New usb type c connector. USB Type-C: a universal connector for everything. Transfer data from smartphone to smartphone
At the beginning of my journey, USB port was intended to unite all other interfaces into one, this was even hinted at by its unchanged logo, but time passes and the universal port itself has grown into many poorly compatible versions, which brought even more chaos into the relationship of certain gadgets. And finally, He appeared on the horizon. The great and terrible USB Type C. Knowledgeable people greeted it with almost applause, and ordinary users just shrugged their shoulders. You can still encounter this indifference today: they say, yes, it’s symmetrical, yes, it’s easier to connect, so what? In fact, the difference is huge, and if you are still wondering what is better - Type C or microUSB, this is the place for you.
Type C is more practical
This compact port has announced itself as a new network standard and its appearance is consistent with such a high status. A symmetrical, 24-pin port can today be found on smartphones in the flagship and mid-price segments, laptops, docking stations, routers and a huge number of other equipment. It does not take up much space on the case and, yes, it is more convenient to connect. And now you don’t have to carry around a certain number of blocks from different equipment with you.
Backward compatibility is also important. The Type-C port allows you to use any technology from the most ancient to the ultra-modern without any special restrictions.
A couple of years ago, there was an urgent issue of finding adapters and compatible flash drives, but today they are a dime a dozen on the market.
Data transfer speed - up to 10 Gb/s
In this regard, Type C is a great foundation for the future, because it offers users data transfer speeds of up to 10 Gb/s. Modern smartphones This, of course, is not necessary, but in the future it may well come in handy.
Here, by the way, we must immediately put an end to the confusion. The first Type C installed on a smartphone (by the way, it was Nokia N1) supported only the 2.0 protocol, while later devices could have both 3.0 and 3.1 with corresponding data transfer rates. This limitation is imposed by the manufacturer with an eye to modern realities and will invariably increase.
Charging - up to 100 W power
Fast charging is already sweeping the planet. They are being developed different manufacturers and they work on different principles, but the essence is the same - to increase power and thus reduce the charging time of the gadget. If you read our previous text, you noticed that in modern technologies fast charging numbers are not even close to the indicated ones. However, in the future, this seemingly sky-high power will also be used. This technology you may have come across on the Internet under the name USB Power Delivery. This is what many see as the future standard fast charging.
Moreover, the Type C port can not only charge, but also charge other devices, which third-party manufacturers will obviously not fail to use in their developments.
Alternate Modes
If up to this point we were talking exclusively about proprietary developments, now it’s time to look at related technologies. Type C will also allow you to connect to monitors with DisplayPort, MHL and HDMI.
You can’t ignore Thunderbolt 3, which guarantees data and video transfer to high speeds. Through this interface you can daisy chain connect up to 6 peripheral devices (for example, monitors). It's really hard to imagine a situation where this is really necessary.
Sound transmission - audiophile quality
If we assessed all the above modes in the context of a reserve for the future, then this is something that even ordinary users are faced with today. We are talking about a massive replacement of the audio jack with a Type C port. Separated ports, in this case, have only one (but very serious) advantage: you can use headphones even when the smartphone is charging. But on all other points the analog jack is inferior digital USB-C. In the latter case, the sound quality will be higher, noise reduction and echo cancellation will be better implemented. Equally significant is the ability to transfer some tasks (and related equipment) to the headset, which will also help avoid unnecessary noise and expand the headset’s control capabilities. The other side of the coin is that headphones will clearly become more expensive than modern simple “whistles” or, in other words, “whistles” will simply die out as a species.
And in the future, according to the developers, cooler things await us. For example, the ability to monitor body temperature while playing sports using headphones.
Docking stations
It is the versatility of the USB Type C port that made the use of docking stations for smartphones possible. Connecting to a dock makes it possible to turn your smartphone into an almost full-fledged desktop PC. Not at the gaming level, of course, but definitely at the multimedia level, thanks to the power mobile processors this is more than enough. On this moment There are two devices on the market that offer this functionality. This is the HP Elite x3, which we reviewed extensively, and the Samsung Galaxy S8, S8+ and Note8 models with their DeX Station. Considering the speed with which Type C is spreading, I would like to hope that other manufacturers will have analogues.
