Fucking awesome, it is. When I travel, I take 1 laptop power cord. Charges my phone, laptop, Switch, and backup battery. (The backup battery’s output ports are USB-A, but it’s got a lil converter cable that stays in the lil bag that the backup battery is stored in.)
this post was submitted on 08 Nov 2024
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It's the best. So much so that not having usb c, has become a deciding factor if i buy something or not. It also seems a bit of a quality insurance, even if it's just a little. But electronics with micro or even mini usb is usually just some cheap shit or that old and they are still selling it.
Compared to USB-A, not really that much of a game changer (it’s still the most common for me). Though I do not miss the three rotations to get it in.
Compared to Micro-USB? Holy fuck, I almost refuse to buy anything still using Micro-USB ported now. Mainly because I can’t never find the fucking cable for it.
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Not at all, its slightly more convenient.
If all cables were created equal then it's kind of a big deal that laptops can now charge via USB-C. Proprietary chargers can suck my ass.
Wasn’t a game changer but I’m finally happy to really only need one cable.
Its convenient and superior to Micro. But mostly its just nice that both mine ans my wife's phone uses the same cord.
So far it's a mess.
I still have Micro USB devices, so I need two cables or USB-C→Micro USB adapter.
I have PCs without USB-C ports, so another adapter needed USB-C → USB-A.
But, I can now "dock" my new-ish laptop with only one USB-C ↔ USB-C cable to a monitor.
Monitor gives power.
If your PC has PCIE slots you can get a USB-C card for around $25
I’m still in the messy stage, but I’ve made preparations for C. Pretty soon I’ll get a newer used phone and tablet, and they’re both going to be type C.
Currently I have a few things that use C, so I’ve shad already got some cables and chargers for them. Once the transition is complete, I’ll get rid of a bunch of old cables.
I bought a high quality USB C charger with a couple nice cables to keep plugged in in my living room. I use it to charge my phone, my girlfriend's phone, my tablet, my laptop, my Switch, and my vape pen. I never have to go looking for another charger and it charges all of those things at a very acceptable rate. I'd qualify that as a game changer.
I certainly like it better, it's an improvement, but "game changer" is strong. I'm slowly replacing gadgets to USB C through attrition. The charge port has ceased to be the failure point for any of the gadgets I own. My pile of spare cables is still excessive, but moving further back in my storage closet because I need them less and less.
Last week I found out that there are off-brand batteries for my DSLR cameras that can be charged directly through USB-C so I don't have to pack a different charger for every camera. Let that sink in!
Overall pretty great, in a pinch I can charge my laptop on a Nintendo Switch power supply. Now if I could just upgrade the last few remaining Micro-USB and Lightning devices without spending a fortune...
Well, for me, the selling points are:
-
Versus earlier versions of USB, it's reversible. This isn't a game changer, I guess, but it's definitely nice to not have to fiddle plugs around all the time.
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I don't know if it's the only form of USB that does USB PD -- I'd guess not -- but in practice, it seems to be pretty strongly associated with USB PD. Having USB PD isn't essential, but it makes charging larger devices, like laptops, a lot more practical. I can lug around a power station that doesn't need to have an embedded inverter.
I still feel that it's kind of physically small and weak compared to USB A. That's an okay tradeoff for small portable devices that don't have the space for larger connectors, but I'm kinda not enthralled about it on desktop. I worry more about bending connectors (and I have bent them before).
So for me, I'd say that it's definitely nice, but not really in a game changing sense. I could do the things it can do in somewhat-worse ways prior to USB-C.
Total game changer. Plug all my peripherals into my monitor. USB C from my monitor to my work laptop. After work I plug it into my home desktop. Also just having one charger and one cable for my phone, steam deck and laptop is amazing especially for work trips.
Not at all a game changer, for me.
I mean, it's just another and one more type of cable. Sure, in theory it's simpler than many various cables and it's even less stupid than the previous USB types, but it's still a mess.
At least, for non-geek me, those cables are a mess as I need to be able to distinguish between the exact same cable to find which one is USB-C or Thunderbolt, between the various versions of USB-C itself, and then between USB-C that comes with or without power delivery, and with what power limitation? And then, despite USB-C supposedly being a standard there are still too many cables that just won't work with certain devices because reasons.
Add to that the many USB-C docks (and dongles) that work... more or less reliably and more or less as marketed (even more so under Linux, but those issues exist under Mac and under Windows as well).
