Say what you will about the problems inherent to using a non-industry-standard connector like Apple’s elected to use with Lightning on its latest iOS devices: for all the unnecessary compatibility issues that creates, there’s something incredibly graceful about Lightning’s ability to be inserted with no concerns for which way is up. Since late last year we’ve been talking about similar functionality coming to a connector that really would be a cross-manufacturer, cross-platform standard, with word that USB 3.1 would introduce a reversible “Type-C” connector. Work’s been underway to nail-down the specifics behind its design, and today that’s finally a done deal, as the USB 3.0 Promoter Group announces the completed Type-C spec.
Not only is Type-C reversible up-down on the connector end, but the cable itself is the same on both sides, no longer with a big PC/charger end and a smaller phone connector.
With these standards now formalized, manufacturers can start building cables that conform to the published specs, and device makers can start thinking about putting this connector on mobile devices. We’ve probably got a long way to go before it’s truly ubiquitous, so while you can look forward to some bumpy times full of adapters and a little confusion, we’re finally headed down a road that promises to take us to a much more straightforward way to connect with and charge our phones.
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