection circuits and I have a work profile closer to that of a digital nomad than an office-worker, so I'm an outlier with that common consumer behavior of only charging when one must.
[1] http://community.anker.com/t/any-powerbanks-that-allow-drain...
m463|6 years ago