Samsung Plans To Ditch Power Adapters Just 3 Months After Mocking Apple Over the Same (9to5mac.com) 134
Right after the Apple event in October, Samsung mocked the company for not including the power adapter in the iPhone 12 box and also removing it from the older models. Now, as some rumors have predicted, the Galaxy S21's documentation suggests that it will also not come with a charger included in the box. 9to5Mac reports: As reported by Brazilian website Tecnoblog, the new Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21+, and Galaxy S21 Ultra have just been approved by ANATEL in Brazil, which is the equivalent agency to the FCC in the United States. The new devices have the codenames SM-G991B/DS, SM-G996B/DS, and SM-G998B/DS, respectively. While the documentation filed at ANATEL doesn't reveal much detail about upcoming Galaxy smartphones, it does reveal a noteworthy change in the lineup of Samsung's phones for the next year. ANATEL says that all three new Galaxy S21 models will not have a charger included in the box. Headphones will not be included either.
Mmmmm ... (Score:2)
Samsung Plans To Ditch Power Adapters Just 3 Months After Mocking Apple Over the Same
Mmmmm ... ***Schadenfreude***
Re:Mmmmm ... (Score:5, Informative)
Classic Samsung:
- The made phones without a removable battery after mocking Apple for not having a removable battery
- They removed the headphone jack after mocking Apple for removing the headphone jack
- And now, the charger
Re:Mmmmm ... (Score:5, Informative)
It's normative culture across East Asia. When someone is successful doing something, you do the same something but try to do it better. Like how you'll see entire streets of electronic shops, or specific kinds of cafes. One person starts a business, is successful, people see he's successful and open the same business right next to it.
You can see this in Japan, South Korea and both Chinas.
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Not really. Its a classic strategy move taught equally be eastern and western management courses: Offer competitor's customers asylum, and then screw them when they have no one left to turn to.
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In Western circles, it's the exact opposite. You're encouraged to open a similar business elsewhere, where there's less competition so your start is easier.
You can see this in 50 center posting below as AC, confused as to how it can be done differently.
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so your start is easier
Sorry are you a silicon valley kid? The USA is not made of startups and we're not talking about new markets, and even if we were that doesn't actually change anything. A business can't use the same strategy for its entire life. What you do entering a market is very different from what you do in active competition.
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It would be good if you tried to interact with the point being talked about, rather than go on a strange tangent on a completely different topic with zero interaction.
It makes discussion impossible, because there's simply no logical connection between the two.
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They actually didn't. Early on, competition between SV and Boston for starting point was massive. However as IT is overwhelmingly East Asian in terms of its top talent, they behave in culturally appropriate ways.
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~Luckyo
You can see this in Japan, South Korea and both Chinas.
In Western circles, it's the exact opposite.
~Luckyo
I first saw what you're describing in California along commercially zoned streets parallel to tourist zones and typically owned by the same proprietors. Your description also applies to the wildly famous streets and districts known for fashion in London and NY on which foot traffic is prevalent. Any assertion that imitation and mirror neurons are specific to culture and not human behavior is selective in its illustration. What you "saw" as a pattern in a developing economy is one I can assert can be "seen"
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Remind yourself, which cultures sit on the opposite side of the ocean from California, resulting in significant immigration?
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Definitely a SE asian thing. It's not like that row of five flower shops exists down the street from me. Or every fast food joint is basically the same thing. Or every web site is now a "social media" site, and has a "stories" feature.
Interesting question though: do companies in other places copy the Canadian telecom strategy of buying or creating alternate brands so people who hate them can still be their customers while pretending they're not?
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Where do you live? Canada has a massive Chinese diaspora that acts in a culturally appropriate way.
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The flower shops are Italians. The burger joints are American, as are the social media sites. The telecoms are Canadian.
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You appear to confuse ethnicity with culture. One of the main reasons why two North American states are as successful is the mixing of cultures that enables at best extraction of best qualities from each culture.
And at worst, extraction of worst parts.
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It's normative culture across East Asia. When someone is successful doing something, you do the same something but try to do it better. Like how you'll see entire streets of electronic shops, or specific kinds of cafes. One person starts a business, is successful, people see he's successful and open the same business right next to it.
You can see this in Japan, South Korea and both Chinas.
