Huawei had recently launched a survey regarding an upcoming product. It was a survey for a new wireless headphones, although, the part that caught our attention is the question regarding whether users thought that the USB Type C cable was required in the box.

In the survey, the Chinese tech giant asked the question regarding the charging habits of its userbase. This had the company state that users’ smartphone, tablet or electronic device is equipped with a Type C Charging port and arrives with a charging cable, but it also asked that “Do you think the Type-C charging cable in the wireless headset box is necessary.” This might be indicative of the company’s plans to soon remove the charging cable from future products as well, similar to Apple, and its recent decision to remove charging cables from its iPhone 12 lineup’s retail box.

Editor’s Pick: iQOO U3 with 90Hz display, Dimensity 800U, and 5,000mAh battery launched in China for 1,498 Yuan (~$229)

Notably, the Huawei FreeBuds Studio Wireless Headphones from the company arrives with a USB Type C charging cable in the box. However, its recent questions showcase that the company could soon change this practice. The survey also asks other questions like at what price range for the wireless headphones, does the user accept not receiving a Type C charging cable. Furthermore, it even asked if the box does not arrive with a charging cable, how much would it affect your intent of purchasing the product, as per an ITHome report.

Interestingly, the nature of the survey is quite similar to a recent Apple survey that we covered last week. In the Apple survey, the company asked if the user preferred Touch ID or Face ID on iPhones. A similar survey earlier this year is also what had the company decide not to ship EarPods and charging adapter with its 2020 iPhone lineup as well. So, we might soon see other companies like Huawei follow in the Cupertino based giant’s footsteps.

UP NEXT: OPPO showcases conceptual design of ‘music link’ accessories centered around TWS earphones

The post Huawei wireless headphones survey asks if the USB C cable in the box is necessary appeared first on Gizmochina.

I remember my Motorola Moto G (1st Gen) smartphone, which was released back in late 2013, didn’t come with a charger in the box. All that was in the box was the phone, charging/data cable, and the usual documents manufacturers ship with phones. Motorola’s decision to not ship the phone with a charger was to keep the price low.

Fast forward to 2020, and Apple’s new iPhone 12 lineup will not be coming with a charger and a pair of wired earphones. Apple’s reasons – customers already have these accessories, and the removal reduces e-waste and emissions. Apple’s decision to not include these accessories is not limited to the new iPhones but will also extend to new units of older models that it sells.

We expect more manufacturers to follow suit in the future even though they are currently making fun of Apple’s decision. Heck! it’s already happening as the LG G8X doesn’t ship with a charger anymore but Apple’s decision is not only a poor one but has terrible timing.

A poor decision combined with terrible timing 

Apple is shipping the new iPhones with a USB-C to Lightning cable which means that you need to have an adapter with a USB-C port. The thing is that Apple switched to the new cable just last year, starting with the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max (the iPhone 11 has a USB-A to lightning cable). While it did include a power adapter with a USB-C cable for the iPhone 11 Pro models, those who own previous iPhone models including the iPhone 11 have a USB-A power adapter.

What this means is that if these older iPhone users are picking up the new iPhone 12 series or models like the iPhone 11 that originally shipped with a different cable (now shipping with the USB-C to lightning cable), they will not be able to charge their new phones with the tens of USB-A adapters that Apple claims they have laying around their homes. The solution is to go out and buy a USB-C adapter from a third-party manufacturer or Apple’s own $20 charger. A typical case of Apple creating a problem and profiting from it!

USB-C chargers aren’t actually as common as Apple thinks. Last year’s Galaxy S10 series ships with a USB-A adapter and the same applies to OnePlus’s 2019 flagships and even its OnePlus 8 series. This is the case for a lot of phones released even in the past year.

If Apple sells 50 million iPhone 12 units, you can expect more than half of the buyers are going to purchase a USB-C adapter Apple didn’t include in the box. And a large percentage of these users will even buy their charger from Apple. If you are picking up the $39 MagSafe Charger, you will still have to grab a USB-C power adapter as it has a USB-C end and doesn’t come with an adapter.

