Why aren't there any USB-C powered Bluetooth Headphones?
By @edent
· bluetooth gadgets NaBloPoMo USB · 3 comments · 250 words · read ~4,042 times.
Here's a weird market gap. Most modern phones use USB-C to charge. Increasingly, they forego a headphone jack in favour of using Bluetooth. Peachy!
But all of the Bluetooth headphones that I can find are charged via Micro USB. Which is bloody annoying! I want to charge my phone, laptop, camera, games console, and headphones from the same charger.
Even looking at the wholesalers on Ali Express - there are plenty of wired USB-C headphones, but an absolute dearth of wireless ones.
What gives? Do people with ultra-modern phones really want to carry around multiple charging cables? Are all the manufacturers waiting for a critical mass of phones before they change?
Perhaps they're all moving to Qi - the wireless charging standard? Nope! I would have though there would be some - literally all I can find is the £300 Parrot Zika cans.
To be fair, Qi is slow and does require a larger surface area than most earbuds will provide. Hmmm... I wonder if the physical size of the USB-C connector makes manufacturers reluctant to adopt it?
Back in 2009 I successfully switched to Micro USB for all my gadgets. It looks like this decade's switch is going to take a bit longer than expected...!
Mastodon
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
Reddit
HackerNews
Lobsters
Pocket
WhatsApp
Telegram
Abiatha says:
Are the chargers for all the things putting out the same power? My iPad and iPhone use different chargers (same cables, but different plug units) because the 10W charger for the iPad would damage the iPhone. The charger for my laptop needs a lot more juice than that. You could use a single low-power output for everything (like the USB out on the back of a desktop machine) but it would take a long time.
@edent says:
That's not how it works. Your iPad charger will not damage your iPhone. USB-C negotiates the power that the device requires. If a gadget only requires a 5W supply - that is all it will draw.
Oliver says:
Bluedio makes a rather acceptable set of overears named bluedio T4. Got them for 32€ off AliExpress. They charge with type C, sound quality is ok, the optional active noise cancellation is rubbish, but I wasn't expecting much at that price point.