USB-C is an industry-standard connector for transmitting both data and power on a single cable. The USB-C connector was developed by the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), the group of companies that has developed, certified, and shepherded the USB standard over the years. The USB-IF counts more than 700 companies in its membership, among them Apple, Dell, HP, Intel, Microsoft, and Samsung. Although USB Type A is still the most used connector, the USB Type C are becoming increasingly more popular. Type C connectors differ in appearance compared to the previous USB types, as they are asymmetrical and have a small and thin appearance. One major difference is that the USB C is reversible; meaning it does not matter which way the connector is facing. Most USB Type B connectors are at one end of a USB Type B to USB Type A cable. You plug the Type-B connector into the printer, scanner or other device and the Type A connector into the standard USB port on your computer. DOES MY LAPTOP HAVE USB TYPE C?

You’ll typically find USB Type B ports on larger devices you connect to your computer, such as printers and scanners. You might also have external storage devices or drives that use them. Some USB-C cables feature a chip or e-Marker that contains information the device reads. This two meter cable’s e-Marker is incorrect. This broad acceptance by the big dogs is important, because it's part of why USB-C has been so readily accepted by PC manufacturers. Contrast this with the earlier Apple-promoted (and developed) Lightning connector, which had limited acceptance beyond Apple products and is facing obsolescence, thanks in no small part to USB-C. USB-C is so broadly accepted that the European Union, hoping to simplify digital life, will require devices to use it for battery charging starting in 2024.Often referred to as “male”, as they plug into a “female” port, it is important to understand that there are two elements of USB standard to consider; the physical connector shape and the underlying protocol (speed). USB Type A USB-C includes support for DisplayPort Alt Mode, which allows USB-C cables to transmit video signals directly between your computer and display via the DisplayPort standard. That means your ultra-thin laptop doesn't need a chunky DisplayPort port, manufacturers can opt for a small USB-C port instead. While connecting a micro USB device to a computer is a simple process, a special cable is required if your PC includes a USB-C port. MIXIT 2.0 has a micro USB connector on one side, and a reversible USB-C connector on the other, so it can be easily connected to a PC. The cable limits buyers to 480 Mbps file transfer speed as it uses USB 2.0 standard. In addition, it offers 3A power so it can be used for charging purposes too. If you’re looking for a high-quality USB-C cable that will give you excellent performance, it’s hard to beat Cable Matters 6-foot USB-C cable. The cable can do it all and do it all well (well, almost) from charging at up to 100 watts, transferring data from your USB 3.1 SSD, or running a monitor. The only area where it doesn’t excel is in Thunderbolt performance, which is limited to 20Gbps. That’s not a ding in our book because that’s the tradeoff of a 6-foot cable. To hit 40Gbps, you’d have to step down to a shorter cable. He enjoys DIY projects, especially if they involve technology. He regularly repairs and repurposes old computers and hardware for whatever new project is at hand. He has designed crossovers for homemade speakers all the way from the basic design to the PCB.

The presence (or absence) of a USB-C port is increasingly becoming a consideration when buying a PC. If you buy an ultrathin laptop, it will almost certainly have at least one USB-C port, which will catapult you into the ecosystem automatically. If you're more of a lover of desktops, you're certain to find the ports there, too, with at least one on the motherboard-side I/O panel and likely more on high-end and gaming desktops. Some desktops and aftermarket PC cases are putting one on the front panel, too. (Desktop DIY types should know, though, that a USB-C port on a PC case's front or top will require a specific USB-C header connector at the motherboard end, and only late-model motherboards will have these.) CMD are a British manufacturing company that provides high-power systems to enhance office and homeworking environments. We provide vast product ranges, including power distribution systems and workstation power charging hubs. You’d think you could tell whether a cable is USB-C 2.0 cable by looking at the wires in the connector but that’s not the case. Some cables use connectors with pins that aren’t hooked up to anything. If both connectors are USB Type-A, it would be a USB Type-A cable (or a USB male-to-male of cable or, simply, a USB cable). 2. AS ONE TYPE TO ANOTHER Here's a guide to everything USB-C can do, and which of its features you should look for when buying your next USB-C device.We didn’t test the temperature of each cable’s housing, but we did test the cheapest cable by running it at 5 amps and 20 volts for an hour. The housing heated up by 50 degrees Fahrenheit, and the cable itself became relatively warm (see the thermal image below). Not ideal, but it did this without failure. We subjected other cables to two-hour loads without failure, as well.

USB 2.0 is USB 2.0, and anywhere you see it you can be sure that you'll have a maximum transfer speed of 480 megabits per second. DisplayPort --- as the name might suggest --- is specifically designed to transmit video signals between your computer and a display of some kind, like a monitor, TV, or projector. Typically, that requires both a DisplayPort port, and a DisplayPort cable, but USB-C changes that. Planning to connect your smartphone to a computer with a USB-C port? You’ll need the right cable. Kanex includes both micro USB port and USB-C connector, so it can be used to connect an old tablet or smartphone to a USB-C PC. It supports both data transfer (at 480 Mbps) and charging. Obviously, as a charge cable it’s terrible for data transfer and can’t drive Thunderbolt devices nor your monitor, but as a charging cable it’s excellent.

The main difference between versions is the shape, as the rounding has been altered due to the increase of the number of pins; allowing a faster data transfer. Confused yet? Further complicating matters: The number scheme around USB 3 has been in flux, which has made references to these ports something of a swamp. Until recently, many USB-C ports carried the USB 3.1 label ("USB 3.2" was not yet a thing) in Gen 1 and Gen 2 flavors, and some spec sheets continue to reference the older name, along with SuperSpeed branding. In a confusing twist, the USB-IF decided to eliminate the use of "USB 3.1" in favor of these various flavors of USB 3.2, as outlined below in this handy decoder chart... In addition to his extensive writing experience, Chris has been interviewed as a technology expert on TV news and radio shows. He gave advice on dark web scans on Miami's NBC 6, discussed Windows XP's demise on WGN-TV's Midday News in Chicago, and shared his CES experiences on WJR-AM's Guy Gordon Show in Detroit. This awkward collection of differently shaped connectors for different-size devices is finally coming to a close. USB Type-C offers a new connector standard that's very small. It's about a third the size of an old USB Type-A plug. This is a single connector standard that every device should be able to use. You'll just need a single cable, whether you're connecting an external hard drive to your laptop or charging your smartphone from a USB charger. That one tiny connector is small enough to fit into a super-thin mobile device, but also powerful enough to connect all the peripherals you want to your laptop. The cable itself has USB Type-C connectors at both ends---it's all one connector.