What the ‘C’ in USB-C actually means (it isn’t what you assume)

You possible work together with a USB port daily, whether or not you are plugging in your telephone to cost or connecting a tool to your PC. Lately, USB-C, often known as USB Kind-C, has turn into the most typical sort of USB port, seen on most smartphones, laptops, tablets, gaming consoles, e-readers, and lots of different units.

Within the cellular world, Android telephones have had USB-C for a very long time, however Apple lastly caught as much as the occasions and adopted USB-C on the iPhone again in 2023 with the iPhone 15 sequence, lastly saying goodbye to its proprietary Lightning port.

I actually hadn’t thought a lot about USB-C recently as a result of it is turn into so synonymous with all of the tech I take advantage of that I’ve simply grown used to it. Nonetheless, that modified just lately when my buddy, who purchased a brand new iPhone with USB-C for the primary time, requested me a easy but eye-opening query: “What is the C within the USB-C stand for?” It made me consider a humorous facet of know-how: regardless of its widespread use by tens of millions and even billions of individuals day by day, many may not truly know what the ‘C’ in USB-C represents. And to be clear, I do not blame them.

As for what the reply is, in all equity, it is not the obvious. Once you take a look at a USB-C port or connector, it is not truly formed just like the letter C, so that is not the which means. My buddy assumed it stood for connector, which is an affordable guess however not the reply both. To essentially perceive the which means of the “C” in USB-C, it requires a little bit of exploration into the historical past of the USB port itself.

USB-C is the newest USB connector

It’s the successor to USB-A and USB-B

The rationale USB-C has its title is not as a result of the C stands for one thing like charging, cable, or connector. The C does not stand for a selected phrase, neither is it an acronym for something. The C in USB-C serves as an identifier for the design, because it’s the newest connector sort within the USB household, which incorporates two prior older design varieties: USB-A and USB-B.

The USB made its debut in 1996, when seven main tech corporations — Intel, Microsoft, IBM, Compaq, DEC, NEC, and Nortel — launched the Common Serial Bus (USB), a common connector for computer systems. USB was designed to make connecting peripherals like keyboards, mice, and printers to PCs simpler. Within the 25 years since its introduction, it has turn into important to many technological improvements, together with smartphones, tablets, e-readers, and extra.

USB-A might be the USB port you are most accustomed to, because it’s the oblong connector that is been used on units for effectively over twenty years now, and remains to be generally seen in the present day on USB flash drives, computer systems, gaming consoles, and extra. It is a thick connector, and given what number of laptops and tablets have been specializing in thinness in recent times, USB-C has largely taken over its place, due to its compactness and likewise its capacity to deal with sooner knowledge switch and charging speeds.

You is likely to be much less accustomed to USB-B, a bulkier sq. connection usually seen on printers and exterior onerous drives. You might also discover USB-B ports on the again of screens, the place they function upstream ports, which means they ship knowledge from the opposite USB ports in your monitor again to your PC. So when you join a keyboard to your monitor’s USB-A port, you will have to plug the USB-B port into your PC as effectively, so it may use it. Micro USB, which was on lots of smartphones again within the day, can also be a sort of USB-B port, it is only a miniaturized model.

That lands us on USB-C, the latest sort of USB connector. Not like USB-A and USB-B, USB-C is a reversible connector with a symmetrical design, permitting it to be plugged in any orientation. Along with its user-friendly design, USB-C can also be way more compact than USB-A and USB-B, which means it takes up approach much less house on units. In an age the place telephones just like the iPhone Air and the Galaxy Z Fold 7 exist, having a small but extraordinarily highly effective USB port is integral to holding the units skinny and lightweight.

So, to recap, the “C” in USB-C does not have any hidden which means or stand for one more phrase. It’s merely a label that signifies the kind of USB connector you are utilizing, which is USB Kind-C. The letter C is used as a result of it follows the sequential order of the USB household, which had USB-A and USB-B previous it.

The ‘C’ in USB-C does not point out its energy both

USB-C ports help varied USB protocols that decide knowledge switch pace

One other essential element to find out about USB-C ports is that the “C” does not truly point out how briskly it’s both. Whereas one advantage of USB-C over USB-A and USB-B is its versatility, because it helps quite a lot of USB protocols that its predecessors do not, this additionally makes USB-C a bit complicated as a result of not all USB-C ports are the identical.

The information switch pace of a USB-C port will depend on the USB protocol supported by its inner controller chip and the standard of the cable used. USB-C helps many protocols, together with USB 2.0 with speeds as much as 480 Mbps, USB 3.2 Gen 1 with speeds as much as 5 Gbps, USB 3.2 Gen 2 with speeds as much as 10 Gbps, and USB 4, Thunderbolt 3, and Thunderbolt 4 with speeds as much as 40 Gbps.

Should you’re inquisitive about how briskly the USB-C port in your machine is, test the producer’s spec sheet. For instance, the iPhone 17 Pro’s USB-C port is USB 3.2 and helps as much as 10 Gbps, whereas the bottom iPhone 17’s USB port is barely USB 2, which implies it’s restricted to 480 Mbps. Moreover, the charging pace of a USB-C port will depend on the machine’s inner design and the way a lot energy it may settle for from a charger. Like knowledge switch, charging speeds additionally rely on the standard of the USB-C cable, so earlier than shopping for simply any USB-C cable, test the supported speeds to keep away from limiting your machine’s efficiency due to the cable.