This is a new USB standard which was introduced in Apple’s latest MacBook.
It’s a tiny physical connector that packs a huge punch
USB Type-C is intertwined with other new standards such as the USB 3.1 for faster read/write
speeds and USB Power Deliver for improved power delivery over the USB connection
What makes this USB so different than the ones we are most familiar with is its small
size and it’s about a third the size of an old USB Type-A plug.
The main purpose of the USB Type-C connector is to have a single connector for every device
such as connecting external hard drives or any smartphone devices.
The cool thing about the Type-C connector is that both ends are the same
It’s a reversible single USB connector that can adopt to many devices
The USB Type-C port will allow support from many different protocols such as: HDMI, VGA,
Display-Port or other types of connections that deals with a single USB port.
Now, for the USB Power Delivery part of USB Type-C, which is closely intertwined with
the new USB
We currently have seen this technology with smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices
that often use a USB connection to charge
Did you know, that a USB 2.0 connection provide up to 2.5 watts of power – that’s enough
to charge your smartphone only
With USB PD specification you will be getting up to 100 watts.
That’s bi-directional, so a device can either send or receive power from it source
The awesome thing about this new technology is that it can power a device and transfer
data at the same time with no delay
There are only two devices that I know in the market that have USB Type-C with Power
Deliver and that’s Apple new MacBook and Google’s new Chromebook Pixel
Check this out, with a Type-C port you can even charge your laptop from one of those
portable battery packs used on smartphones
One downside about the USB Type-C connector is that it isn’t backward compatible as
of yet, you can’t plug in an older USB device into a modern USB Type-C port nor can you
connect a USB Type-C connector into an older USB port
Eventually, many computers will have the Type-C USB port in the future – such as the Google’s
Chromebook Pixel, but that transition will be moving slowly in my opinion
Don’t think that this new USB standard is only for Mac.
Google already pushed out a new Chromebook with it.
We will shortly be seeing move devices that have USB Type-C port integrated
Due to Apple always keeping their products up-to-date – my prediction is that Apple
will most likely change their iPhone and iPad ports to
USB Type-C soon.