Its Name is C, Type-C: The New Superhero of Cables from USB

Isn’t it interesting how, with time, all the nitty-gritty of technology is starting to get more and more attention? Is it because we’re getting smarter, or is it that everything is so much the same on the surface that the differentiation needs to be found deep inside, where no one looked for it before?

I think it’s both, especially for such a well-known technology as USB. I mean, who doesn’t know it? We use this connection at least once a day, plugging our smartphones into the charger at night. I bet that for most of us it’s the plug we now use most of all. And now the plan is for you to use it even more, so much that you will not use the power cord, too!

USB Type-C, the specification that was finalized a little more than two months ago, introduces a completely new plug design, which will offer the following new functions:

1. Reversible design: Hooray, no more three time plugging in!
2. Two-way insertion: The plug on your PC will look exactly like the one on your smartphone
3. Higher data rates: Only USB Type-C will be able to support USB 3.1 at 10 Gbps, and even more in the future
4. Greater power: Up to 100W through support for USB Power Delivery 2.0 specification
5. Bidirectionality: Power can go either way between the host and device
6. Scalable power charging: Devices will be able to ask for more power for a limited time, i.e., HDDs in the start-up phase
7. Fewer cords: Type-C can replace your 3.5mm audio jack for headphones and display monitor cable (especially if it’s using DisplayPort now)

Points #4 and #7 demonstrate a very interesting concept—if power, audio, and display cords cannot support USB, maybe we can support power, audio, and display over USB? And the answer is yes, we can! What is now being pushed by the USB Implementers Forum is the concept of the USB cable being the only one cord present on your desk. And if it is the only one, then most probably you need less of them. And less (at least in this case) is more. More space for the photos of your loved ones, more money in your pocket, more chances you will be saved if you forget your power adapter on a trip.

Renderings of the USB Type-C plug and receptacles.

The idea of a single cable will definitely resonate well with manufacturers of all sorts of mobile devices, especially notebooks, where being able to connect all your peripherals, monitor, and charger through one plug is certainly appealing. We should get ready to for a new level of thinness, and we won't be waiting too long for it.