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Defines a reversible connector capable of supporting Data rates up to 40 Gbps
10 Gbps per lane, 4 lanes total
USB Type-C's connector and receptacle are smaller sized (comparable to Micro-USB) and more durable, withstanding 10,000 insertions/removal cycles. With symmetrical 24 pins, the connector will attach to the receptacle on the first try.
Up to 100W of power delivery
USB 2.0, 3.1 Gen 1, and 3.1 Gen 2 capable
Support for alternate modes, to allow for more than just USB data to be sent across the connector and cable assembly
Standard driven from computer and Mobile phone manufactures who needed a smaller better interface for USB.
Cables are electronically marked to allow for power delivery negotiation
This is done for safety reasons, to prevent too much power from going across a cable that cannot support it, although we have seen some bad exceptions get into the market causing damage
No more dumb cables!
USB-C ports may be providers or consumers of power
The same port used to connect your flash drive could also be used to charge your laptop.
The Power delivery mode charges smartphones and tablets much faster.
Cables and connectors will also have varying capabilities
e.g. - a port or cable may only support USB 2.0, and no power delivery
Identification of capabilities becomes important!
2.1 DisplayPort Alternate Mode
Supports up to 4Kp60 4:4:4 with DisplayPort 1.3 Spec
Simultaneous Support for USB 3.1 Gen 2 and USB 2.0
Power transfer up to 100W
First monitors introduced @ CES 2016
2.2 MHL (Mobil High-Definition Link) Alternate Modes
Supports up to 4Kp60 with a single lane of data, or 8Kp60 with 4 lanes with superMHL 1.0 specification
USB 2.0, 3.1 support depending on configuration
Power delivery up to 100W
Currently no devices on the market
2.3 Thunderbolt 3 Alternate Mode
Support for up to 2 displays running 4Kp60
Connecting PCIe 3.0, DisplayPort, and USB 2.0 and 3.1 protocols depending on configuration
Laptops from Dell, Lenovo, Apple, HP have begun shipping with USB-C connectors supporting this alternate mode
2.4 HDMI Alternate Mode
Supports HDMI 1.4b spec (4Kp30, 4Kp60 4:2:0)
Cannot support simultaneous USB 3.1 data in any configuration (limited to USB 2.0)
No devices currently on the market supporting this mode
Increasing adoption with Mobile Phones and Laptops
Common devices include:
Adapters to legacy connections (USB A/B, DVI, etc)
Flash Drives
Docking stations
Expected roughly 500 million device shipments by 2017, 2 billion by 2019
Via IHS USB Type C Report 2015
Total of 2.5 billion devices shipped by 2020 according to Global Industry Analysts Inc. report 2015
5 Gbps Bandwidth
3.4 Gbps effective throughput
900mA power available to the downstream device
Full Duplex (vs. Half Duplex USB 2.0)
Supported as standard with latest macOS, Linux, and Windows Operating systems
Exists as a completely separate bus from USB 2.0USB 3.1 data and USB 2.0 data are completely separate, running on different conductors in the connector and cable
10 Gbps Bandwidth
Supported typically through third party drivers and controllers (like AsMedia) and not standard on Intel/AMD hosts as of Jan 2017
Other minor protocol changes over USB 3.1 Gen 1, but maintains backwards compatibility
Hard Drives, Blu-Ray Drives, Flash Drives
Massive increase in performance over USB 2.0
Consumers demanding faster devices to compensate for larger video and picture file sizes
Video Conferencing
Machine Vision
USB 3.0 and 3.1 connectors have additional connections to support the new SuperSpeed performance. D+ and D- connections remain the same, along with power and ground. In addition, there are new twisted pair balanced drivers and receivers for the SuperSpeed data transfer. On the receiver side, they are called StdA_SSRX+ and StdA_SSRX-, on the transmitter side SSTX+ and StdA_SSTX.
USB Cables