As we see, a miniature Type-C port is not only charging, as many people think, but also a sea of other possibilities. It is for the versatility of USB-C that they value it. But the sea of these undeniable advantages crosses out one fat minus. The capabilities of the port will always be limited by the carrier device and it is impossible to recognize these limitations externally. That is, Type C always looks the same, and to find out what exactly it will be able to do on a particular device, you will have to look for detailed specifications. Moreover, the difficulties here will be not only with the presence/absence of alternative modes, but also with the speeds involved. Moreover, the compatibility of two devices can be “killed” by using the wrong cable. This is a pretty good game of attentiveness. The only good thing is that these restrictions will gradually be leveled out with the development of technology.
Flash cards (or so-called flash drives) will not surprise anyone these days. They have come a long way to the mini-sized devices that many of you probably have. The only thing that can move this market segment forward is the development and support of new standards. Therefore, as soon as we had one of the first flash drives and the USB 3.1 standard, we decided to immediately tell you about it.
It is immediately clear from the box that we are dealing with something tiny - the length of the flash card does not exceed one inch. Actually, there is nothing in the box except the flash drive itself: and it would be strange to expect anything else here.
On one side there is the USB Type-A (3.1) standard, familiar to many users, and on the other there is the same 3.1, only with a USB Type-C connector, protected by a special cover.
Just look how miniature it is - for example, in comparison with the same, the dimensions of which are well known to everyone.
To insert a flash drive into a new MacBook (and this is now from Apple), just move the cover and then start copying all the necessary data. Even in comparison with such a baby as a MacBook, the flash card looks very small. Such that it is almost unnoticeable.
This accessory will become indispensable for you if you have both a new MacBook and a laptop without USB Type-C support. With its help, transferring data from one device to another will become not only very simple, but also fast - we were able to verify this ourselves.
Information obtained using the BlackMagic Disk Speed Test program suggests that transfer speeds over USB 3.1 (Type-A) and Type-C are almost the same. It would be strange to see something different - after all, Type-C is essentially a pleasant “bonus” to the usual USB 3.1.
Advantages of the USB 3.1 port:
★ fast
★ powerful
★ universal
Advantages of the Type-C connector:
★ durable
★ symmetrical
Now you are guaranteed to connect USB cable to the device the first time.
⚠ It is necessary to distinguish between the concepts “ port" And " connector». Connector(socket) Type-C can be soldered to an old phone (instead of micro-USB), but port USB 2.0 will remain the old one - it will not increase charging and data transfer speeds. The only conveniences that will appear are the symmetry and reliability of the connector.
⚠ Thus, the presence of Type-C does not mean anything. Smartphone models with a new connector are sold, but with old port. The advantages listed in this article do not apply to such smartphones.
Assigning contacts
The connector contacts in the diagrams are shown from the outside (working) side, unless otherwise stated otherwise.
The port contains 24 pins (12 pins on each side). The “upper” line is numbered A1…A12, the “lower” line is numbered B1…B12. For the most part, the lines are identical to each other, which makes this port indifferent to the orientation of the plug. The contacts of each line can be divided into 6 groups: USB 2.0, USB 3.1, Power, Ground, Matching channel And Additional channel. Now let's take a closer look.
Actually, USB 3.1. High-speed data lines: TX+, TX-, RX+, RX- ( pins 2, 3, 10, 11). Speed up to 10 Gb/s. In the cable, these pairs are recrossed, and what is RX for one device appears as TX for another. And vice versa. By special order, these pairs can be retrained for other tasks, for example, video transmission.
Good old . Low speed data lines: D+/D- ( pins 6, 7). This rarity was included in the port for the sake of compatibility with old low-speed devices up to 480 Mb/s.
Power supply plus - Vbus(pins 4, 9). Standard voltage is 5 volts. The current is set depending on the needs of the peripherals: 0.5A; 0.9A; 1.5A; 3A. In general, the specification of the port implies a transmitted power of up to 100W, and in case of war, the port is capable of powering a monitor or charging a laptop with a voltage of 20 volts!
GND - Mother Earth (pins 1, 12). Minus everything.
Matching channel(or configurator) - SS ( pin 5). This is the main feature of USB type-C! Thanks to this channel, the system can determine:
— Fact of connection/disconnection peripheral device;
— Orientation of the connected plug. Oddly enough, the connector is not completely symmetrical, and in some cases the device wants to know its orientation;
— Current and voltage that should be provided to the peripherals for power or charging;
— The need to work in an alternative mode, for example, to transmit an audio-video stream.
— In addition to monitoring functions, this channel, if necessary, supplies power to the active cable.
Additional channel - SBU (pin 8). The additional channel is usually not used and is provided only for some exotic cases. For example, when transmitting video over a cable, an audio channel is transmitted over the SBU.
