Next-gen USB 3.1 Type-C connector will support DisplayPort, 5K video output
The new USB 3.0 reversible Type-C connector will also support DisplayPort Alternate Mode with screen resolutions of "4K and beyond," the standards setting group behind the technology announced on Monday.
The Video Electronics Standards Association revealed that USB Type-C connectors will be capable not only of carrying 4K video signals, but also simultaneous SuperSpeed USB data and up to 100 watts of power. DisplayPort Alt Mode will also support even higher screen resolutions without simultaneous data, as well as adapters that offer standard DisplayPort, HDMI, DVI, and VGA displays.
USB Type-C cables, computers and devices have yet to hit the market, but are positioned to replace the legacy USB Type-A plug which has been an industry standard for well over a decade.
If Apple does opt to embrace the new USB Type-C specification, a good candidate for debuting the reversible ports could be the company's rumored 12-inch MacBook Air with high-resolution Retina display. Numerous reports have claimed that Apple is working on a new laptop with an entirely new, even thinner form factor, and that thinness could necessitate a switch to smaller USB Type-C connectors.
To that end, a separate rumor published on Monday by Jack March claims that Apple's 12-inch MacBook Air with Retina display will in fact ship with reversible USB Type-C ports, and that the company will include an adapter in the box to ensure backwards compatibility with legacy USB devices. Citing unnamed sources, the report also questionably suggests that Apple will do away with the MagSafe port to charge its new ultraportable notebook in a "different way."
If and when Apple does choose to support the new USB Type-C connector, the port could be used to drive video output to existing DisplayPort devices using a reversible USB Type-C to DisplayPort converter cable. Video source devices that support DisplayPort Alt Mode on a USB Type-C connector can also use an appropriate adaptor to drive HDMI, DVI or VGA displays, and all compatible cables will comply with USB Type-C specifications, including reversible orientation.
"The USB Type-C specification was developed to provide consumers with a robust connector for everything from mobile devices to PCs, and when combined with SuperSpeed USB 10 Gbps and USB Power Delivery, it truly enables a single cable solution for the market," said Jeff Ravencraft, USB-IF President and COO. "The USB-IF is also in the process of developing joint port identification guidelines. We're working with VESA to ensure consumers can recognize when DisplayPort Alt Mode is supported on USB Type-C devices."
The DisplayPort Alt Mode will transmit video on just one or two of the cable's four available lanes. The other two lanes can then be used for SuperSpeed USB data at up to 10 Gbps in each direction.
DisplayPort over USB 3.1, with simultaneous data transfer, will support 4K ultra-HD pictures at a resolution of 3,840 by 2,160 pixels. And if all four lanes are devoted to video, the USB Type-C connector could drive a monitor with up to 5K resolution, or 5,120 by 2,880 pixels.
Apple is rumored to be eyeing 5K resolutions for future products, including its all-in-one iMac desktop. Signs of a potential Retina display iMac were first spotted in June in Apple's beta release of OS X 10.10 Yosemite, referencing screen resolutions reaching up to 6,400 by 3,600 pixels, which could be scaled down for a retina-caliber panel.
The Video Electronics Standards Association revealed that USB Type-C connectors will be capable not only of carrying 4K video signals, but also simultaneous SuperSpeed USB data and up to 100 watts of power. DisplayPort Alt Mode will also support even higher screen resolutions without simultaneous data, as well as adapters that offer standard DisplayPort, HDMI, DVI, and VGA displays.
USB Type-C cables, computers and devices have yet to hit the market, but are positioned to replace the legacy USB Type-A plug which has been an industry standard for well over a decade.
If Apple does opt to embrace the new USB Type-C specification, a good candidate for debuting the reversible ports could be the company's rumored 12-inch MacBook Air with high-resolution Retina display. Numerous reports have claimed that Apple is working on a new laptop with an entirely new, even thinner form factor, and that thinness could necessitate a switch to smaller USB Type-C connectors.
To that end, a separate rumor published on Monday by Jack March claims that Apple's 12-inch MacBook Air with Retina display will in fact ship with reversible USB Type-C ports, and that the company will include an adapter in the box to ensure backwards compatibility with legacy USB devices. Citing unnamed sources, the report also questionably suggests that Apple will do away with the MagSafe port to charge its new ultraportable notebook in a "different way."
If and when Apple does choose to support the new USB Type-C connector, the port could be used to drive video output to existing DisplayPort devices using a reversible USB Type-C to DisplayPort converter cable. Video source devices that support DisplayPort Alt Mode on a USB Type-C connector can also use an appropriate adaptor to drive HDMI, DVI or VGA displays, and all compatible cables will comply with USB Type-C specifications, including reversible orientation.
"The USB Type-C specification was developed to provide consumers with a robust connector for everything from mobile devices to PCs, and when combined with SuperSpeed USB 10 Gbps and USB Power Delivery, it truly enables a single cable solution for the market," said Jeff Ravencraft, USB-IF President and COO. "The USB-IF is also in the process of developing joint port identification guidelines. We're working with VESA to ensure consumers can recognize when DisplayPort Alt Mode is supported on USB Type-C devices."
