A new type of USB cable is coming soon to devices near you. Announced by the USB Implementers Forum today at the Intel Developer Forum conference in China, the new specification, known as USB Type-C, will not be compatible with current USB ports and cables but will address a number of frustrations that have dogged the standard since its inception. The new standard should replace both USB and micro-USB when it is finalized in July.
The two most important changes are that the plug will be symmetrical and the two ends will be reversible. In short, not only will you no longer have to worry about what side is up but you won’t even have to worry about what end goes where. It will also be smaller (albeit larger the micro-USB one) with the prong measuring 8.3 by 2.5 millimeters, allowing it to be used in both larger devices such as PCs but also smaller ones such as smartphones and tablets.
Other properties of the new USB Type-C standard include:
- Support for USB 3.1 with bandwidth up to 10Gbps
- An audible click will be heard when plugged in correctly
- Will support future USB versions with higher data-transfer speeds
- Support for the USB Power Delivery technology that lets you operate and charge devices through the same cable
- Designed to be plugged and unplugged 10,000 times
With the standard expected to be completed by July 2014, the first cables and devices using it could launch by the end of the year. The migration to the new USB Type-C will take some time and we’ll likely devices sporting both the older and newer USB ports before the new standard truly establishes itself.
Source : CNET