What Is USB-C? An Explainer

Touchdown on a single commonplace to rule all of them is an elusive goal within the realm of private expertise. At greatest, you find yourself in a format struggle, and one faction emerges victorious for just a few years till a completely new expertise takes it out. VHS ate Betamax, then was ousted by DVD, which light within the face of Blu-ray, itself now nearly extinct following the rise of on-line streaming providers.

However USB-C is totally different—and maybe it is whilst really common as its acronym (Common Serial Bus) suggests. USB-C ports at the moment are discovered on all method of units, from easy exterior onerous drives to high-end laptops and, after a protracted holdout session, the Apple iPhone. Whereas each USB-C port seems to be the identical, not each one provides the identical capabilities. USB-C could now be ubiquitous, nevertheless it would not serve the identical features all over the place. Not by a protracted shot.

This is a information to all the things USB-C can do, and which of its options it’s best to search for when shopping for your subsequent USB-C machine.

What Is USB-C?

USB-C is an industry-standard connector for transmitting each knowledge and energy on a single cable. The USB-C connector was developed by the USB Implementers Discussion board (USB-IF), the group of corporations that has developed, licensed, and shepherded the USB commonplace through the years. The USB-IF counts greater than 700 corporations in its membership, amongst them Apple, Dell, HP, Intel, Microsoft, and Samsung.

This broad acceptance by the large canine is vital, as a result of it is a part of why USB-C has been so readily accepted by PC producers. Distinction this with the sooner Apple-promoted (and developed) Lightning connector, which had restricted acceptance past Apple merchandise and is dealing with obsolescence, thanks in no small half to USB-C. USB-C is so broadly accepted that the European Union, hoping to simplify digital life, would require units to make use of it for battery charging beginning in 2024.

Is USB-C the Identical as Micro USB?

The USB-C connector seems to be just like a micro USB connector at first look. However in case you look nearer, you will note it is extra oval in form and barely thicker to accommodate its greatest characteristic: flippability.

(Credit score: Zlata Ivleva)

Like Lightning and MagSafe, the USB-C connector has no up or down orientation. Line up the connector correctly, and also you by no means should flip it over to plug it in; the “proper means” is at all times up. The usual cables even have the identical connector on each ends, so you do not have to determine which finish goes the place. That has not been the case with all of the USB cables we have been utilizing for the previous 20 years. More often than not, you’ve gotten totally different connectors at every finish.

USB-C and USB 3.2: The Numbers Beneath the Port

The place USB-C will get tough is within the numbers that get hooked up to the ports. The commonest velocity that USB-C connectors are rated for is 10Gbps. (That 10Gbps is theoretically twice as quick as authentic USB 3.0.) USB-C ports that assist this peak velocity are known as “USB 3.2 Gen 1×2.”

The minor wrinkle is that USB ports with 10Gbps speeds can even exist within the authentic, bigger form (the USB Sort-A rectangles everyone knows), and are dubbed “USB 3.2 Gen 2×1.” Excluding some desktops, although, it is extra widespread to see 10Gbps-speed USB ports with USB-C bodily connectors. Observe: Some older USB-C ports assist simply 5Gbps most speeds, so it is vital to search for a “USB 3.2 Gen 1×2” or “10Gbps” designation to confirm {that a} given USB-C port helps 10Gbps transfers. That mentioned, all of those ports are backward-compatible, simply on the velocity of the slowest factor.

Confused but? Additional complicating issues: The quantity scheme round USB 3 has been in flux, which has made references to those ports one thing of a swamp. Till lately, many USB-C ports carried the USB 3.1 label (“USB 3.2” was not but a factor) in Gen 1 and Gen 2 flavors, and a few spec sheets proceed to reference the older identify, together with SuperSpeed branding. In a complicated twist, the USB-IF determined to remove using “USB 3.1” in favor of those numerous flavors of USB 3.2, as outlined under on this useful decoder chart…

The USB 3.2, USB 3.1, and SuperSpeed designations you see above on every line are equal, simply differing in identify. If you happen to see a USB 3.1 label, it is best to inquire in regards to the most switch speeds of the port instantly with the machine producer or reseller.

As you possibly can see above, some USB-C ports use the USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 specification, with most speeds of 20Gbps. The USB-IF selected “2×2” as a result of this commonplace doubles the info lanes inside a USB-C cable to realize the 20Gbps switch velocity. These ports haven’t been extensively out there. They’ll possible go by the wayside in favor of one other rising taste of USB-C port, supporting USB4, which the USB-IF has introduced will finally assist knowledge speeds as much as 120Gbps.

To cut back confusion, the USB-IF additionally intends to dispose of numbered USB variations sooner or later, as an alternative encouraging machine makers to seek advice from a port’s high velocity, as in “USB 20Gbps.” We’re in favor of that.

Can You Go From USB-C to DisplayPort?

You would possibly consider your previous USB Sort-A port merely as an information port for connecting drives or peripherals like mice. However USB-C, relying on the particular port’s implementation, can do way more. Considered one of USB-C’s most helpful expertise, when designed thus, is delivering sufficient energy to cost the host machine, corresponding to a laptop computer or a smartphone. In truth, many light-weight laptops which have USB-C ports use them rather than a standard barrel-style connector as the one choice for attaching an AC adapter.

