USB Type-C Next Generation Connector Design Revealed

[Marcus Yam]

Meet the new and improved USB 3.1 Type-C connector.

USB Type-C Next Generation Connector Design Revealed : Read more

 

[JQB45]

Looks ok to me. Whats this "Listen for the 'Click'". I'd rather have feedback I can feel.

 

[David Dewis]

The EU has passed a law stating all phones (including Apple) must use the same charging cable by 2016 (i think). I heard Apple, Samsung, Nokia, HTC.etc were taking part in the design process as well. I wonder if this is the design that will be used, it being reversible being the key thing Apple was pushing for, or whether we will see a proprietary USB phone connection

 

[SirKnobsworth]

Any word on how many pins are in there? Previous reports said that they would have more than the current 9 for future-proofing.

 

[InvalidError]

The EU has passed a law stating all phones (including Apple) must use the same charging cable by 2016 (i think). I heard Apple, Samsung, Nokia, HTC.etc were taking part in the design process as well. I wonder if this is the design that will be used

The last thing I remember reading about it is that micro-B was supposed to be the EU standard for low-power mobile device supplies/chargers. This is not a major problem for USB-C since there will be standard adapters and cables to convert between USB-C and A/B/micro-B. (USB-C is backward-compatible with USB1/2/3 through adapters and cables with built-in adapters.)

 

[kenh536]

This thing had better not be as fragile as the similarly sized micro-usb cable...

 

[skit75]

This will open the door for competing standards. The one thing USB had going for it was backwards compatibility due to the physical connector not being changed. Now that is going away, it will be interesting to see how motherboard manufacturers react. Will certain motherboard manufacturers go exclusively with one standard vs. another?

 

[doomtomb]

Interesting to see. I wonder how this vs Thunderbolt will shake up. I don't get why we aren't pushing harder for a universal cable/connector standard. Imagine it, all information these days is digital minus analog audio. All these things are just bits sent down lanes of highway. Make a robust enough connector cable to handle the bandwidth and assignable protocol and ur set for years

 

[jasonelmore]

WOW 5 Amps. USB is gonna replace the wall outlet in tech driven business's. Kick ass

 

[wombler]

The spec sounds just like the Lightning connector that Apple is now using for iPhones and iPads. Is it the same thing?Wouldn't be a stupid idea - it's a proven connector and quite robust.

 

[lp231]

These images even when enlarged are way too small to see how the type-C connector looks like. But with these early renderings, it looks like the micro USB we're using now with most smart phones. It also looks like both mini and micro HDMI.

 

[nukemaster]

WOW 5 Amps. USB is gonna replace the wall outlet in tech driven business's. Kick ass

That is only 25 watts

 

[coolitic]

"USB Type-C will have the handy feature of being reversible, meaning that you'll never have a failed connection again for plugging it in upside down."# of broken USB ports will be reduced by 90%.

 

[vern72]

They wouldn't have had to change the interface if they did it right the first time. They should have designed the cable to be full-duplex right from the start. But, they needed to be cheaper than FireWire to put them out of the running to be the next connection standard.

 

[David Dewis]

The EU has passed a law stating all phones (including Apple) must use the same charging cable by 2016 (i think). I heard Apple, Samsung, Nokia, HTC.etc were taking part in the design process as well. I wonder if this is the design that will be used

The last thing I remember reading about it is that micro-B was supposed to be the EU standard for low-power mobile device supplies/chargers. This is not a major problem for USB-C since there will be standard adapters and cables to convert between USB-C and A/B/micro-B. (USB-C is backward-compatible with USB1/2/3 through adapters and cables with built-in adapters.)

I'm pretty sure it's not USB micro B. Apple made a big fuss about going back to non reversible cables (which I agree with) and I believe the other big companies agreed. I'm pretty sure they were designing a new standard altogether.

 

[InvalidError]

That is only 25 watts

5A @ 5V is only the new baseline spec.

The high-power USB specification has provisions to let devices request 12V and 20V if available instead of the default 5V, allowing the power spec to stretch all the way up to 100W. It is intended to replace the countless laptop and other medium-power devices' proprietary external power bricks.

 

[nukemaster]

20 volts will require a boost regulator(thus more cost and board space). These types of things made firewire more expensive.

Charging a notebook off usb would be great however.

My main commend was just about 25 watts(as in 5 amps @ 120 volts vs 5 amps @ 5volts. some users may not know the actual relation of watts to amps) is not LOTS of power, it is a huge bump from the 2.5 watts usb 2.0 has for most devices.

 

[InvalidError]

I'm pretty sure it's not USB micro B.

For the moment, all the articles I remember reading point to micro-B being the most likely candidate but since the bill will only get finalized in 2016 and kick in in 2017, there is still plenty of time for the EU to review their plan.

 

[TechieNewbie]

"Reversible plug orientation & cable direction" Finally the days of reaching around my desktop to plug in a USB only to fail, then reorient the device only to fail, then finally reorient the device back to the original position and successfully plug it in are over. I will, however, miss the original four-dimensional design of USB ports.

 

[alextheblue]

So far I like what I see... but I really hope they can deliver on their scalability promises. I don't want to see another connector change for a while.

 

[Guest]

This thing had better not be as fragile as the similarly sized micro-usb cable...

I could not agree more! Mini-USB, was smaller, secure and strong. Micro-USB is junk, I cringe anytime I have to transfer data due to the terribly loose, insecure cables that could lead to disconnection. I have gone through phone chargers left and right with micro-usb.

 

[CaptAli]

It looks really cool!!

 

[boytitan2]

Dear god no please keep the ones on computers normal size. The usb cables to phones are to fragile due to there size this is a horrible idea. Imagine a mouse useing this...Please be a late April fools joke.

 

[Someone Somewhere]

Part of the point of the design of micro-USB was to put the fragile bits on the cheap and easily replaceable cable...I've got piles of crap that runs off micro-USB, and nothing broken but maybe two cables.

 

[belardo]

This will open the door for competing standards. The one thing USB had going for it was backwards compatibility due to the physical connector not being changed. Now that is going away, it will be interesting to see how motherboard manufacturers react. Will certain motherboard manufacturers go exclusively with one standard vs. another?

er... NO. There are currently 8 different USB ends (8 male and 8 female). The standard USB connector (Type A) that we all know and use works pretty good, but for some stupid reason, we have all these B-C, 2/3 mini micro plugs... When Smart phones first came out, the USB A is way too big. So first came Mini (Like my Galaxy 1) then mini which also happens to charge my Logitech mouse so its handy.Then there are the USB hot-swap drive caddies/docks using Micro USB connectors which SUCK BALLS for such a design. While the apple i-STUFF connector works much better. And even today, with USB flash card, etc - its easy to get it in upside down, etc... On my Moto phone, it has an excellent connector cover on the cable that I can FEEL which side is up.So no... with all these connectors - this NEW USB 3.1 connector will hopefully REPLACE the other 8. It will take a while, but I'd be willing to wait a bit longer to have such a connector on my notebook. An adapter will allow this NEW connector to work with anything. Again... the USB controller or standards itself doesn't change. Just the connector and it very much needed.