The Connector That Created More Problems Than It Solved
I fully admit that my title up there is a little hyperbolic. USB-C East largely better than the USB types he has supposed to replace, but with regard to what USB-C promised To give us in relation to the reality we have obtained, he almost believes that for each problem he has solved, he created two others.
Although I use USB-C pleasure every day of my life, I have the impression that it has not yet been up to the media threw, and it is not clear if ever.
The promise of simplicity
The interest of the USB-C is that it is simple from the point of view of the user. You cannot connect it in the wrong direction and it is suitable for both data transfer and modern load needs.
Basically, if you take two USB-C things and connect them to a USB-C cable, they should just work. It looks like a connection utopia, but the reality is that things are much more complicated than that, and even the most geek geeks can be triggered in detail.
A standard connector
Here is the problem: USB-C only describes the shape of the catch, not what it can really do.
So just because two ports, or two cables look This does not mean that they share the same features or capacities. A port that seems identical on two devices could be a basic USB 2.0 USB connection on one and a Thunderbolt 4 port in its own right on another. Consider the first USB-C iPhones, where non-pro variants still offer USB 2.0 via their USB-C ports!
To worsen things, manufacturers don’t always tell you what you get. Without digging in specifications (or tests and errors), there is no way to know if this port supports rapid data transfers, external screens or anything beyond the slow load.
Invoice confusion
Power delivery (PD) was supposed to make the charge standardized, but in reality it is a waste. Some devices shed only power, while others require high -power adapters. Not all cables can transport the same amount of juice. If you catch the bad, your spare laptop instead of lengthening.
It is without entering the different fast charge standards that are owners and not being part of the USB specifications. On smartphones, it is even worse, with various fast charge standards incompatible in competition. At least, all the USB-C systems will fall back on the lowest common denominator that all the parts of the chain take care of, but that does not help you understand why your phone takes up ages to load.
Data roulette and video
One of the coolest things you can do with USB-C is to use the AA display outlet, but this only works if the port in question supports USB-C “ALT” mode with DisplayPort on USB-C. On my four computers with USB-C, one of them does not support DisplayPort on USB-C, and it is very Boring because it meant that I had to buy special mini displayport cables just for this computer.
The same goes for Thunderbolt 3 and later, which use the same physical connectors as USB-C, but internal wiring and electronics are different. Usually Thunderbolt Cable too.
Brand fiasco
It seems that the USB (USB-IFS) forum could simply not be decided. I went from USB 3.0, to USB 3.1, and now USB 3.2 can be “Gen 1”, “Gen 2” and “Gen 2×2”. Manufacturers rarely label ports and cables, and even when they do it, the name is so useless that most people abandon.
Now we are looking for at least labels that simply tell you power and speed in Gbps, which East More intuitive, but assumes that most buyers will understand what these figures mean.
USB-A is still there!
USB-C was published in 2014, which means that this universal connector has entered the market for more than a decade. However, USB-A is still everywhere. I know that it takes time for a new standard to largely replace the old, in particular for something as common as USB, but at this rate, we will be on a new post USB-C connector, and USB-A will always fall into daily life.
I have a complete USB-A drawer to USB-C adapters, all my laptops with the exception of my MacBook have USB-A connectors and new electronics (such as current generation consoles) tend to have USB-A next to USB-C, if they have USB-C at all. Which reminds me of the XKCD “standard” cartoon. Where someone decides to make a new standard that will unify and replace all competing standards, then will only be able to increase the number of competing standards.