USB 3.1 Type-C pinout
The “striped color” here shows the contacts of the bare wire.
A strange decision was to mark the wires D+ and D- not as in USB 2.0, but vice versa: D+ white, D- green.
Wires are marked with a gray outline, the color of which, according to Wikipedia, is not regulated by the standard. The author did not find any indication of the colors of the wires in official documentation.
Wiring Type-C connectors ▼ 
Diagram of a typical USB-C male-to-male cable▼ 
USB PD Rev.2 (USB Power Delivery) power/charge technology
The USB-C cable does not have such concepts as “connector-A” or “connector-B” - the connectors are now the same in all cases.
Device roles are designated with new terms:
DFP- active, power supply device (like a USB port) A)
UFP- passive, receiving device (like a USB port) B)
DRP- a “two-faced” device that dynamically changes its status.
In addition, the charger is called Power Provider, charging - Power Consumer.
The distribution of roles is carried out by setting a certain potential on the CC contact using one or another resistor:
Active device ( DFP V bus.
The resistor value tells the consumer how much current he can expect:
56
±20% kOhm - 500 or 900 mA
22
±5% kOhm - 1.5 A
10
±5% kOhm - 3 A
▲ Adapters from USB 2.0 (3.0) to USB-C, used to connect new smartphones to old PCs or storage devices, are wired according to the DFP scheme, that is, they show themselves to the smartphone as an active device
Passive device ( UFP) is determined by the resistor between contacts CC and GND.
Resistor value: 5,1
kOhm
▲ Adapters from USB-C to USB-OTG are wired exactly according to the UFP scheme, that is, they simulate a consuming device.
⚠ USB PD Rev2 technology in which by contact CC agree current And voltage charge should not be confused with Quick Charge (QC) technology, where the contacts D− And D+ only consistent voltage charge. USB PD Rev2 is only supported in USB 3.1.
QC is supported without reference to the port version.
USB-micro-USB-C adapter
Wiring the Type-C to USB 3.0 OTG adapter board from different sides ▼
Analog audio via Type-C
The standard provides the ability to transmit analog audio through a digital port. This feature is implemented in HTC smartphones U series, HTC 10 Evo, Xiaomi Mi, LeTV. The author will be grateful if the reader adds to this list.
To work in this mode, use analog headsets with a Type-C plug. Adapters are provided to connect the classic one.
Analog audio is transmitted via Data−, Data+, SBU1 and SBU2 channels. The smartphone enters this mode if there is a headset or adapter in the plug between contacts A1-A5 and B1-B5 a resistance of less than0.8…1.2 kOhm. Instead of a resistor, I could see just a jumper.
Video over USB-C
To transmit video via USB 3.1, the “DisplayPort Alternate Mode” has been developed.
See the list of devices that support this mode. I think it will be very useful for many. I don’t know what kind of cord you had and whether it worked with QC3.0 before? How long did you live in it? “Normal USB” - what is it?
In 2015, Apple released its first gadget equipped with a new and, surprisingly, only USB Type-C port. , which has only one port, caused a storm of discontent among the company's fans.
And then it was tolerated, fell in love, and Apple to this day not only very successfully sells the 12-inch line of ultrabooks, but also equipped the USB Type-C series MacBook Pro, completely abandoning the classic USB 2.0/3.0, and indeed any additional ports.
Almost three years have passed since the release of the MacBook, but users still have questions about using the newfangled USB Type-C port. I am especially concerned about the selection of cables and accessories.
In this material we will understand all the nuances of the new standard. I will try to present the material in such a way that after reading it no more questions arise, but USB ports Type-C in MacBook and MacBook Pro has become known.
Where did USB-C come from and where did the problem creep in?
The USB standard itself appeared in 1994. USB 1.0 was conceived as a universal port for connecting all kinds of equipment to a PC. They began to actively use it only in the 2000s.
USB 2.0. Then it was time for USB 2.0. USB 2.0 cables have a strict orientation and come in two types of connectors: USB Type-A and USB Type-B. With growing popularity mobile devices Later, two more types of connectors will appear: USB Micro-B and USB Mini-B.
Data was transmitted over two cables, usually green and white, and black and red were responsible for nutrition.
The maximum data transfer speed over USB 2.0 is 480 Mbit/s. The main disadvantage of the standard is that the currents are too low ( no more than 500 mA), which often caused problems when connecting external drives.
