Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Does USB Type C Herald the End of Apple's Proprietary Connectors?

Posted by timothy on from the u-stands-for-physically-incompatible dept.

An anonymous reader writes The Verge has an interesting editorial about the USB Type C connector on the new Macbook, and what this might mean for Apple's Lightning and Thunderbolt connectors. The former is functionally identical to USB Type C, and the latter has yet to prove popular in the external media and "docking" applications for which it was originally intended. Will Apple phase out these ports in favour of a single, widely-accepted, but novel standard? Or do we face a dystopian future where Apple sells cords with USB Type C on one end, and Lightning on the other?

3 of 392 comments (clear)

  1. Thunderbolt by adamstew · · Score: 5, Informative

    Thunderbolt is not a proprietary connector to Apple. It is a standard that Intel has made available and i've seen non-Apple computers with Thunderbolt.

    1. Re:Thunderbolt by Guspaz · · Score: 5, Informative

      And USB 3 does not do everything I use Thunderbolt for on my Mac, including ferry USB3 over the same wire as video.

      USB-C is in fact USB 3.1, and it very much does ferry USB and video over the same wire. VESA has standardized DisplayPort over USB-C. VESA's press release can be found here: http://www.vesa.org/news/vesa-... or AnandTech had a good article here: http://www.anandtech.com/show/...

      and plug in my laptop with single cable and instantly my displays, USB3 devices, audio and networking all work ...

      USB 3.1 has the same bandwidth as Thunderbolt 1 (10Gbps), there's no reason why a USB-C dock couldn't do all that, and be much cheaper than a Thunderbolt dock in the process.

      USB-C also supports far more power delivery than Thunderbolt. Normal devices get up to 15W (Thunderbolt does ~10W), or devices can draw up to 100W if they implement v2 of the power delivery spec.

    2. Re:Thunderbolt by Guspaz · · Score: 5, Informative

      USB 3.1's alt mode does not encapsulate anything, nor does it use USB signalling. It dynamically gives one, two, or four of the high-speed lanes over to the alternate protocol, letting that protocol use it's own signalling. As such, a USB-C connector and cable can support full-bandwidth DisplayPort 1.3, with all features, while still carrying USB power and USB 2.0 (since those are always reserved). In practice, you're unlikely to need more than two lanes, because that's enough to deliver 4K at 60Hz, and you still get half of the USB 3.1 bandwidth (plus USB 2 and power).