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All new laptops must have USB-C to be sold in the European Union(EU) (www.rte.ie)
submitted 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) by to c/technology@lemmy.world
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EU rules on common chargers apply to laptops from today. It means that all new laptops sold in the European Union must now support USB-C charging.

In December 2024, the rules came into force for mobile phones, tablets, digital cameras, headphones, videogame consoles, and portable speakers.

Laptop manufacturers were given a longer lead in time to allow for redesign and transition to the common charging system.

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[–] 49 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (25 children)

The article doesn't mention the requirement's 100W limit.

Edit: Per reply, the regulation is designed with 240W accounted for, and updatable in case of further improvements to the standard.

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  • [–] 23 points 5 months ago (24 children)

    Glad you did, because I was gonna make a comment about how high end gaming laptops are now illegal in the EU.

    Not sure there's a 330w USB C going around I could use.

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  • [–] 32 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (5 children)

    The limit should really be 240W, because that's what the USB-C PD 3.1 spec goes up to.

    Edit: Per reply, the regulation is designed with 240W accounted for, and updatable in case of further improvements to the standard.

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  • [–] 1 point 5 months ago (3 children)

    When you make minimum requirements, you dont go for max. All laptops shouldnt be able to take 240W.

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  • [–] 13 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (2 children)

    Laptops can be rated for whichever power level the manufacturer prefers; USB-C PD is used between the power supply and device to negotiate the maximum power level allowed for by both, so a consumer that purchases a 100W or 240W cable and power supply could still use them with a lower-rated device.

    A 60W USB-C laptop can therefore stay at 60W without issue, but if a 240W laptop is produced, it should also be made to use USB-C under such a regulation.

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  • [–] 23 points 5 months ago

    Nope, still perfectly legal. Proprietary charging ports are allowed but have to be accompanied by a USB PD port that supports the same wattage (or 240 W if the device needs more than that).

    So basically the law says "devices must support USB PD", not "devices must only support USB PD".

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  • [–] 13 points 5 months ago (4 children)

    Gaming laptops can continue to use the typical barrel power connector on models that exceed 100 W of power

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  • [–] 2 points 5 months ago (3 children)

    Mines not a barrel either, big ol rectangle

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  • [–] 5 points 5 months ago*

    Even if they had left out that condition, I'm sure there would be ways around it for gaming laptops and they wouldn't necessarily even have to be stupid ways: I could imagine a stupid way of complying being a charging cable with USB-C for the first 100W and proprietary port for the other 200W+.

    Just because a law might say that it's got to be technically able to charge from USB-C probably doesn't imply that has to be the only charging port and method, nor even the normal/recommended one. Even on a 200W+ gaming laptop it would be nice sometimes to be able to charge it from USB-C, without pulling out the full charger. If mine supported USB-C charging I could see using it like that when I travel, I might only be using it for half an hour or an hour a day, the 100W would significantly extend the battery runtime, the rest of the time it could be sleeping or off and charging happily back to full from USB-C, so I wouldn't even need to bring the (literal) charging brick.

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  • [–] 4 points 5 months ago (4 children)

    Can't the provider just make two charging ports?

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  • [–] 9 points 5 months ago (1 child)

    They can.

    USB-C goes up to 240 W now and the law has been amended to acknowledge the new USB PD spec. Devices are also allowed to have proprietary charging ports but must include a USB-C port capable of showing the full power draw of the device (or 240 W of they need more than that).

    So a big gaming laptop might have a USB PD-capable port that supports 240 W and a barrel jack that supports 350 W.

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  • [–] 2 points 5 months ago (4 children)

    How big a niche is that - because when I think high end gaming a laptop has all sorts of trade offs to make anyway.

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  • [–] 7 points 5 months ago

    They sell more than you'd expect, tons of companies do them.

    The trade offs are high price and low battery, comparitavely.

    On the plus side, I have a easily movable PC that will run new games at ultra settings and it takes about 20s to fully pack up.

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  • [–] 1 point 5 months ago (2 children)

    Luggables are quite common for gamers who travel a lot. I can't take a tower into hotels easily, but most of my free gaming time is on the road. I know quite a few people with portable gaming systems.

    My current laptop is rocking a 4080, with a water cooling loop. It has to fall back to internal graphics when on battery. The batteries just can't provide the current required.

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  • [–] 3 points 5 months ago (1 child)

    The majority of my gaming is on the road too but I've found the Steam Deck hits that niche for me. I carry a thin Chromebook for work related things. Admittedly you don't need as powerful a GPU for a small 720p display.

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