So Apple is not reducing e-wastes and greenhouse gases with this decision to not include accessories in the box, as these chargers will still have to be made by them and third-party manufacturers to meet customers’ demand.

Give buyers the chance to choose if they want accessories or not

I am of the opinion that buyers should be able to decide if they want accessories or not when purchasing a phone. If a buyer is purchasing a new phone, the option to add accessories or not should be made available at checkout just as they would choose the configuration or color they want.

Buyers who do not want accessories should get a discount at checkout or store credit equivalent to the cost of the bundled accessories. This store credit can be used to purchase other accessories they actually need such as cases or even a wireless charger as the case may be.

Apple and other manufacturers can also create a way for buyers to donate some of the money saved to non-profit organizations protecting the planet. If buyers see they can actively contribute to making the world a better place, they will be inclined to skip on accessories they do not need.

Manufacturers can also use the data from buyers’ purchase behavior to then decide if accessories should be permanently removed depending on the region or if it should still be an option.

The option to ask for accessories is not new. In the US, Samsung doesn’t include its USB-C AKG earbuds in the box of the Galaxy Note 20 series but it does so in Europe. Samsung USA revealed that the decision was made due to the declining usage of wired earphones. While the SamMobile post says that American buyers can request for the AKG Earbuds when they purchase the phone, some of the comments in the post revealed they got a $30 promo code to use on the Samsung Store.

Apple’s intentions seem to be good but it could have been better implemented. We hope other manufacturers that plan to take a similar decision iron out the kinks before adopting.

UP NEXT: Apple ships the iPhone 12 series with Lightning EarPods in France

The post Opinion: Brands should Offer Phone Accessories as an Option at Checkout appeared first on Gizmochina.

Today, people from all walks of life travel with multiple devices, like their laptops, smartphones, wireless headphones and maybe even a tablet. And with all these devices, you have to carry around their respective chargers.

And imagine what happens when a couple of these devices or even all of them run out of charge around the same time. Even if you hunt down a working socket, it will take hours to charge all of your electronic devices, one by one. Personally I have been in this situation multiple times before and my power bank has often come to the rescue. But most power banks are slow to charge and can charge only two or maximum three devices simultaneously.

The solution to this problem is a travel charger with multiple ports. There are a number of options available in the market right now and you might have already heard about AMX chargers. AMX recently sent me a unit of the AMX XP-60 and the Infiniti X USB 3.1 Gen 2 cable for review and here are my thoughts.

First, let’s take a quick look at the key features of the two accessories.

AMX XP-60 PD Charger

• 1 x USB-C USB PD (Power Delivery) Port @ 45W
• 3 x USB-A Ports with @ Max 17W (5V x 3.4A)
• PPS 3.0 (Programmable Power Supply)
• Blue LED light (lights up when charging)
• BIS Certified
• AMX PROMISE: 12 MONTHS HASSLE-FREE WARRANTY. Reach Out To Them At support@amxlabs.in

The XP-60 comes with a matte-finish in a flat rectangular form factor. This might not be the best design for a charger because it takes up a significant chunk of your socket space when plugged in. To give you some perspective, it’s significantly wider than the stock OnePlus fast charger but a lot thinner.

AMX INFINITY X Type USB-C to C Cable (USB 3.1 Gen 2)

• Type-C to C cable
• 2 meters in length
• E-marker chip
• Supports USB PD up to 100W
• Up to 10Gbps data transfer (4K UHD transfer supported)

The Infinity X Type C to C cable comes with 16 cores of high gauge tinned copper wire with multiple sheathing which is further enclosed in a tinned copper foil. On the outside, the cable has a rubbery finish. The USB-C ends are elongated due to the eMarker chips inside. The wire looks pretty durable but honestly, I would be careful with the USB-C ends.

