253
Why don't smart watches use USB-C to recharge?
(shkspr.mobi)
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
this post was submitted on 05 Aug 2025
253 points (100.0% liked)
Technology
73967 readers
3157 users here now
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
Our Rules
- Follow the lemmy.world rules.
- Only tech related news or articles.
- Be excellent to each other!
- Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
- Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
- Politics threads may be removed.
- No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
- Only approved bots from the list below, this includes using AI responses and summaries. To ask if your bot can be added please contact a mod.
- Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed
- Accounts 7 days and younger will have their posts automatically removed.
Approved Bots
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
It's also hard to make a port like that water resistant. Using wireless charging is easier to make flat and seal tightly.
If you mean a USB-C port in general, they can be made waterproof. If you mean something specific to putting one in the most compact form factor possible, that might be true.
And that requires more space than a typical port. In a compact device that is difficult. A flashlight is literally one of the simplest electronic devices there is and bulk is often a plus for comfort.
You might be surprised at everything going on inside a modern flashlight. I'll grant that it's probably easier to find room for extra seals around the port than in a smartwatch though.
Still not nearly as complex or compact as a smart watch. A little microcontroller versus an arm processor.
A switch mode LED driver can be made very tiny with as few as 4 components. Battery protection and a single cell battery charger can also be very simple.
Then again my flashlight has a microcontroller with open source firmware on it
They can be waterproof but are also non functional until the water is fully cleared from the port.
That kind of waterproofing wears over time (years). It keeps it's resistance, but not a submersible seal. Watches have longer use years than phones on average.
oh quit that bs. There was waterproof (not resistant) micro usb more than a literal decade ago. If anything they should have gottn better.
And that requires more space than a typical port. In a compact device that is difficult.
Eww, micro usb. I get the shakes just thinking about it.