9h ago

When something still uses micro USB in 2025

Ordered a set of rechargeable AA batteries and charger. They're well reviewed and a decent brand. Specifically wanted the charger since it has USB input rather than 120v so I could top the batteries off from my laptop / power bank as they'll be used for my wireless KB/mouse. The product description only said "USB input" and didn't specify what flavor. Being 2025, you expect USB-C.

Received them today, and they use micro USB input. Now I have to keep yet another cable in my bag. Day mildly ruined.

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Somewhat unrelated, but I recently realized, my micro USB devices have never "worn out" the way my USB-C devices have. I remember having to rig things up, just to get one last charge into my USB-C phone that stopped holding a connection to the charging cable. It actually made me nostalgic for the "plug it in, flip it, plug it in again, realize you still don't have it and flip it again" approach 🤷
- Hmm interesting. I work with a bunch of older machines that use micro USB. They are all going on 10 years without a broken port. But my phones USB C port broke recently at about 4 years in.
  
  My Pixel is going strong for 4 years and the USB-C port works like on day one. Comparing that to my old Samsung J7 which I also had for 4 years, that port struggled 3 years in. I think most of my microUSB devices had worn out ports after a year or two of charging.
I have a theory that somewhere in China there's a warehouse with a trillion of these damned things. Want to make a cheap product? Grab a truckload!
Just clip a few USB port adapters to the end of one of your cords. Standard travel bag gear.
- I have 4 of them, but they keep getting lost or semi-permanently attached to Raspberry Pis or ESP-32 boards. The rest of my micro-usb devices have largely been phased out.
Might be because the tech(charger) itself isn't updated for years. I still get micro sometime for some cheapo stuff, that's why i always have the cable on standby.
- Yep.
  Re-engineering is expensive, and so is the licensing of USB-C (along with the port cost, and revamping the manufacturing process, and sourcing, etc).
  The device would no longer be inexpensive, and it has no need of USB-C capability.
  There's lots more involved than just the port connector itself.
  
  and so is the licensing of USB-C
  Holup, they need licence to use it in their device?
- Probably, yeah. I was similarly disappointed when my Kobo came with micro USB, but considering I love everything else about it, I gave it a pass. That, and I typically only have to charge it once a month.
  I've got USB-C to micro adapters, but I've only got 4 of them and either keep losing them or they get semi-permanently installed to a Raspberry Pi or something.
- I keep one of those little adapters...dont need a whole cable.
- Also I have the impression that lifetime of products has increased again over the past decade or so.
  Still rocking my Sony ebook reader from 2011 and a Samsung Galaxy S5 as backup and Whatsapp handy. Both are using Micro USB, so I have a small cable with me anyways.
Plug USB-C in and return it as defective.
mini usb is superior
- I could not disagree more lol. Everyone likes to shit on micro USB, but of all the form factor I've used over the years. the mini connectors always seemed to wear out the fastest.
  
  okay yeah you're right. USB B for the win
- If USB-A and micro USB had a child.
I frequently have to deal with USB C, B mini and B micro, and assume that this will be for quite some time. Most USB using modules on the net still have B-style connectors.
I am using this charger https://www.liitokala.com.cn/charger/LiitoKala-Charger/324.html it is a few $ on AliExpress, it is USB-C and can basically charge anything, it exists in 1 channel or 4 channels too. For AA batteries I am using IKEA LADDA, made in Japan, by Eneloop.
There is a type of magnetic usb cable that is easy to switch between different USB standards, you can even have the micro USB tip always connected and just connect the cable when you need to, might be a good solution? That way you can have one cable and just buy a bunch of "tips"
get a cable with a dongle that is tethered to it, then you only have one cable with a silly thing hanging on it
- I have C->Micro adapters though they aren't tethered. I'm just spoiled by only carrying C cables in my bag and being able to just grab any cable without looking or digging (they're all 100W and video-capable except my 10ft one).
My headphones are at least 10 years old (August EP650), I'd highly recommend them if they didn't use micro USB. So does my portable mini-fan. Life ruined.
- https://www.amazon.com/USB-Adapter-Micro-Connector-High-Speed/dp/B0C9WR4TWP
You could be a boomer and just mash that gas station USB-C cable into the micro USB port anyway. “They just don’t make these new cables work like they used to.”

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