And it's annoying as hell. If you need multiple items you'll have to criss-cross the town to get all the things you need. Oh you need a pre-paid SIM, that's over at Akibahara. Why can't I just grab it at 7/11 that's at every corner? Oh now you want a nice sweater made in Japan, that's over at the Ginza District.
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But on the other hand, you can get specialist items and incredible selection.
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It's normative culture across East Asia. When someone is successful doing something, you do the same something but try to do it better.
So what you're saying is that not only will Samsung's phone boxes be devoid of a charger, they will actually contain a tiny black hole where the charger used to be? :)
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I've watched enough anime to know that black holes and other portals are a thing that appears mostly in Tokyo. So I think that would be Sony's phone boxes.
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This isn't classic Samsung as much as it is classic PR, not even limited to the tech sector. Apple is very much guilty of the same, as are all other companies. It follows this pattern:
1. You and your competitor are neck in neck competition wise with a similar featured product.
2. Competitor announces a change that may not be received well by some people, usually the removing of a feature (rarely the addition, though sometimes the mocking goes to the specification level such as mocking OLED screen brightness)
Re: Mmmmm ... (Score:2)
Though with Samsung they do it often enough that they do look like copycats. I mean I donâ(TM)t even know why they want to pretend otherwise. They did it from the moment the first iPhone came into the market.
Donâ(TM)t get me wrong, I am happy Samsung is in the Android market, otherwise there wouldnâ(TM)t be any decent Android devices to be proud of. Yes, there may have been a generation with a little fire issue, but they have been keeping Apple on their toes.
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Samsung, at least their phone business, is a pretty classic clone maker.
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I mean I donâ(TM)t even know why they want to pretend otherwise.
??? I'm not sure why you think they pretend otherwise. I mean I've never seen them (or any other company) attempt to address someone who has called out this kind of hypocrisy.
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Not ANY of them are made by Samsung
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It's a business strategy and one that it taught in every business degree
Indeed. This is the most important thing they teach you in business school: Sociopathy and complete amorality are at the core of every successful business.
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Sounds like they're just surprised people are so fucking stupid and keep going along with this bullshit.
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I suspect they're not too surprised. Not really.
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I think these are last ditch attempts to see if such an action is the "Last Straw" for Apple users. However by this point now, the number of Apple to Android and Android to Apple switchers are more of less constant. So doing such probably will get such a small number of switchers, that it probably realized it wasn't worth the effort. Then they follow what Apple Did themselves, because Apple isn't stupid and if they are able to save a few pennies per unit than they are at a much bigger advantage.
Re: Mmmmm ... (Score:2)
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A company adopting cost cutting measures implemented successfully by a competitor ?? unthinkable.
yeah there's nothing strange about that, and it's our fault as users for accepting what apple dishes....
OFC the other manufacturers will follow.
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Do you actually need another USB charger? I have a dedicated 4 port usb fast charger, spare usb chargers from old devices, computers with USB ports and electric outlets with USB charger ports.
I'm quite happy for new devices not to give me a charger which is instant waste.
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As someone who doesn't yet own anything with USB-C, if I was to buy a new phone - yes, I actually would need a charger.
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Nope, you just need USB-C on one end of the lead and all the old chargers will work.
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Mmmmm ... ***Schadenfreude***
Not at all.
Pretty soon it'll be "Warranty void if you didn't use the official charger!".
How much is the official charger? Reassuringly expensive. You wouldn't want cheap-ass electrons in your expensive new phone, right?
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Pretty soon it'll be "Warranty void if you didn't use the official charger!".
That doesn't fly in any western country I know of. What you _can_ do is to say "Warranty void if your phone was damaged by something other than the official charger".
idiotic nonsense (Score:5, Funny)
Re:idiotic nonsense (Score:5, Insightful)
A device that shoots high energy microwaves
Wireless chargers operate around 100 kHz. Microwaves are GHz range.
so rich people can feel futuristic by magical wireless energy.
Yeah. Rich people who can afford an extra 2 cents a month in electricity. Whatever.
Poor people (Score:5, Funny)
so rich people can feel futuristic by magical wireless energy.
and so Samsung can boast they help poor people, as they reduced its price: by reducing the size and weight of packaging and remove a non-essential(*) item from the box. This enabled whooping whole EUR -0.05 price reduction.
