It looks like the new Google's Pixel 4 watch comes with yet another incompatible change in charging technology. This is a ridiculous situation. The original Pixel Watch used one type of wireless charging. Then the Pixel Watch 2 & 3 removed wireless charging and swapped to a different charging mechanism. And now the 4 has changed again. So three different charging cables in under three years.…
  • aion@lemmy.worldEnglish
    132·
    2 days ago

    I assume you mean having a USB-C port on the side of the watch. Having that port would allow water to get in to the case, the cradle-style charges used by smart watches allow the case to be sealed to prevent water damage. Even if you are careful about not wearing the watch when bathing, or in the rain, or in a pool, its unlikely you remove you watch every time you wash your hands or wash dishes.

      • TheFogan@programming.devEnglish
        14·
        2 days ago

        I think the better question is, why can’t wireless charging be more universal. We had decades of 500 different competing phone chargers. (as the famous XKCD comic https://xkcd.com/927/ ) mocks.

        yet we don’t seem to be getting anywhere near the idea of a universal wireless charge system.

        • MudMan@fedia.io
          11·
          2 days ago

          I mean, we are for phones. Qi2 is finally becoming more widespread, and the Qi1/Magsafe spec is quietly more compatible than its official support suggests.

          Why this doesn’t extend to watches and only partially to earbuds is a different question, but I at least the most likely devices to have wireless charging are getting there.

            • MudMan@fedia.io
              3·
              2 days ago

              You kind of are, it’s basically the same magnets+wireless combo Apple uses for their phones.

              I don’t know if you could use the same charger for a phone. Probably not. But it’s a cross-company standard, so the idea would be to do the same for watches, if the standard doesn’t include a watch option already (I haven’t looked into it, frankly).

              • mesa@piefed.socialOPEnglish
                2·
                2 days ago

                It would be a dream! And I imagine easier to repair as USB anything involves pushing and pulling a physical connector that will eventually break. It may take a long time, but anything that moves will eventually break.