The DisplayPort Alt Mode will transmit video on just one or two of the cable's four available lanes. The other two lanes can then be used for SuperSpeed USB data at up to 10 Gbps in each direction.
DisplayPort over USB 3.1, with simultaneous data transfer, will support 4K ultra-HD pictures at a resolution of 3,840 by 2,160 pixels. And if all four lanes are devoted to video, the USB Type-C connector could drive a monitor with up to 5K resolution, or 5,120 by 2,880 pixels.
Apple is rumored to be eyeing 5K resolutions for future products, including its all-in-one iMac desktop. Signs of a potential Retina display iMac were first spotted in June in Apple's beta release of OS X 10.10 Yosemite, referencing screen resolutions reaching up to 6,400 by 3,600 pixels, which could be scaled down for a retina-caliber panel.
Comments
Even the USB-IF can eventually be shamed into implementing reversible ports. Though why it took until 2014 to finally address this is still beyond me.
So USB is just doing exactly what Thunderbolt has already done for four years.
Great going, morons.
Regarding the MagSafe rumor: I've pretty much decided they are trying to move all of their portables to the new induction charger like the Apple Watch has.
As usual it takes Apple to show others the path to follow.
And could have done years ago with Intel approached them.
Thunderbolt also isn't reversible.
How about a new MB Air that charges via Lightning?
Note that Apple hasn't really promoted Thunderbolt lately other than the Mac Pro and there's no rumor of Thunderbolt 2 displays.
This is likely the Death Knell for Thunderbolt. I'm not saying this to be hyperbolic but with DP and USB 3.1 over a universal connector Apple gets what they wanted with Thunderbolt (single multi-protocol cable that supplies power) What they don't get is Intel lockin. This should be as applicable to ARM based platforms as it is Intel.
The next iteration of the Mac Pro might be waiting on this, but it would also be unlike Apple to completely abandon TB at that time. TB2 also supports twice the through-put.
Looks like Apple has driven USB-IF to accelerate its development, if in fact a reversible plug was ever even envisioned before Lightning arrived, and one can certainly see Lightning influence on the connector and plug. I'm quite happy to see USB-IF take this to the next level of driving 4K monitors.
I'm sure Apple will take advantage of whatever is in their own best interests, and I expect Apple to eventually replace all of those poorly designed USB 3.0 connectors and plugs in the Mac line. I suspect that Apple has enough growth in the Lightning design to take advantage of the bandwidth and features of the USB 3.1 so I wouldn't expect a switch to Type C anytime soon.
Note to Intel: Driving monitors from mobile devices is probably going to have measurable
impact on your x86 product line.
So USB is just doing exactly what Thunderbolt has already done for four years.
Thunderbolt is reversible?
This is likely the Death Knell for Thunderbolt. I'm not saying this to be hyperbolic but with DP and USB 3.1 over a universal connector Apple gets what they wanted with Thunderbolt (single multi-protocol cable that supplies power) What they don't get is Intel lockin. This should be as applicable to ARM based platforms as it is Intel.
Note that Apple hasn't really promoted Thunderbolt lately other than the Mac Pro and there's no rumor of Thunderbolt 2 displays.
At worst, Apple will support the next generation of Thunderbolt and a USB 3.1 Type C dongle, so the death knell is quite some time off, and Thunderbolt still has a roadmap to 100 GB/s assuming Intel stays with it.
So USB is just doing exactly what Thunderbolt has already done for four years.
Great going, morons.
It's because Intel, like all of their non-CPU products utterly failed to build an ecosystem around Thunderbolt, and I think Apple realizes this. The whole standard is under NDA, there's no third-party controller chips, even the first-party dev kits are secret, and any Thunderbolt product has to go through QA approvals and royalties both by Apple and Intel. Linux doesn't fully support it, but even worse, it's just as bad in Windows.
How did they think they would compete against the anything-goes Taiwanese infrastructure behind USB?
So USB is just doing exactly what Thunderbolt has already done for four years.
Great going, morons.
Thunderbolt hasn't been reversible, DisplayPort 1.3 compatible or capable of carrying 5K video for any years.
Meanwhile USB is popular.
Supports up to 5k video! *
* Performance subject to 10-12 FPS
Sure. It's just a medium. What isn't currently reversible if the mini-DisplayPort port and connector that Thunderbolt currently uses.
Thunderbolt 3 will be doing all this.
Thunderbolt also isn't reversible.
How about a new MB Air that charges via Lightning?
makes more sense to charge through the new usb 3.1, since it can provide up to 100W and the same port can be used to either charge your laptop or provide power to the device connected to the laptop.
Thunderbolt 3 will be doing all this.
true, but it won't be doing this, from what I understand, until Intel's Skylake platform is good to go, which will be early 2016, almost a year behind USB Type C
With £1.99 cables or £25 cables? Will it be yet another display connector change from Apple to support reversible (Original Apple Display Connector > High Density Original Apple Display Connector > VGA > Digital Apple Display Connector > DVI > Mini DVI >Micro DVI > DisplayPort > DisplayPort Reversible)?
I’d prefer a $25 cable that I never have to replace to a $2 cable I have to replace 15 times.
Let your Studio Display go, man. It had a good life; it’s time to move on.