What is USB Type-C?

These days, whether you’re in the market for a new smartphone, a laptop, or even a Bluetooth speaker, one thing you’d have noticed is all of them come with at least one, or more US Type-C connectors. Gone are the days when you had micro-USB chargers for smartphones and speakers, and cylindrical ports for laptops.

In such a scenario, have you ever wondered just why USB Type-C has become the universally accepted medium for charging your devices or even transferring data between them? So much so that as per an EU regulation, even Apple ditched its lightning ports in favour of the USB Type-C port starting with the iPhone 15 series.

USB Type-C: What it is and what its advantages are

Universal Serial Bus Type-C, or USB Type-C, is an industry standard connector which allows you to transmit data as well as power on a single cable. The way to identify a USB Type-C connector is its oval shape, and slightly thicker form factor, which is unlike a micro-USB, which has a more rectangular shape.

These two features also give USB Type-C connectors one of their best features: They have no up or down orientation. That is to say, you can connect a USB Type-C cable to your device either upwards or downwards, as long as it is lined up correctly. 

USB-Type C connectors allow you to charge your devices or transfer data between the two much faster as compared to a micro-USB port, and even allow you to easily connect and mirror your smaller devices such as smartphones or laptops, to larger gadgets such as monitors or TVs. 

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This, in essence, results in you needing to carry fewer cables and chargers, since a single USB-Type C connector can now be used for several purposes.

USB Type-C connectors: Peak speeds

With USB Type-C connectors, there is a small catch. Depending on which generation of USB Type-C connectors your devices have, data transfer speeds for them can vary – anywhere from peak speeds of 5 GBs per second (GBPS) in the case of USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 1 connectors, to as much as 20 GBPS in the case of USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 connectors.