With the recent flood of product releases, Tony hasn't even realized it's already March 15th.
Since it's Consumer Rights Day, let me drop a bombshell for all you consumers out there, exposing a product that seems convenient but is actually quite dangerous.
I'm not sure if any of you have used one of these pictured below – those data cables that claim to charge three different devices with just one charger.
This three-in-one cable, you can find it everywhere: in stores, cars, and even at home. But few people are cautious about it.
Recently, my colleague in the office, Fat Tiger, bought one on a website called Many Many for only ten bucks.
Later, he admitted that he was lured by the low price and the idea of solving multiple charging problems with just one cable. Plus, it was from a reputable brand, not some no-name product. Without much thought, he placed the order.
But this cheap deal turned out to be problematic. Without connecting any device, one of the cables started heating up abnormally.
I was sitting right next to him at the time and witnessed his screams and frantic actions as he got burnt. Upon closer inspection, he had lost a layer of skin from his hand.
After cutting off the power due to professional sensitivity, we quickly took out a temperature measuring tool and found that the temperature of this data cable had reached 66.1°C at this time.
Well, that was a close call! Thank goodness for our quick reaction. Just imagine the consequences if one of the kids at home had stumbled upon that situation.
I tried to dismantle the wire, and sure enough, it was short-circuited. The connecting ports were all charred black.
We did another online search and found that there are still many low-quality 3-in-1 cables being produced.
One user also purchased such a 3-in-1 cable. After charging their device, they forgot to unplug the charger, and as a result, the cable made contact with the desk and started smoking.
The scene was pretty chilling.
I shared all this information in our casual chat group, and suddenly a colleague who had previously sold data cables chimed in: "Don't buy those three-in-one cables!"
He said these cheap three-in-one data cables are of poor quality, with shoddy workmanship, and are very unreliable.
Not only do they pose a risk of short-circuiting due to substandard quality, but they could also potentially "fry" your devices due to their fast charging capabilities.
Because these cheap three-in-one cables, which cost only a few bucks, likely just connect three wires together without the ability to individually recognize the fast charging protocols of each charging device.
For example, we had a three-in-one data cable in our studio that claimed to support 120W.
After we dissected it, we found that inside, it simply stripped the insulation layer of the three wires and bundled them together with a small metal clip.
When charging three devices simultaneously, it's like connecting them in parallel, so they all receive the same voltage at their interfaces.
If one of the devices is a fast-charging smartphone, while the other two are non-fast-charging Bluetooth earphones or power banks, here's what happens:
The smartphone, in order to meet the fast-charging requirements, negotiates with the charger to increase the charging voltage.
However, the charger cannot distinguish between the three devices connected and assumes it's charging a single fast-charging device, happily increasing the voltage.
The earphones and power bank, being tethered together with cheap cables, are forced to adapt to the increased voltage.
While the fast-charging smartphone gets the desired high voltage, the other two non-fast-charging devices may not be able to handle such high voltage, risking damage or even burning out on the spot.
Even if all three devices support fast charging, there's still a risk of protocol voltage inconsistency, accommodating one might end up damaging the other two.
So, if you happen to mistakenly purchase such a cable, it's best to only use one of its ports and never charge all three devices simultaneously!
Investing a bit more in a dedicated one-to-three fast charging cable can mitigate the risk of damaging devices, but typically it will only support fast charging on one port.
These cables usually incorporate a voltage reduction chip and basic protection circuitry at the connection points, enabling fast charging only on one port while converting the other two into regular data lines.
The voltage on these two lines will be locked at a relatively low value, so devices like headphones and power banks connected to them won't get fried by the high voltage of fast charging.
Sure, it's safer, but you lose the three-line fast charging feature. Plus, if you're charging multiple devices simultaneously, only one can fast charge, while the other two will have to settle for the "ultimate" experience of 5V-1A.
Honestly, rather than worrying about this, it's better to just buy a few extra cables and avoid the risk of going for these cheap, convenient, but risky one-to-three cables.
Speaking of these three-in-one cables, it reminds me of another type from way back called the "N-to-1 data cable".
Back then, there were all sorts of connectors: 2.1mm DC, 3.5mm DC, Apple's 30-pin, as well as proprietary interfaces from Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, and others...
Using just one N-in-1 cable would easily handle this situation, covering all bases with just a single cord.
Back then, the charging voltage maxed out at 5V, unlike nowadays where we have fast charging voltages of 9V, 12V, and even 24V.
When you're out and about, all you need is one charger and one of these cables to solve all your electronic device charging problems.
But no matter how convenient it was, at best, it was just a patch for the chaotic world of that time, still a somewhat insecure patch.
Its historical mission is now accomplished. Even Apple, known for its stubbornness, switched to USB-C for iPhone and AirPods Pro last year, achieving interface standardization across its entire product line.
It's time to phase out these multi-in-one cables. After all, nowadays, it's pretty hard to find a device in everyday use that doesn't have a USB-C port.
