[kennydude]

Barrel connectors I found always fail within 18 months for a lot of laptops I've known people buy (mostly from cheap brands such as Acer).

While not saying USB-C is a great choice instead. Personally I just wish everyone could have generic magnetic Magsafe style connectors.

[jwells89]

Barrel connectors are easily one of my most disliked. Even if they don’t fail outright, they grow loose and finicky over time even if you’re trying to take care of them. On top of that, there’s numerous different sizes and pole configurations so even if an adapter is physically compatible, you have to look closely to make sure you’re not going to fry your device.

Just terrible overall.

[dheera]

So just agree on 5.5x2.5 and federally ban 5.5x2.1. The biggest source of finickiness is 5.5x2.5 plugged into a 5.5x2.1 socket.

Inventing a new standard with a weak sheet metal connector and 19 pins to deliver + and - isn't a solution to the above.

[eternityforest]

Most new devices don't have enough space for 5.5x anything. And 2.1mm is the more common one from what I can see.

Regardless it's a crappy choice for consumer electronics because it's got no voltage negotiation. You can fry stuff with it, and chargers aren't universal.

2.1mm is a wonderful connector for switches, sensors, solar panels, and power you need to daisy chain, but PD is pretty much perfect for point to point medium power devices.

USBC seems to break far less often than anything else that's cheap and small. I don't see why 19 pins is an issue unless you just really like simplicity.

It absolutely looks like something that would fail all the time... But it doesn't. Somehow they made it so even the cheap knockoffs are durable.