--
(*): defined as "most people already have one or two(**) USB-C chargers at the bottom of a drawer"
--
(**): defined as "actually at least ten chargers, of which at least six have the wrong type connector (including micro-, mini- USB and a couple of barrel(***) plugs), at least five use the wrong power-negociating protocol (Fastcharge vs. quickcharge vs. PD), at least four have the wrong power output (include an old 0.400A that actually *drains* a modern smartphone faster), and at least seven have their cable so worn out that they'll only work with two rolls of duck-tape wrapped around them and only if the cable near the USB plug is twisted in just the exact right 4-dimensionnal moebius twist", pray that at least one has the correct combination to actually work with the phone.
---
(***): which includes that pesky barrel plug (of your old Nokia 3310), that you still haven't found a way to take out(****) of its plastic clamshell packaging.
---
(****): Somehow said Nokia 3310 is still at the bottom of this drawer, it's battery still at 40% charge.
Re: Poor people (Score:2)
That.
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(****): Somehow said Nokia 3310 is still at the bottom of this drawer, it's battery still at 40% charge.
I'm still using my Nokia as, unsurprisingly, my mobile phone. The (original) battery lasts a week or two, depending on my usage.
Living decades in the past is surprisingly 'liberating'.
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That's what I need. A device that shoot high energy microwaves into the air blindly at a 90% efficiency loss so rich people can feel carcinogenic by magical wireless energy.
Fixed that for you. ;)
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That's what I need. A device that shoot high energy microwaves into the air blindly at a 90% efficiency loss so rich people can feel futuristic by magical wireless energy.
If you refer to so-called "wireless" charging, that's about the most stupid thing going on. On an iPhone 12, you first need a USB-C charger to plug into the wall because "wireless" charging doesn't work without that. Then you plug a cable into the charger with a magnet that attaches to your phone, instead of a cable that you plug into the charger and the phone. So the _only_ difference is that the second cable is attached to your phone via a magnet, and not plugged in. The "wireless" distance is about 6-7mm
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I had a wireless charger for a previous Samsung phone. It only worked properly when the phone was carefully situated and aligned on the charger. I eventually came up with an idea to build an enclosure for the thing, so the wireless pad would be held in a little frame and the phone would also fit into the frame so it lined up just right.
Before I built it, I realized I could improve the whole thing by just setting it up so the cord that went into the charging pad went into the phone instead. And then I realiz
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They should make smartphones that can be charged in a microwave oven! Lets one charge a phone while heating up a "TV dinner for one", or whatever mum cooked yesterday.
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When does this approach start making sense? (Score:5, Insightful)
I have four power adapters for Samsung smartphones, although some have different amperage specs for different generations of phone. If a new phone would come with the same specs as its predecessor, no - do not need, save the money. My suspicion is that, no - this is not the case, and I'm going to have to buy a new charger.
Do they at least tell you what the new device needs? In the reviews? On the packaging? I don't want to get home and then realise I have to go back to the store (or Amazon) to buy something they used to supply in the first place.
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some have different amperage specs for different generations of phone.
You can use the old adapters with the new phones. They will just be a tad slower.
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You need an USB-C charger though, which many people don't have.
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I do not need a USB-C charger to charge my phone. A cable is not a charger.
I live outside of London. I use a charger that is compatible with the local mains power and a Qi wireless charging pad. You may have different needs depending on where you are, where you go, and how you use your phone.
The generic chargers that all manufacturers have "thrown in" have never been well suited for everyone's needs.
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There was a time when Slashdot users could be expected to know the difference between a plug spec and a switch mode power supply unit.
Now they gleefully trumpet their ignorance.
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You need an USB-C charger though, which many people don't have.
I don't know about Samsung, but the iPhone 12 works with either USB-A or USB-C charger. If it is an Apple USB-A charger then it knows about negotiating power with an iPhone so it will charge as fast as it can; I suppose Samsung USB-A chargers know how to negotiate power with any Samsung phone.
Anker makes a very nice 5 port charger; I have the one with one 30 Watt USB-C port and four USB-A ports that know how to negotiate with anything. You just need the right cable for each phone. And the USB-A ports cha
Re: When does this approach start making sense? (Score:2)
And you can use old computers with slower RAM, physical spinning hard drives, and ancient video cards, but who, aside from the very poor and Linux enthusiasts (hi guys) would do such a thing?
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And you can use old computers with slower RAM, physical spinning hard drives, and ancient video cards, but who, aside from the very poor and Linux enthusiasts (hi guys) would do such a thing?
