USB type C and its risks?

Perhaps the latest laptop, Android smartphone or gaming console you bought has a USB-C port. If you buy a lot of technology, you may be familiar with this new type of USB.

But if you don’t understand or know it well, you might be wondering why your old cable won’t work with USB-C. USB-C is the new standard that has come to replace newer USB connectors like USB Type-A and MicroUSB.

For the most part, it’s awesome, but it has some drawbacks and caveats that you should be aware of. The main challenge for this is that not all USB-C ports are created equal.

What is USB-C?

The USB-C port was developed in 2014 by the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF). Since then, USB-C has been gradually replacing other USB ports in all types of devices.

You probably also have smartphones, tablets, laptops and game consoles with USB ports. If you upgrade your PS4 to PS5, the controller also switches from a micro USB port to Type-C.

In the years since its existence, many companies have adopted this new port. But there are also some companies, which seem a bit slow in this matter.

Apple is notorious for this: the company has been aggressive in adding USB-C to its MacBook lineup over the past few years, but has refused to use it on the iPhone. Instead, it is still using its proprietary Lightning port. Unfortunately for Apple—and fortunately for the rest of us—now that situation is about to change. Just last year, the European Union announced that USB charging ports will be a common standard for all mobile phones, tablets and cameras, including the iPhone.

The reason behind making USB-C a common standard by the European Union is to help reduce electronic waste (e-waste). The EU’s USB-C mandate is coming into effect from the end of 2024. As a result, it is said that Apple will send the iPhone fifteen to the market with a USB Type-C port.

The same cable will work for everyone

USB-C is much better than the ports that came before it. Its biggest advantage is that it is reversible.

It doesn’t matter which end of the USB cable you plug into the port on your device, it works no matter which end you strip. Gone are the old days of having to properly plug in a USB cable when you start using USB-C.

USB-C itself is also universal. So you can use the USB-C cable on any of your devices with a USB-C port. It turned out to be a game changer: no matter how many devices you have with a USB port, you can take one cable with you wherever you go.

With this cable you can plug your smartphone overnight, then use the same cable to charge laptops, headphones, game consoles, the list can go on.

Apart from this, USB-C also supports fast charging speed (on compatible chargers) as well as fast file transfer (up to 10 or 20 Gbps depending on compatible hardware).

Confused about how fast

Along with the mentioned advantages, it also has some disadvantages. While it sounds great because it’s universal, not all USB-C cables are created equal. So you have to be careful while buying to take advantage of the speed.

For example, USB 3.1 (or USB 3.2 Gen One) can only transfer data at five Gbps. Similarly, USB 3.2 2×1 (formerly known as USB 3.1 Gen 2) and USB 3.2 1×2 both provide speeds of up to 10 Gbps.

If you’re looking for the fastest possible speed, look no further than the USB 3.2 cable. In which transfer speed up to 20 Gbps can be found.

In addition, USB4 supports speeds up to 40 Gbps (although many devices do not yet support USB4). Recent versions like USB4, USB4 2.0 provide speeds up to 120 Gbps.

What you should really be aware of is that USB-C 2.0 USB 2.0 is an old standard, which is relatively slow these days. Such cables can only transfer data up to 480 Mbps speed, which is also mentioned above the cable itself.

Such cables are not good for data transfer and even less suitable for charging devices. The funny thing here is that only Apple’s Lightning supports USB 2.0.

You should also pay attention to both ends of the USB-C cable. Although many support USB-C on both sides, some may have a different type of USB on one side.

One common feature is that there are cables with a USB-A port on one side and a USB-C port on the other. Which is used to connect USB-C devices with USB-A devices.