As an anarchist I'm so glad we also made the word universal useless by making all kinds of different power and data transmit standards that ports and cables may or may not support. As a Satanist I also love that there is no system for labeling anything to know what cable will support what protocol.
Yeah. This is the problem with trying to enforce standards on industries that historically move at glacier speed, with standards used by tech moving at breakneck speeds.
The only happy part of USB-C in this context is that, at least right now, the USB-C connector doesn't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon, so if things get updated to USB C, we should be okay for a while.
Personally, I carry a whole assortment of USB cables with me everywhere. C-to-C, A-to-C, even A-to-lightning, and A-to-microB. I don't use an iPhone, nevermind one that needs a lightning cable. And I have moved away from most accessories that require micro.
I also have a power brick in my pack with the cables, it's a GaN power brick from Anker, with over 100W of output, two USB-C outputs, and one USB-A. At least one of the type C ports supports enough power output to charge my laptop, the other USB C port for my phone, and the USB A port for anything else that might need it. I don't recall the exact power capacity of it, but if memory serves, it will take 100-240V, 50-60hz AC input, so at most, I just need to get one of those cheap converters for the receptacle type used wherever I may find myself.
I work in tech, so being without power is a huge problem. My work laptop also takes USB C for charging, so I don't need to have two power bricks with me. I usually have both, but I don't need to have both.
As long as there's power available and is sufficiently clean and stable, I'm good. I have a few accessories that are not USB C compliant, some have USB C ports but won't trigger a proper USB C charger to deliver any power, which is why I have USB A to C cables, and there's two devices I have that uses a proprietary cable (a Bluetooth headset and my smart watch), which I've obtained spares for which I keep one charging cable at home and one in my kit. My kit also includes a USB A/C power bank. It's not powerful enough to charge my laptop, but it's fine for everything else.
USB C has simplified the cables I carry. I still have a few odds and ends for edge cases, but for the most part, I'm okay with it.
My only big issue with USB C at this point is that it's not just for power+usb data anymore. It's thunderbolt, and display port, and... Ugh. So many things using the same connector that I don't know what will work anymore when I get to a new device, because though it looks like USB C, it might be USB C QC, or PD, or thunderbolt, or display port, or....... FML.
Not really bad if you use a power-only cable. If the data pins aren't even wired up, can't move anything other than power.
Not sure if that works with USB-C at anything other than legacy 500mA power draw though, probably not since the device can't communicate for what it supports.
Chargers are almost always compatible with any a/c voltage and only need a physical adapter to plug into a wall socket in a different country. Or bring a power bank with you
They're also much less capable though. Have fun finding a USB-C PD port anywhere when you need to charge your laptop - a power outlet is much more useful.
It's not so much the connector; but the power delivery standard.
Type A maxes out at 5v 3a = 15w and is often limited closer to 5v 1a = 5w for public-use charging ports.
Type C and its power delivery standards can get as high as 50v 5a = 250w (though usually closer to 20v 5a = 100w)
Then again.... The negotiation for what voltage/amperage to supply happens over the data lines which you don't want connected on a public charging port...
Idk. Like all the usb ports were capped at like 5v 1a with shorted data lines. I always used my own charger just because it would take 6 hours to charge my phone using the built in usb plug.
This is why next to my couches are multi-port chargers.
The ones I'm using currently have 8 ports; 2 at 65W, 3 at 30W, and 3 at 20W. The 30 & 60 are USB-C, 20W is USB A. The 65W is plenty for laptops, tablets, and phones. 30W for tablets and phones if the 65W is in use or headphones, eBook reader, etc. 20W for all that miscellaneous simple device charging, anything micro USB, etc.
Way better strategy than built in IMO. Easy to replace, old one goes somewhere else (or given to family members), etc.
Everybody get ready for the dual release of USB-360 and USBONE. USB-360 is gonna be shaped like an octagon, but only two orientations work. USBONE is a nonagon but slightly larger so USB-360 just fits inside because fuck you.
Seems like a reasonable chance, kind of the first universal end, and it doubles as a two sided option. Micro was nearly there if it hasn't been so horrid on the physical hardware side.
I actually looked it up before making this post, because any time someone uses either version of the word, this comes up in the comments. Apparently both "sike" and "psych" are considered correct, although it seems like "sike" is more commonly used, so I went with that one.
Oh c'mon, we had a whole show, a very good one, that should have taught everyone how to spell PSYCH! correctly. I sentence you to go watch it, all of it, including the movies.
🍍🍍🍍🍍🍍
I think the switch to usb-c from a is a huge e-waste disaster in progress, there are legit good uses for a c-c cable, but its not really worth fucking over a third world nation that has to take all the "outdated" fully-functional usb-a tech we throw away. Not to mention the overall cost to the user to replace it all over their lifetime. Personally I only have 1 type-c power brick for the singular device that can do 68w charging. (I only use it if I'm going out, other that that its 5w-9w type-a chargers.) (Not to mention the dongle hell people go through to support type-a on c only laptops!)