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USB-C (Universal Serial Bus Type-C) is an industry-standard for transmitting both data and power over a single cable. The benefits of USB-C include increased data transfer rates (DTRs) and faster charging capabilities.
USB-C connectors have a small rectangular shape with rounded edges. Its design is symmetrical and each end of a USB-C cable has both downstream and upstream connectors. This means that end users do not need to be concerned with orientation when plugging in a USB-C cable.
USB Type-C supports the 3.2 and 3.1 versions of the USB specification. It is also backward compatible with both USB 3.0 and USB 2.0.
Techopedia Explains USB-C Connector
The Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface was developed in the mid-1990s and is standardized by the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF).
Originally, the standard defined two types of connectors: A-Type and B-Type. Although there have been several revisions of USB since the original standards were implemented, until recently many USB products still used A or B connectors to connect computing devices to USB 3.1, USB 3.2 and Thunderbolt 3 ports.
Adaptor cables allow one end of a USB Type-C cable to be plugged into an older USB A-Type or USB B-Type port and improve data transfer rates dramatically.
- A USB-C plugged into a USB 3.1 port can transfer 10 gigabytes of data per second.
- A USB-C plugged into a 3.2 port can transfer 20 gigabytes of data per second.
- A USB-C plugged into a Thunderbolt 3 port can transfer 40 gigabytes of data per second.
Some experts predict that USB-C will eventually be replaced by USB4. USB4 has even high data transfer rates and can also support a single 8K display or two 4K displays. USB4 is expected to continue using USB-C connectors as a delivery mechanism for data and power and will be backwards-compatible with previous versions of USB, including USB 2.0.