USB-C’s assist for sending simultaneous video alerts and energy implies that you would possibly be capable to hook up with and energy a local DisplayPort, MHL, or HDMI machine, or hook up with nearly anything, assuming you’ve gotten the correct adapter and cables. (See under for extra on adapters.) The USB-C spec even elements in audio transmissions over the interface, however to date it has not changed the three.5mm headphone jack on computer systems to the identical diploma because it has on telephones and tablets.

Make sure that to examine the specs on any machine you are considering of shopping for, as a result of not all USB-C ports are alike. To this point, each one we have seen helps each knowledge transfers and connected-device energy supply over USB-C (although not essentially charging of the host machine). However whereas the USB-C commonplace helps connecting DisplayPort and/or HDMI shows with an adapter (through the DisplayPort-over-USB protocol), not each machine maker has related the ports to the system’s graphics {hardware}. Some USB-C ports on a tool could assist video-out connectivity, whereas others could not; or none could. The iPhone 15’s USB-C connector, as an example, has assist for battery charging and DisplayPort output, however it’s restricted to USB 2.0 speeds for knowledge transfers (480Mbps). And a few units add additional layers of safety or different necessities to attach USB-C peripherals, together with Macs, which require consumer approval earlier than the accent can talk beginning with macOS 13 Ventura. Trying on the particulars is vital.

Is Thunderbolt the Identical as USB-C?

Maybe essentially the most helpful protocol {that a} USB-C port can assist is Thunderbolt, at the moment in its fourth technology, (although Thunderbolt 5 is on the way in which). Thunderbolt 4 provides assist for as much as 40Gbps of throughput, alongside lowered energy consumption and the power to maneuver as a lot as 100 watts of energy over the interface.

A USB-C port with assist for Thunderbolt implies that a single cable is all you should push energy and switch a considerable amount of data (as much as and together with video knowledge for 2 60Hz 4K shows) to and from even a posh machine like a pc, one thing many laptop computer producers have been fast to make the most of. Some fashions of Apple’s MacBook Professional boast 4 Thunderbolt connectors, which is as many as we have seen thus far, and it provides you extra enlargement potential than you ever had with earlier variations of USB.

(Credit score: Zlata Ivleva)

Now, like with DisplayPort over USB-C, not each USB-C port you see essentially has Thunderbolt assist. Test a tool’s spec sheet or documentation for the Thunderbolt particulars to make certain. Some units could have multiple USB-C port, with just some supporting a Thunderbolt spec.

Adapters, Cables and USB-C Hubs

USB-C is electrically suitable with older USB 3.0 ports. However due to the form of the newer port, adapters or cables with acceptable plugs are certainly required if you wish to join something that does not have the USB-C oval form.

Generally a brand new laptop computer will include these; in different instances, you could have to buy them individually. Apple, as an example, sells quite a lot of USB cables and adapters for connecting USB-C to different applied sciences corresponding to Lightning or Ethernet. You may as well discover quite a lot of these for PCs in case you browse on-line retailers. Some even assist older or extra esoteric protocols, to make sure a tool you’ve gotten from years in the past will work on as we speak’s {hardware}. It is simple to seek out USB-C-to-DVI adapters, for instance, however we have additionally come throughout some that cut up to 2 RS-232 serial connections.

(Credit score: Satechi)

The excellent news, although, is that in case you put money into a few regular USB-C cables, they may work with something and all the things that helps USB-C, no matter technology. Observe, nonetheless, that that doesn’t prolong to Thunderbolt. Although Thunderbolt 3 and 4 use a USB-C bodily connector, you will want an acceptable Thunderbolt-specific cable to ensure compatibility and full velocity. This cable could have a USB-C connector at each ends however have a lightning-bolt image on every. It’s going to even be considerably pricier than an ordinary USB-C. (See our Thunderbolt 4 primer for extra on the cable points.)

Plus, newer docks for PCs and docks for Macs have now extensively built-in USB-C. Having just one USB-C port is just not an issue: You’ll find USB-C docking options out there, each from PC producers like Dell and HP, and from third-party accent makers like Belkin and OWC. These docks can recharge your laptop computer, provide you with entry to additional ports (together with Ethernet, HDMI, USB 3.0, and VGA), and add assist for a number of displays.

Do You Want USB-C?

The presence (or absence) of a USB-C port is more and more changing into a consideration when shopping for a PC. If you happen to purchase an ultrathin laptop computer, it’s going to nearly definitely have at the least one USB-C port, which is able to catapult you into the ecosystem mechanically. If you happen to’re extra of a lover of desktops, you are sure to seek out the ports there, too, with at the least one on the motherboard-side I/O panel and sure extra on high-end and gaming desktops. Some desktops and aftermarket PC instances are placing one on the entrance panel, too. (Desktop DIY varieties ought to know, although, {that a} USB-C port on a PC case’s entrance or high would require a particular USB-C header connector on the motherboard finish, and solely late-model motherboards could have these.)

Even in case you do not want USB-C now, you’ll earlier than lengthy. We’re solely scratching the floor of what USB-C can do, however one factor is definite: The following technology of cross-platform connectors is shortly changing the previous guard simply as the unique USB commonplace changed Apple Desktop Bus (ADB), FireWire, parallel, PS/2, SCSI, and serial ports on Macs and PCs. USB-C really is one port to rule all of them.