What is USB Type-C

With the recent release of the new Apple Mac, there seems to be much discussion of USB type C interfaces, mainly because Apple removed all the USB, HDMI and SD interfaces and left only one USB Type-C port!

WTH? Yep, well OK, if they want to use other devices they will need adaptors and more expense – but that is another story.

So what is USB Type-C and what does it look like?

Quick answer – look at the below pic to get a comparison with the types of interfaces that you are probably familiar with already.

USB comparison

So you understand the terminology, this latest USB technology is called USB 3.1, and the connector is called ‘Type-C’. You’ll probably almost always read the combined technology to be USB Type-C (including in this article).

So…. what is that good about this new interface?

Power
USB Type-C can provide 20V / 5A of power, compared just 5V / 1.8A for USB 3.0. That’s over 11x more wattage (100W vs 9W). This extra power is more than enough to power a laptop, or charge multiple devices like iPhone/iPads/iWhatever at once.

Speed
Pretty impressive here. Up to 10Gps as opposed to 5Gps with USB3.0, and 20X faster then USB2.0 (which only ran up to 480Mbps).

Compatibility
The good thing here is the Type-C is backwards compatible with all previous versions of USB, however you wont get the full Type-C speed of you USB1 or 2 device.

Is it good?
Yeah it is, and it seems like it will be the future of USB given the size and performance of the interface. Also it seems to be more sturdy/strong. I think you’ll see it in a lot more devices including smartphones.

Do any of your current devices use USB type-C? Leave a comment below.

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Comments

    • Wolf Gamig
    • May 22, 2020

    NOTE: The USB 3.0 can only reach speeds up to 5 Gb/s, the USB 3.1’s can reach up to 10 Gb/s. You are saying here that the USB 3.0 can reach up to 10 Gb/s NOT TRUE!!!

    • Leigh
    • May 22, 2020

    Sorry, I can’t see where I have …..

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