Sunday Times 2
Infuriating USB plugs set to become reversible
It may not be the world’s greatest problem but jabbing at computer ports, when trying to insert USB cables that are almost always the wrong way up, can be very annoying.
Inserting a USB plug (pictured) into a port the right way up can be annoying but work has begun on a new generation of USB connector called the Type-C that will be reversible
However, this frustrating pitfall of modern life is set to become a thing of the past as work has begun on the next generation of reversible USB connectors – making it possible to insert a plug into a socket both ways up.
The new USB Type-C connector is being designed to be used in thinner and sleeker products like tablets and ultrabooks.
The design has not yet been revealed but its plug will be approximately the same size as a Micro USB plug.
The idea is that the Type-C ‘is the only connector one will need across all devices’ according to the USB 3.0 Promoter Group.
Crucially, as the new design is different to the current and old USB plugs, users of older computing equipment will need an adapter to use new devices or Type-C plugs.
Brad Saunders, chairman of the group, said the plug is being developed ‘to help enable thinner and sleeker product designs, enhance usability and provide a growth path for performance enhancements for future versions of USB.’
The Type-C connector is built on existing USB 3.1 and USB 2.0 technologies and will be reversible like Apple’s Lightning connector.
The design is expected to be finalised by the middle of 2014.
Alex Peleg of Intel said the company ‘is excited to see the development of the new thin Type-C connector as it will enable an entirely new super thin class of devices from phones to tablets, to 2-in-1s, to laptops to desktops and a multitude of other more specific usage devices.’
‘This new industry standards-based thin connector delivering data, power and video is the only connector one will need across all devices,’ he added.
© Daily Mail, London