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USB-C, the one cable to rule them all

    • 3280 posts
    August 1, 2023 11:34 PM EDT

    USB-C, the one cable to rule them all

    The battle for the smartphone wired connector is over and USB-C is the way forward. This multi-function port can do just about everything – it can charge devices, transfer data, handle audio and video output, it even lets you plug in accessories.Get more news about Usb Connector,you can vist our website!

    How did we get here? Well, for years now the European Union has been trying to coax electronics manufacturers into settling on a common standard to avoid the mess (and waste) that proprietary connectors create. Early on microUSB was the connector of choice, but with the arrival of USB Type C, or USB-C for short, the industry shifted over to the new standard.

    And thanks to some EU regulation that comes into effect at the end of 2024, USB-C is mandatory for basically all portable electronics (with some exceptions for the smallest devices like smartwatches).
    Most smartphone makers readily adopted USB-C, just like they did microUSB before that. The one big holdout is Apple, which still uses Lightning on its iPhones, AirPods and EarPods – that’s it, everything else has moved on to USB-C, including the remote for the new Apple TV.

    We think Apple’s lineup is a good illustration of why USB-C is so good. Lighting is essentially a USB 2.0 port. This means slow data transfers when syncing files between an iPhone and a computer or when moving RAW photos from a memory card to an iPad.

    Did you know that there is actually a Lightning-based card reader that runs at USB 3.0 speeds? So faster transfers are possible, but apparently it is a difficult feat to pull off and only iPad Pros support it. And even then Apple never released a video adapter than can go above 1080p.

    Lightning is also limited in how much power it can carry. The charger for iPhones top out at just under 30W, while Apple’s USB-C charger for the new MacBooks can output 140W. Okay, that’s not entirely standard, but it’s not even the maximum that USB-C can carry.