USB 3.0. Having decided to eliminate USB disadvantages 2.0, engineers are developing new standard- USB 3.0. “Blue USB” became much faster and was able to transfer data at high speeds up to 5 Gbit/s.
Perhaps this was due to the appearance of four additional communication lines, and, as a result, an increase in the maximum current up to 900 mA.
In the fall of 2013, the specifications of the updated USB 3.1 Type-C standard were approved. Since then, life has ceased to be the same.
What exactly is USB Type-C?
Despite the fact that engineers had already released three iterations of the USB standard, the main question still remained open to them. It was necessary to provide normal nutrition.
A pathetic current of 900 mA is clearly not enough to recharge the same 8-10 thousand mAh laptop battery. In addition, more power-hungry accessories began to appear on the market, and the tendency of manufacturers to make devices thinner and more compact forced them to abandon ports such as HDMI, Thunderbolt, classic USB, and Ethernet.
Instead of 8-pin USB 3.0, 24-pin USB 3.1 Type C appears. Why are there so many of them? Judge for yourself:
The new USB Type-C specification has opened up a number of new opportunities for users.
Firstly, USB Type-C has a new USB PD standard, according to which this port and the corresponding cables must be capable of transmitting current power up to 100 W in both directions.
Secondly, the data transfer speeds are impressive. Thunderbolt 3 Alternate Mode can transfer data at speeds up to 40 Gbps. Of course, with certain “ifs”, but more on that below.
Thirdly, it can transmit video with a resolution of up to 5K. There is plenty of speed here and the need for HDMI simply disappears.
Finally, USB Type-C is convenient because no matter how you plug it in, it will work. It's two-sided. A logical continuation of the Lightning cable, but now not only for Apple devices.
What then is installed in the MacBook and MacBook Pro?
Before we figure out the choice of cables and USB Type-C accessories, we need to understand the USB Type-C ports that are installed in MacBooks.
Unfortunately, the USB Promoter Group made a lot of mistakes with the USB 3.1 specification, producing several generations of ports and completely confusing users.
Let's unravel this Gordian knot.
So, here are all generations of MacBook and the corresponding USB Type-C ports installed in them.
That is, you should immediately understand that if you have a 12-inch MacBook, you can forget about Thunderbolt 3 support, which means it’s stupid to overpay for support for this specification when choosing a cable.
The MacBook 12″ supports video transmission via HDMI, VGA and DisplayPort (with appropriate adapters), but it cannot be connected to Thunderbolt devices.
With MacBook Pro 2016 and newer, everything is much more interesting. Until the recent update, the 13-inch MacBook Pro models only had Thunderbolt 3 support (those on the left).
In 2018, all four ports in models with TouchBar fully support data transfer at full speed. For the 12-inch MacBooks, everything remains unchanged.
Choosing the right cable for specific tasks
The choice of USB Type-C cable directly depends on the task you are pursuing. This specification is very extensive and has certain limitations.
1. For charging
USB Type-C supports charging power up to 100 W. MacBooks come with a corresponding charging cable with a built-in controller that limits the maximum charging power.
The 12-inch MacBook comes with a cable with a maximum charging power of up to 61 W. With MacBook Pro 13 and 15 inches 87 W respectively.
This means only one thing: if you connect a 61-watt cable to an 87-watt charger and try to charge a MacBook Pro 15" from, say, 2018, it will charge at 61 watts. That is, one and a half times slower.
This also applies to other certified charging cable manufacturers.
Is it possible connect your MacBook to a higher power charger? Can. Instead of the included 29 W power supply, you can power it with an 87 W 15-inch MacBook Pro charger. This is not scary, but there will be no miracle and the MacBook will not charge faster.
And yes, it's not harmful. The MacBook will take exactly as much as it can. By the way, the story is the same with the iPad.
To finally resolve issues with charging and get a cable “for all occasions,” you can opt for the original 2-meter USB-C cable for RUB 1,490.
2. For transmitting video signal like HDMI
You decide to connect an external monitor or TV to your MacBook or MacBook Pro. Let's figure out what to use to transmit a video stream in conjunction with USB Type-C.
First and foremost, determine which input port the external monitor or TV is equipped with.
For HDMI. There is a universal option that will not only add a standard USB 2.0/3.0 port and HDMI to MacBooks, but also duplicate USB Type-C. Costs 5,490 rubles.
For VGA. A similar, but more archaic solution for VGA for the same 5,490 rubles.
For Thunderbolt 3. There are already several Thunderbolt 3 display models on the market (12-inch MacBooks are passing by). 0.8 meters of such cable will cost 3,190 rubles.
