USB Type-C is the future. It’s a new type of USB, recently featured by Apple in their new MacBook, and should replace USB 3.0 on computers and mobiles alike thanks to its ease-of-use and universal application. Before we take a look at the new standard itself, let’s take a quick look into the dark ages before USB came onto the scene, and just how different things were…
A potted history of USB
For a long time, everything you connected to a computer had its own special connector. Printers used the parallel port. Monitors went on VGA. Network connections were done on serial ports. Hard drives used SCSI. Keyboards and mice used PS/2. Game controllers used the game port (usually on a sound card).
That changed in the late 90s with the introduction of a new, universal port: the Universal Serial Bus, or USB. As USB got faster with each revision, it replaced more and more of these ports, and were once there had been two USB ports, you’d get a half-dozen or more. Today, you’ll get a dozen USB ports on many desktop computers, allowing you to connect flash storage, network peripherals, printers, keyboards, mice, gamepads and more. But there are still some unique ports left, mostly for monitors, network cables and power.
A new connector champion
In the future, that might not be the case, thanks to a new standard called USB C. Added in the USB 3.1 standard, Type-C ports can be used for everything older USB ports were, but provide enough bandwidth to drive 4K high definition displays and enough power to charge laptops. In theory, you can connect any kind of device over USB Type-C, finally letting USB to truly live up to that ‘Universal’ part of its name.
As well as being universal, USB-C is also easy to use. It’s fully reversible, so you don’t have to try three times to get it in properly. It’s also reinforced, ensuring that it can take the strain of supporting a phone or tablet in a dock without suffering damage.
Apple and Google have already included the port in their 2015 flagship laptops – the 2015 Macbook and the 2015 Chromebook Pixel – and Apple have gone so far as to strip out all other ports on their laptop, save for a single 3.5mm audio port. It’s not just laptops either; Huawei are expected to deliver a Google Nexus phone with USB-C later this year.
USB Type-C seems an inevitability for more computers and mobile devices down the road, and should be the prevailing standard in the next couple of years. Given its strengths, it should be an easy sell.
Our first USB Type-C cables and adapters
We’ll help you get prepared. We already have a trio of USB 3.1 Type-C cables in stock, allowing you to connect USB 3.1 Type-C to common connectors like Micro USB and full-size USB 3.0. Check out the product pages below:
- USB 3.1 USB-C Male to Micro USB Female Short Cable
- USB 3.1 USB-C Male to USB 3.0 A Female OTG Short Cable
- USB 3.1 USB-C Male to USB 3.0 A Male Short Cable
We’ll have many more USB Type-C accessories over the coming months and years, as the standard is more widely adopted.
Thanks for checking out the article, and be sure to check back for more USB 3.1 Type-C accessories from Mobile Fun!
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