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AMX XP-60 Charging Experience

The AMX XP-60 travel charger delivers exactly what it claims. It’s perfect for charging a Macbook Pro and can even charge other USB PD supported laptops via its USB-C port.  Note that the original Macbook Pro charger tops up the laptop at 61W. However, the AMX XP-60 charger can charge the Macbook at a maximum of 45W. This means, the charger will be slightly slower than your stock Apple charger but the difference won’t be significant. In fact, the sheer convenience of having a single charger for your Macbook, smartphone, and even tablets makes it a really useful travel charger.

I have tried charging other USB-C laptops too, for example, the AMX XP-60 charger could top up the Dell Inspiron 14 5490 but at a slightly slower rate than the stock Dell charger. Basically, if you have a USB-C port on your laptop with USB-PD support, this charger will be able to charge it.

You can charge Your Smartphone Up to 45W too!

If you have a smartphone like the Galaxy Note 10+ which comes with a 25W stock charger, the AMX XP-60 will charge it at a much faster rate. Personally, I didn’t have the Note 10+ to test out the charging speed, but it charges my Pixel 2 XL at the same rate as my stock 18W charger.

Note that the charger supports Programmable Power Supply (PPS 3.0) – which is essential for some USB PD supported smartphones like the Note 10+. In addition to that, cables with an eMarker chip will ensure you have the fastest charging speed from your charger. So the combination of AMX XP-60 and the Infinity X cable should enable fast charging for most smartphones.

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Charging via the 3 USB-A Ports

Each of the three USB-A ports on the charger can charge up to 12W. But the total wattage from the three ports together cannot exceed 17W. So, on most occasions, if you are charging three devices together, note that your charging speed will be less than 10W per port. For recent Android devices, this can be quite slow. So don’t go around thinking that all of your devices will fast charge simultaneously.

However, this is a tradeoff with most travel chargers. In order to keep the charger compact, which is essential for its portability, manufacturers have to use shared circuitry, which means the total of 17W will have to be shared between the three USB-A ports. But the fact that you can charge three gadgets simultaneously at around 7-10W is a pretty big deal, especially if you are used to a 5W iPhone charger.

I tried charging two phones and a headphone via the three USB-A ports simultaneously. At no point did the charging speed on ports connected to the smartphones exceed 7W. As for the port with a headphone or a power bank, the maximum I could squeeze out was around 5W. This is slower than the charging speeds on my stock Pixel and Poco chargers, but I personally don’t mind the slower speeds as long as all of my devices are being charged simultaneously. In 30-40 minutes, the devices connected to the three USB-A ports had charged up to a reasonable level.

Also, the charger remains cool even when it’s powering up four devices simultaneously. So you don’t have to worry about overheating.

Pros & Cons: XP-60 Charger & Cable

• Compact & Portable design
• Works with almost all USB-PD enabled devices including Macbooks and Smartphones
• Charges 4 devices simultaneously, including a laptop or smartphone at 45W
• eMarked Cable with PPS 3.0 ensures fast USB-PD charging on most devices
• 2 meters cable length is super convenient 
• Remains cool even while charging 4 devices simultaneously

• The wider form factor and two pin design makes it tricky to plug it into some sockets (this issue is solved in the second-gen model)

Conclusion

As I mentioned above, for those who want a 45W USB PD fast charger which can simultaneously charge 3 other gadgets at around 10W, I would definitely recommend getting the AMX XP-60 travel charger! I personally have been using it daily for nearly a month now and I am pretty satisfied with the charger.

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Where can you buy it?

You can get the AMX XP-60 charger and Infinity X cable via its official website for Rs. 1,499 and Rs. 899 respectively. Or you can purchase both the accessories together from the website at Rs. 2299, wherein you save Rs. 100.

You can also get it via Amazon India for Rs. 2499.

The post AMX XP-60 Charger Review: A Well built, Fast USB PD Multi-port charger for laptops & smartphones appeared first on Gizmochina.