Well, this is a bit of an ecologic disaster. It's another singe-use product that seems to contain a fully rechargeable lithium cell.
I can understand why they did it, since lithium ion cells have a very high energy density and are cheap to mass produce, but it still seems a terrible thing to make a disposable item that could be reused 1000 times if it had been designed around a standard power bank chip and fitted with a recharge socket.
On a plus note, for people like us it's a handy source of a decent capacity lithium cell for a low price on the high street. Note that this cell will be a typical low current cell and is not recommended for use in a high current drain application like a drone.
I have recharged the cell in one of these units completely without incident and believe them to be standard rechargeable cells, but as it's not specifically sold as being rechargeable the usual precautions should be taken when experimenting with lithium cells. the cell is bare and would require external overcharge protection.
It's interesting to note that the original manufacturer of these (Hopepower) also does a dual connector version that suits both Apple and Android devices, and does a very similar rechargeable version.
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Fun fact the new power chargers from Samsung and some other brands going back to USB-A which is also a disaster because newer phones are all USB-C standard so you need to buy new cable or adapters.
Only iPhone seems consistent, their new power chargers are all USB-C.
The whole situation is not entirely well thought out.
Since the power chargers are overall bigger I practical wait until some smart-ass abuses the site to put malware device into it.
Why is USB-A a bad choice in this situation? I feel like the connectors are more robust but maybe i’m wrong?
Also a lot of devices are still powered by USB-B, micro-USB or mini-USB and there’s an abundance of USB-A adapters to those. USB-C adapters are way more expensive and can’t be found everywhere (certainly not in your existing cables), so i think it makes sense.
EU enforced one standard for everything which was or is USB-C so newer devices must come with one design.
USB-C is easier to use and there is less chance of failure rate.
New charger usually come with adapters, this is why you maybe call it much more expensive, but in truth they are not more expensive to produce.
Problem is that USB-A is not designed for power-charging or fast charging, people will plug whatever fits in there and this can heat up your device pretty badly possible even causes damages if you buy products from china that are not really designed to handle 45W, instead they use cheap as possible materials that have no certification because the Chinese market has other standards.
USB-C is easier to use and there is less chance of failure rate
I’m wondering if you have more information on this. I’ve never seen USB-A cables go bad but i certainly have seen micro-USB/USB-C cables dying… but maybe i’m not representative.
this can heat up your device pretty badly possible even causes damages if you buy products from china that are not really designed to handle 45W
Well from what i understand this is also a problem with USB-C that not all cables are created equal and plenty of manufacturers try to save on materials?
Fun fact the new power chargers from Samsung and some other brands going back to USB-A which is also a disaster because newer phones are all USB-C standard so you need to buy new cable or adapters.
Only iPhone seems consistent, their new power chargers are all USB-C.
The whole situation is not entirely well thought out.
Since the power chargers are overall bigger I practical wait until some smart-ass abuses the site to put malware device into it.
No need to wait:
(there are lots more…)
Why is USB-A a bad choice in this situation? I feel like the connectors are more robust but maybe i’m wrong?
Also a lot of devices are still powered by USB-B, micro-USB or mini-USB and there’s an abundance of USB-A adapters to those. USB-C adapters are way more expensive and can’t be found everywhere (certainly not in your existing cables), so i think it makes sense.
I’m wondering if you have more information on this. I’ve never seen USB-A cables go bad but i certainly have seen micro-USB/USB-C cables dying… but maybe i’m not representative.
Well from what i understand this is also a problem with USB-C that not all cables are created equal and plenty of manufacturers try to save on materials?