What is USB Type C?
What is USB Type C?
USB Type-C is a specification for a small 24-pin reversible-plug connector for USB devices and USB cabling. With the USB Type C, you can forget about the minor but seemingly annoying problem of not plugging your USB device correctly the first time since with this type of USB port, you’ll get it right the first time. Although you might think this is rather new when it was just recently added to the latest motherboards and notebook, USB Type C was developed and finalized last August 2014.
The USB Type C is developed with the same specifications of a USB 3.1. USB 3.1 specifications offers transfer speeds of up to 10Gbps with the bi-directional power direction which can max out at 20V at 5A. So you could expect a USB Type-C charger to charge devices a lot faster than previous generation USB type-A chargers. USB Type C is also smaller than the popular and common USB Type-A which means you can expect USB devices to be a lot smaller in the future under the USB Type C form. Also given the maximum power output and bi-directional power capabilities of the USB Type-C, a USB Type C power bank can power up a notebook!
To summarize what is USB Type-C and the benefits it offers:
- Offers max power output of 20V, 5A
- Bi-directional power direction
- Reversible plug orientation
What to expect with USB Type-C
There are already a lot of rumors about making the USB Type C the standard for many things from flash drives to headphones. There’s a rumor about Intel proposing to replace the 3.5mm audio jack with the USB Type-C. While not everybody is pleased with that idea due to many reasons raised by the public such as the lacking of locking mechanism of the USB Type-C unlike the standard 3.5mm jack and the universality of the USB Type C, it’s still not clear if that’s the future of audio gears. Hence, the older USB types will not vanish in an instant and will likely remain for another decade but certainly the advantages offered by USB Type C enables a lot of new and helpful technologies available.