• CHRISTINA BONNINGTON GEAR
 
• 03.10.15
 
• 2:28 PM

WHY THE MACBOOK’S NEW USB-C IS THE PORT OF THE FUTURE

The new USB-C port is reversible, and it handles power, HDMI, and data transport.  Apple

YESTERDAY, APPLE SHOWED off the MacBook, a new laptop notable for its thinness, its gold coloring, and most surprisingly, the absence of all but one solitary port. It’s called USB Type-C, and it’s going to transform gadgets as we know them.

Envisioning a future of laptops with just one input—aside from the headphone jack—is like entering an aquarium full of single-tentacled octopi. It’s unsettling. How do I charge it? Where does my SD card go? Why can’t I hook my computer up to more than two things at once?

These are all fair questions, but they can all find an answer in USB Type-C (or USB-C for short). Here’s a quick rundown of what you need to know.

What does USB-C look like?

A USB-C plug is slender, about the same size as a micro-USB (8.4mm by 2.6mm), but it’s reversible. Like Apple’s Lightning connector, upside down and right-side up are one and the same. So if you’re plugging in your MacBook in the dark, there’s no need to futz and fiddle to figure out which way it needs to be plugged in.

That’s pretty sweet. So does it work like a normal USB?

It’s like a USB on steroids. First off, charging: USB-C can deliver bi-directional power. It can be used to charge a host device, or it can allow the host device to charge a peripheral. It can handle large loads too, delivering up to 20V at 5A (100W). That’s more than enough to charge up a notebook, or multiple mobile devices simultaneously.

USB-C is also faster than our current USB-B standard. Data transfers can run at rates up to 10 Gbps, but it’s backwards compatible with older USB standards, as long as you have an adapter. Right now, our fastest USB Type B devices transfer data at half that speed.