USB C: The Other Side of the Dongle Mess

Posted by Jennifer Truong on November 26th, 2019

Over the last five years, if there has been one topic in discussion in every way possible by phone and laptop manufactures, media, and tech enthusiasts, it is USB C. How it works, whether it is better than older versions, how fast companies will adapt to it, the possibilities of its uses and many more questions and topics are the focus of these discussions.

So why is it in the discussion? And why should device manufacturers switch over?

The simple answer is that USB C is fast. As fast as a thunderbolt. Excuse the pun.

USB C came into being in 2014, followed by newer, faster iterations of it over the last 5 years. When Apple made the MacBook with just a single USB C port, it was outrageous! It pushed people to think about the I/O panels on devices. If one port can do it all, can form factors be smaller? Can they have one port for everything including charging?

How this can change the average user’s life is the question to ask. Let’s use this blog to take a look at it:

Cable Management

Remember the time when you needed a specific cable for each of your devices? USB C changes that (or rather aims to) drastically. The connector is potentially ubiquitous. You can use fewer cables to charge all your devices that have the USB C port. Therefore, your charging station definitely benefits, but you only have to carry just one cable for all your devices when you are traveling. You can use this cable to charge, exchange data, as a connector for projectors, for your headphones, etc. Of course, having more than one USB C cable would be convenient in this situation, but not necessary.

Additionally, it would also be environmentally friendly to not need too many cheap quality cables for various uses. You can just have two or three high quality ones that last longer and are recyclable.

Display Set Up

USB C, the right variant of it, can power two 4K devices. Not only will you be able to get content on two screens but the same cable will also supply power to them simultaneously. With this, you can have high-end display monitors running on a single laptop or external CPU. It makes for a clutter-free setup that is also speed efficient.

Form Factor

If you can use one port for input/output, and charging, you don’t need to put any other ports on a device. Just like you can carry a single USB C cable, you can use a single port for multiple uses. While you may need to attach something that requires different USB cables, you can use a USB C hub for now when device manufacturers are still using the dated ports.

When there is a single or even just two USB C ports on a device like a laptop, it allows for a slimmer, more portable form factor.

Streamlined Accessories

We attach a huge number of devices to each other for various reasons. If each of them had a USB C port, it would make the connection as simple as if it were wireless, with the reliability that comes from cables.

The USB C connector is popular as the one connector to rule them all, but that largely depends on device manufactures and how soon they implement their customers’ demands. The smarter thing to do, right now, is to buy gadgets with Type C ports and to hold on to all the USB C cables that come with it. One day we will not have to live the dongle life and it really will take the weight off of our shoulders.

Until then, SF Cable can cater to all your requirements for USB cables, including and definitely not limited to USB C cables and dongles.

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Jennifer Truong

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Jennifer Truong
Joined: June 29th, 2018
Articles Posted: 80

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