Older cables and ports were cumbersome, and thick and whatever but, as far as I'm concerned, for the most part they just worked like they were supposed to. And I never had an issue knowing which cable to plug into which port as they all looked, you know, different.
Nowadays, I have to label each one of my USB-C cable with some masking tape so I can identify it in a glimpse without wasting my time trying them all one by one.
Edit: some clarifications.
The game changer part is less e waste
a bit, reversable charging.
Except maybe some devices (like IoT) that are powered up by an always plugged micro-usb, my cellphone is USB-C for a long time now, and my laptop has 3 USB-C/TB (no A), so it's easier for a couple of stuff. But I have a usb-c hub with multiple USB-A outlet because I still have a couple of devices to plug like keyboard, trackball, webcam, headset, UPS, FTDI stuff, etc.
No more micro-USB plugging/unplugging for phones.
The prob with usb-c is mainly for powering hungry devices, you need 60W cable, 100W cable, 240W cable, etc.
Not much of a game changer for me. I have a couple portable battery bricks that use micro USB to charge, so I just plugged lightning and USB C adapters in those ports and now lug around lightning and USB C cables as opposed to lightning and micro.
These 'between cycle' points of time where half the old stuff still has old ports, adapters help for me
I despise micro-USB with a passion. Even more than mini-USB. It is so flimsy, it's always been the first thing to die on my wireless devices, including my older phones.
If a device charges through USB, I consider not having USB-C to be a deal breaker. Right now I'm waiting for a USB-C socket breakout panel because I want to convert my Xbox One controller from micro to C.
I like it, I was a USB-micro B cable guy for almost all my electronics. It was a yearlong transition for me to phase it out in favour of USBC, but it was just with upgrading electronics, not because I wanted to ditch the cable format specifically.
Charging and data transfer aspects weren't much of my concern, until I learned about USB-PD and video via USB, that was pretty cool. I like the reversible connector, too many times I jammed the cable in the port the wrong way.
I like it, but not enough stuff uses it yet to be a true game changer. I still have to keep multiples of different types of cables to charge everything.
I regularly, accidentally, grab a USB-C>USB-C cable instead of USB-A>USB-C. And then I think by myself, I've never had this many cables that don't fit.
Good thing is, I have plenty of USB-C cables of different lengths, most of which I don't know the origin. At least they're in a box in my home and not in a landfill.
My house has always lagged behind in the newest tech for one reason or another. Usually it's because I end up adopting everyone's old electronics, but sometimes it's because we have old devices for kids.
USB C is better for me because I'm no longer fumbling to connect the charger late at night. I also appreciate that the charger works for other devices, but that was common for me with micro USB. There were also devices I had that took mini USB.
Now most of the different mini USB devices are gone, but I still have devices that need micro USB. Right not, that's my third party Xbox controllers I inherited and use for PC games. Tandem's T-slim insulin pump was also behind when we got them. Charging the pumps or using the controllers now means we are scrambling for an "old charger."
With
No more than any other cable.
Depends on if it is still using USB 2.0 or 3.0+ standard for data transfer. I love the mostly plug it in way you like option Ivey micro usb, but trying to do photo file transfers from older/cheaper USB C with 2.0 is brutally slow if needed.
How do you know if the cable is a C type of USB?
The letters correspond to the physical connector. The rectangle one everyone knows is A, B is the square connector usually used with printers and other accessories. C is a small, oval connector, and the first one that can be plugged in “upside down” because it’s symmetrical.
C is now common on phones and tablets and other smaller devices. If the connector is ovalish but even smaller and weirdly shaped, that’s one of the mini/micro USB variants and you need to find the right cable to match.
(If you have a USB C cable and i won’t fit into the oval connector because it’s too big, that’s Lightning made by Apple before C existed and is only found on their devices. You have to get a cable with Lightning on at least one end.)
Thank you
You look at the ends that plug into stuff
Oh do they have the letter printed on it?
No? Ok thanks.
Not much. There was USB 3.0 even before the USB-C, so bandwidth-wise it's hasn't been a game changer. Over the years I've used a bunch of phones and other devices with Micro USB Type B and I've had one or two cables fail, but not at the connector. In fact the mouse I'm still using has Micro USB for charging and it's been fine.
Edit: I'm not saying it's not good; it is, but I consider it an incremental improvement, not a game changer. A game changer for me would be a standardised interface with a magnetic connector for example.