What is USB Type-C?

USB (Universal Serial Bus) is a cable standard that allows data and power to be passed between electronic devices. It first arrived in 1998 and has since gone through several iterations, the latest of which is USB Type-C.

Each USB version has a data transfer rate and a limit on how much electric current can be passed through it. The previous USB Type-A and Type-B connectors only have four pins, but USB Type-C has 24, providing more power and a higher data transfer rate.

Micro-USB 2.0, for example, which is currently found on most Android smartphones, supports 5V (volts) / 2A (amps) of power and a 480 Mbit/s data transfer rate. USB 3.1 Type-C, on the other hand, reaches 20V / 5A of power with a transmission rate of up to 10 Gbit/s. 

Lightning was revolutionary

Lightning has been Apple's connector of choice, at least for iPhones and iPads, since 2012. That situation is unlikely to change and there are a number of reasons for this.

Before Lightning, the iPhone made use of a 30-pin connector which was bulky for small iPhones. With Lightning, Apple took a big step forward in the world of technology, the biggest milestone, perhaps, was that Lightning could be inserted into the handset in any orientation. USB did not achieve this until two years later with Type-C, only reaching consumers by the end of 2015.

USB Type-C is still fairly large and complex compared to the flat Lightning plug. Compared to the USB Type-C, it's easier to connect to a product. And it has another advantage: stress put on a USB Type-C cable is more likely to damage the smartphone, whereas stress put on the Lightning connector is more likely to harm the cheaper, replaceable, cable. 

It's the future

USB Type-C is the future of electronic device connections. Now Apple has some iDevices adopting this new port: 1 USB-C on 12inch Macbook, and new MacBook Pro also have 2-4 USB-c(Thuderbolt 3). Andriod manufacturers of smart phone and tablet are try to use USB-C on their products. But Apple still use the Lighting. The next computer or smartphone you buy will probably have USB Type-C ports. Until now, we have computers with connectors such as: USB 2.0, USB 3.0 (blue), HDMI, VGA and DC-IN. In the future, all of these connectors could be replaced with USB Type-C.

3uTools will keep eyes on Apple changes ports on iPhone.