People charge their phones overnight. Two hours or six hours makes no difference. Not enough difference to pay for it, anyway. As someone much richer than me said: "My kids have rich parents. I don't. "
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some have different amperage specs for different generations of phone.
You can use the old adapters with the new phones. They will just be a tad slower.
Slower than the one they don't give you?
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I have four power adapters for Samsung smartphones, although some have different amperage specs for different generations of phone. If a new phone would come with the same specs as its predecessor, no - do not need, save the money. My suspicion is that, no - this is not the case, and I'm going to have to buy a new charger. Do they at least tell you what the new device needs? In the reviews? On the packaging? I don't want to get home and then realise I have to go back to the store (or Amazon) to buy something they used to supply in the first place.
The approach sadly makes complete sense when you look at it through they eyes of Greed, which is the only way they see it.
Apple advertises their phones as having some level of IPxx dust/water resistance, but also uses humidity sensors that they abuse to not honor warranty claims.
Soon [every vendor] will advertise their phones as having super-charge-speed-battery-life, but will also not include any official charging device, which they will most likely abuse to not honor warranty claims.
(It'll practically b
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Apple advertises their phones as having some level of IPxx dust/water resistance, but also uses humidity sensors that they abuse to not honor warranty claims.
I'm honestly asking, why is it so terrible for Apple to say:
a) we've made a phone that is considerably more likely to survive being dropped in water but also b) warranty does not cover water damage
I mean to use the age old car metaphor, manufacturers have made huge progress in creating break resistant window glass for cars but your car warranty absolutely does not cover broken glass.
While I see your point, you probably picked the single worst example in car analogies from the consumer perspective, since damn near every insurance company will replace your windshield at least once, for free.
Apples issue is specifically advertising a feature of their phones that they (allegedly) refuse to offer any kind of warranty service. In the car world, this would be akin to advertising a transmission warranty, but then immediately voiding it because you actually used your transmission and put the
Re:When does this approach start making sense? (Score:5, Interesting)
The chargers many phones come with are actually not what you want most of the time. They will support the maximum charge rate of the phone, which can be pretty high (mine is 18W, some go even higher). That's great when you need a quick boost but most of the time you want to charge slowly to reduce battery aging.
I mostly charge from a 500mA supply, often wirelessly which brings the total charge rate down to about 350mA. Battery doesn't get warm at all, maybe 1C rise over half an hour of charging. I try to keep it between 40% and 70%, I have an app that pings when it hits 70%.
I actually have a bunch of fast chargers I don't use.
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The chargers many phones come with are actually not what you want most of the time. They will support the maximum charge rate of the phone, which can be pretty high (mine is 18W, some go even higher). That's great when you need a quick boost but most of the time you want to charge slowly to reduce battery aging.
I mostly charge from a 500mA supply, often wirelessly which brings the total charge rate down to about 350mA. Battery doesn't get warm at all, maybe 1C rise over half an hour of charging. I try to keep it between 40% and 70%, I have an app that pings when it hits 70%.
I actually have a bunch of fast chargers I don't use.
Ha, when I connect a 500mA supply to the wireless charger and try to charge my gf's Samsung S8+, it actually net LOSES charge, so that is out even for nighttime charging!
Given that it requires one charge in the middle of the day as well (she works at a GP practice so now takes calls instead of seeing patients, hence lots of calling), you can't possibly use anything else than the fastest charger, and just keep the battery as long as it will last (I got her a phone with a much bigger battery anyway for Xmas).
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There is something very wrong if your phone is using that much power at idle. Okay it does some housekeeping, updates apps, syncs some data with the cloud, but overnight it should settle down and be using way less than your charger can provide.
There might be other explanations. Is the always-on screen enabled? Or maybe the wireless charger is no good or the phone isn't aligned with it very well.
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Ha, when I connect a 500mA supply to the wireless charger and try to charge my gf's Samsung S8+, it actually net LOSES charge
Your GF's phone is broken. I have a Galaxy S8+, the only way it loses charge is while charging it at 500mA while using the GPS for navigation with the screen on 100% of the time.
And even then the charge loss is about 2% per hour.
Fix your phone or your charger.
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"you want to charge slowly to reduce battery aging"
Well there's your trouble.
YOU may want that. THEY wouldn't at all want that.
