Classic USB from the 1.1, 2.0, to 3.0 generations using USB-A and USB-B connectors have a really nice property in that cables were directional and plugs and receptacles were physically distinct to specify a different capability. A USB 3.0 capable USB-B plug was physically larger than a 2.0 plug and would not fit into a USB 2.0-only receptacle. For the end user, this meant that as long as they have a cable that would physically connect to both the host and the device, the system would function properly, as there is only ever one kind of cable that goes from one A plug to a particular flavor of B plug.
We all know the answer to this mess.
To each his own, but…
I’ve been using USB-C for the last couple of years without issue. Granted it can be confusing, but so can many other schemes (e.g., remember when Intel’s “Core 2 Duo” came out?) The world adapts. This seems overblown to me.
I’d rather progress past the days of, “Plug it in with one orientation. Nope, doesn’t work. Flip it over. Nope, still wrong. Go back to orientation #1… Hey, it works. What in the world just happened?”
Not to mention that micro-USB connectors always seems like they’re about to break off. They look and feel flimsy. I don’t get that feeling with USB-C connectors.
Now, if they want to start labelling things as “USB 5.0”, “USB 6.0”, etc. and all use USB-C connectors, but with different colors (like USB 3.0 did on USB A connectors), I think that would help users even more than going back to different connector types/styles.
I would say the confusion is more about Thunderbolt 3 being the same ports as USB-C, but not all USB-C ports are TB3 capable. No idea why they did that….
leech,
Yeah, USB has a lot of growing pains. It doesn’t help that they’re mixing adding capabilities that aren’t compatible with cables that would seem to fit. Even within one device, not all ports support the same features even when they have the same connectors. It is confusing and even someone knowledgeable could easily get tripped up by compatibility mismatch. So while I think USB-C is an improvement on the micro-usb connector physically, the feature compatibility matrix can easily cause confusion.
I didn’t have a problem with physically distinct ports for dedicated features, things were more obvious back then. Despite the appeal some may have for it, “one size fits all” hasn’t really been realized by USB-C IMHO.
There are additional pins in type-C, that can be used for
– Video (HDMI/DP)
– Audio (raw analog, or digital)
– Thunderbolt (PCI-e)
– Power (up to 100W)
and probably others.
All these depends on the port, and the cable used. For example, my phone has HDMI and PD (up to 16W):https://gtrusted.com/how-the-samsung-galaxy-note9-supports-usb-power-delivery-with-the-anker-powercore-13400mah-nintendo-switch-edition-pd-portable-charger
MacBooks, and many professional laptops has Thunderbolt, HDMI, and Power Delivery (100W).
Some phones have audio (which work with a special dongle):
https://www.soundguys.com/usb-audio-explained-18563/
So you’d need to know your device and the cable to get the best out of it. Which kinda defeats the purpose.
Now it’s “Find a USB-C cable. Plug it in. Check if it lets you do what you want. Decide it doesn’t, rummage about for a different one. Repeat. Run out of USB-C cables. Try the original one. Because you plugged it in faster or more firmly or wiggled the cable right this time it decides to do what you wanted to do in the first place”.
USB-C should have been just what the old mini/micro AB connectors were for. A combined host/device connector, reversible as a bonus.
Running additional stuff over USB-C should have been standardized to work across any USB connector (USB 2+ versions of A & B connectors, and C connectors). If you’re going to set up different amperage limits use another connector with partial compatibility, or at least force cables to be clearly labelled. As for TB/bandwidth/etc Definitely don’t have functionality differences with visually identical cables!
Deprecating A and B connectors, which are the closest to “just works” we have right now, in favour of C for 3.2 & 4 is a terrible idea.
On the micro connectors, despite Micro being rated for more plug cycles than Mini, I always felt like Mini was a much more solid connector than Micro, and visually more distinctive in regards to keying/orientation too.
TL;DR
– you want a better way to identify what a usb-c cable can do
– you don’t want the current connectors to change because you like them
Solution:
– buy cables that are easily identifiable or label them yourself
Not possible:
– Force companies. Because USB is an open standard.
I still have literally zero use for USB-C. The only USB-C thing I have is a USB hub, which turns my one USB-C port on my laptop into four regular USB ports which actually work with all my other accessories.