The same option can be used for charging (up to 100 W). By overpaying 2 thousand rubles and buying this instead of a USB Type-C charging cable, you will get a truly universal cord that supports data transfer at speeds of up to 40 Gbps.
Important. Don't go for length. Two-meter and half-meter cables supporting Thunderbolt 3 are different things.
But, here it is worth bringing some clarity.
3. For connecting USB 2.0/USB 3.0 devices
Perhaps this is the only case when there are no problems with adapters. The same standard USB Type-C -> USB adapter for 1,490 rubles. capable of delivering up to 5 Gbit/s.
This is exactly what the USB Type-C port in the 12-inch MacBook family is designed to do.
4. For maximum data speed (5K and 4K 60Hz)
40 Gbps - this is the maximum USB Type-C gen 2 with Thunderbolt 3 support can transmit. But this is under ideal conditions.
To ensure this speed, the cable length must not exceed 18 inches or 45 centimeters. Otherwise, the speed drops sharply.
But even here everything is not so clear. Thunderbolt 3 cords fall into two categories: passive And active. And you should pay attention to this if speed is important to you.
The first, with a length of two meters, transmit data at half the speed, that is, at the level of 20 Gbit/s, or even less.
Active ones have a special transmitter that controls the transmission speed along the entire length of the cable. With such laces the speed is maintained.
The era of inconvenient connectors has come to an end. Some users no longer recognize the old 30-pin Apple cable, and microUSB is rarely seen even in budget phones. USB Type-C has become the standard in 2016, which is used in most announced devices. Even Apple decided, following the Macbook 2015, to deprive the new Pro line models of a regular USB connector. Does this mean the company will abandon Lightning soon?
Just a few years ago, the then new Lightning connector was perceived as an “amazing” replacement for the old and inconvenient analogue. No more hassle with getting into the charging port, and smaller sizes the new items contributed to the “weight loss” of the new iPhone models.
But time passes, the industry does not stand still, and the once revolutionary connector has become commonplace. And the outdated microUSB was replaced with a competitive Type-C, which in terms of capabilities could compete with Lightning.
The gradual transition to the new standard was very “painful”. Apple users were more comfortable with changing connectors, because they were accustomed to fairly high prices for cables, unlike owners of Android devices who were not willing to pay $10-20 for a piece of wire.
But it wasn't just the price that was the problem. The first devices with USB Type-C did not offer anything new, causing only inconvenience. After all, they did not use high-speed USB 3.1, but regular USB 2.0. This slowed the spread of the connector a bit. But now phones and laptops are appearing that take full advantage of all available potential.
One of the main advantages of USB Type-C is the ability to simultaneously charge and exchange large amounts of data. Using the new connector, a voltage of up to 100 W can be transmitted, which is about 20 V and 5 A. These values are sufficient to charge almost any device, be it a tablet or a laptop. So there is a foundation for the future.
There’s no point in talking about ease of use here; symmetry eliminated the need to constantly check which side is connecting. But here it is worth noting that Lightning will be slightly better in terms of design reliability. After all, inside the USB connector, as before, there is a thin contact tab that can easily be broken if foreign particles enter. In this case, the owner will have to repair the USB input. But if Lightning breaks down, even if the plug is broken off, you will only need to change the cable.
Another drawback was the presence of a large number of cheap Chinese USB Type-C cables and the problem of controlling their quality. Such a wire, purchased for $1, could damage the battery or even cause the device to catch fire. The problem lies in the voltage passing through the cable, because in Chinese versions there was often no limitation, which was the reason for the breakdown of many phones.
But the fate of Lightning no longer seems so rosy. Devices using it still do not receive support for fast charging, the data transfer speed is inferior to its competitor, and the versatility of such a connector remains in question. Even Apple computers don't have it. To connect your phone to a new Macbook, you need to purchase additional adapters.
Cupertino has invested a lot of money in the development of Lightning, and it itself brings in good income from licensing, but it seems its time is running out. Switching to USB Type-C will allow you to charge all devices in the house with just one wire.
But don't expect Lightning to die anytime soon. There are a huge number of accessories available for it, and the recent removal of the 3.5mm miniJack has extended its life by several years. After all, the release of headphones using Lightning will bring considerable profit to Apple. And perhaps it will improve the characteristics of the connector to match them with its competitor.
Now USB Type-C is endowed with greater capabilities and looks more promising. So at the moment, it is he who wins the fight for the title of “most technologically advanced connector of 2016”.