THEY want to fast-charge your phone as hard and fast as possible so, with non-replaceable batteries, you're DELIGHTED at "look how fast my phone charges!" but in 18 months you're like "My phone dies in like a half day, I guess I need to buy (whatever is the new thing)"....
Slashdot filter how does this look too much like ASCII art?
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Apple has a feature that figures out if you plug your phone in at bedtime you're probably not going to need it charged until morning, and adjusts accordingly.
Samsung phones don't do that?
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Do they at least tell you what the new device needs?
Here's a hint: If the device doesn't come with its own charger then it needs something standard. Get a powerful USB PD charger and move on with your life. It'll be good for many generations at full speed.
Or just use your existing one, the latest and greatest phones charge just fine from 10 year old USB chargers, it just won't go from 0-100% in 35min or whatever the latest fast charging spec can do.
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A decent USB PD charger is well worth getting. The GAN ones are pretty small and can delivery 65 or even 100W in a small package, so you can charge everything from your headphones to your laptop.
Great when travelling, you only need one charger for everything. If only my wife didn't have an iPhone I could get rid of all the other cables too.
Good (Score:5, Insightful)
This will save on electronic waste. Most people have a collection of power adaptors from stuff bought in the past. But Samsung need to be clear that one is not included and provide specs of what the 'phone needs - for those who do not have one, and, oh!, a small reduction in 'phone price would be good.
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This will save on electronic waste. Most people have a collection of power adaptors from stuff bought in the past. But Samsung need to be clear that one is not included and provide specs of what the 'phone needs - for those who do not have one...
Didn't you see those details? I'm sure it was there. Page 283 of the EULA. You must have missed it. Oh well. Don't worry though. It's not like [Smartphone Vendor] would do anything to subliminally encourage people to plug their shiny new devices into any random USB-shaped hole that they might abuse to void battery warranty claims...
, and, oh!, a small reduction in 'phone price would be good.
Gone is the old $1,000 wired model! Today, we offer our brand-new $1,000 Wireless Charge (a.k.a. Charger Vaporware) model! It's on sale. This week only. Only $999, or j
Not good, just greenwashing. (Score:2)
Most of that typical collection is MicroUSB low wattage junk, not USB C fast chargers modern phones need.
This is just Samsung greenwashing while saving themselves tons of money on chargers and package size.
As phone specs continue to change old chargers will continue to be rapidly obsoleted even if they have a standard connector because it is NOT ABOUT THE CONNECTOR.
I was surprised... (Score:2)
when my Moto G8 Power Lite arrived with a USB charger included. Surely by now everybody already owns multiple USB charging adaptors? They're even provided built into some of the power outlets in UK self catering holiday accommodation.
I thought the whole point of mobile devices now having USB sockets for charging was to eliminate the waste of manufacturing of excess numbers of chargers.
If the fools keep buying them... (Score:2)
If the fools keep buying them, the clever will keep making money. All this kind of crap is on the market's fault.
Jack, then Power Adapter. What's next? (Score:2)
Now the power adapter.
Optional battery then? Wait!
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They will eventually just sell you the IDEA of a phone.
Phone sold separately.
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They will eventually just sell you the IDEA of a phone.
Phone sold separately.
NoPhone already does that: https://www.thenophone.com/col... [thenophone.com]
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"They will eventually just sell you the IDEA of a phone."
Almost. People don't need chargers nor cables, they use an IKEA lamp for that.
https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/cat... [ikea.com]
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Porsche already does that. They sell you less but it costs more. You can order a 911 without a radio or sound deadening materials to save weight but it will cost you.
Standards and upcoming EU regulations (Score:5, Interesting)
The EU is under way to get regulations to require mobile phones to be sold without chargers, and instead have a mobile charging standard.
The purpose is to reduce e-waste. The regulations are still being worked out.
What Apple is trying to do is to establish a convention, preempting the regulators so that they will choose Apple's way of doing things, so that Apple could continue to have their proprietary Lightning port in the phone itself.
Apple's phone charger has the standard USB-C in the charger and devices use the standard USB Power Delivery protocol for fast charging.
The problem is all proprietary fast-charging protocols such as QuickCharge and VOOC in their various revisions and incarnations and the several rebrandings of these such as "TurboPower". Consumers would need to have a compatible combination of charger and device to charge the battery at full speed. Some protocols require proprietary USB-C cables even.
