This switchover will, however, probably take years.įor now, USB-A shows up alongside the USB type C connector in many computers, primarily to deal with compatibility issues. In time, you can expect USB-C connections to replace all older USB-A connections and other ports. With the right data standard (see below), the USB-C connection is much faster and more versatile than USB-A. Potential compatibility with Thunderbolt 3 connections means a USB-C port can double as a Thunderbolt 3 port with extra hardware.Support for alternate modes that allow for lots of different adapters for specific connections like HDMI or VG - or older types of USB connections.Support for video delivery at much higher quality, including transmitting 4K video to a screen.Support for power delivery to charge up devices on either end (with the right cables) and charge larger devices.Potential for a much higher data transfer rate than USB-A.A 100-watt, 20-volt connection is far more powerful than the older port and can handily power even larger devices.A slimmer design that fits into a port no matter which direction it’s flipped, designed to replace A, B, mini, and micro USB connections all at once.Designed to solve many of the old USB-A port problems, USB-C was an entirely new type of USB port. USB-C is a newer port type officially announced in 2014, although it took several years for the ports to reach widespread consumer devices, as we see today. Note that there are also subsets of this design, like USB Mini-A and USB Micro-A, with different port designs, but these aren’t as important for our current discussion. There are USB-B to USB-B cables, but they’re rarely used. USB type B is mainly for external peripherals, with a USB-A connection on one end and a USB-B connection. Type B connections also are easy to recognize because of their square shape with rounded corners on one side, almost like the shape of a tiny house. The USB-B connector is the receptor port on the USB device you are connecting to the host computer. Interestingly, there is no USB-B host port. This arrangement creates the infamous, one-sided USB connection that only works with the cable perfectly inserted - no matter how many times you have to try. It’s a horizontal port with the bottom portion dedicated to pin connectors.

USB-A is a traditional USB host port design and one of the easiest to recognize on devices. Every USB connection makes up a port in the host device, a connecting cable, and a receptor device. USB Type-A connections refer to the physical design of the USB port.

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