Those others should go away IMHO. USB-PD is good enough and the fastest competitors charge at speeds that are unhealthy for batteries anyway.
While the latest revisions of QuickCharge and VOOC do support USB-PD as well, the majority of phones with QC or VOOC released this year don't have the latest revision.
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Apple's phone charger has the standard USB-C in the charger and devices use the standard USB Power Delivery protocol for fast charging.
Not sure if you remember, but there was a strong push to make Micro-A plugs the standard. Before that an industry consortium was pushing Micro-B. This was before the flurry of high-current bolt-on USB standards for fast charging on USB2, which happened yet again with USB3.
So *now* the standard should be USB-C? Would that be the USB3 or USB4 flavor? Power requirements *might* not change, but then again...
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USB has finally come up with a plug that doesn't completely suck, so at least standardizing on that wouldn't be as dumb as USB micro.
The protocol flavour doesn't need to be standardized because USB itself has shockingly done the smart thing and made them backwards compatible.
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so at least standardizing on that wouldn't be as dumb as USB micro.
There's nothing dumb about standardising on a crap plug. The only truly dumb thing is not standardising at all. Also I'm not sure what people's hate is for micro USB. It's easy to plug in, the male is frail so it's quite robust. But maybe I'm jaded because I actually remember what Ericson's connector was like and I have recurring PTSD nightmares where I'm trying to save the world from aliens and I can't for the life of me get that connector in, only to wake up in a cold sweat look at my phone and think "oh
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USB-PD is good enough and the fastest competitors charge at speeds that are unhealthy for batteries anyway.
I have had a couple of OnePlus phones. I switched away because I do not trust them.
However, OnePlus rapid charging is in a completely different league to anyone else. Being able to get meaningful charge into it in 10 minutes is a game changer, and having the phone not get crazy hot during charging was great as well.
I really really miss that after switching to a significantly more expensive supposedly flagship phone from a competitor. It gets hot and still charges so sslloowwllyy.
USB-PD is great for most thi
I just wonder... (Score:2)
...who will be brave enough to ship a "cellphone" without an actuall cellphone included in the box. You'll just be buying a licence for the priviledge of using the hardware owned by the company. The phone itself will be extra. Oh, the innovation!
Profit increase and reduced cost (Score:3)
Two basic rules of manufacturing are in play here. Saving even a few cents per unit in a production run of millions quickly adds up. Successfuly charging extra for what used to be standard inclusions is found money, and marketing genius.
For those of us of a certain age, this looks a lot like the product size reduction movement that really took off in 1980's, across a broad spectrum of edible and non-edible products. Instead of just charging more, include less product at the same time. For example: paper towels used to come in rolls of 100, then 90, then 80 until 60 became the new norm. Although packages contained less product, prices, at best, remained static.
Consumers howled, but, shareholders loved it.
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Bean Counters. (Score:4, Insightful)
It makes sense. (Score:2)
Damage? (Score:2)
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Is there damage caused by using an older charger on a newer phone? I can't possibly keep all the chargers in my house straight.
Any decent charger will work. It will just charge your phone more slowly. As long as you have the right cable that fits into the charger and the phone. And you don't use brute force if it _almost_ fits.
Same if you use a newer charger. Worst case, you plug your brand new Apple/Samsung charger into an old Samsung/Apple phone, and the charger says "I can't figure out what kind of phone this is, so I use the slowest charging rate".
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charge actual price and I guess I don't care (Score:2)
If the specs are the same then having a $5 discount for skipping the charger and a $5 discount for skipping the cord seems fine.
The biggest problem I see with not including a cord or charger is that they charge insane prices for them.
Although the iphone charging boxes don't appear to wear out, my iphone charging cords tend to only last about as long as
the phones and need to be replaced every couple years and apple charges an insane $29 for a charging cord when you can
get non-apple ones for under $5
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What a shame (Score:4, Insightful)
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To be fair their software is getting better. Do you remember RFS? "Robust File System" designed specifically for flash storage, used in early Samsung phones. It performed so poorly that Android OS actually thought apps that accessed the file system had locked up and helpfully offered you to force close them.
Apple Forced to Include Chargers... (Score:2)
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avoid both (Score:2)
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That's because Apple products don't use the standard USB charger specification. Which is an awful specification (and came out after Apple implemented their own) -