Suppliers expect widespread adoption of USB Type-C in laptops, smartphones thanks to Apple...

Posted:
in General Discussion edited September 2020
Taiwan-based integrated circuit manufacturers are said to be betting big on the new reversible USB Type-C connector, thanks in part to Apple's early embrace of the port in its forward thinking 12-inch MacBook with Retina display.




Apple turned heads when it released its all-new 12-inch MacBook in April, featuring an ultra-thin design with just one USB Type-C port for both data input and charging. Its launch made Apple the first major computer manufacturer to embrace the smaller and reversible USB port.

Apple's aggressive early adoption of USB Type-C has allegedly emboldened integrated circuit makers in Taiwan, according to DigiTimes. The Taiwanese publication claims that ASMedia Technology, Etron Technology and VIA Labs are all planning to offer USB Type-C products, as the companies expect "widespread adoption" of the new port in both notebooks and smartphones.

But Apple's 12-inch MacBook features first-generation USB 3.1 technology in its Type-A port, which runs at a slower 5Gbps speed -- the same as USB 3.0. The forthcoming second-generation USB 3.1 port will double that to 10Gbps, and support will be in Intel's forthcoming Skylake processors.




For that reason, most Taiwanese manufacturers are expected to supply second-generation USB 3.1 Type-C ports at a faster 10Gbps data rate than Apple's current MacBook provides. It's expected that new notebooks with Intel Skylake processors and faster second-generation USB 3.1 speeds will help drive demand to the new, smaller USB Type-C form factor, helping to phase out the legacy, ubiquitous USB Type-A port.

For now, the 12-inch MacBook remains Apple's only device with a USB Type-C port, though the company is rumored to be working on a 12.9-inch tablet that could also feature the new connector. AppleInsider's own source said in May that the so-called "iPad Pro" will feature USB Type-C input, as well as support for a new Bluetooth stylus accessory and Force Touch input.
«13

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 57
    mrshowmrshow Posts: 164member

    Yes because that really helped with Firewire. :D

  • Reply 2 of 57
    jackansijackansi Posts: 116member

    Apple's adoption did help a little with USB 1.0...

     

    They still could have put two USB-C ports in the MB.

  • Reply 3 of 57
    "Aggressive early adoption" = putting it in one relatively low volume halo product.

    I'd hate to see what passive adoption looks like...
  • Reply 4 of 57
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by JackANSI View Post

     

    Apple's adoption did help a little with USB 1.0...

     

    They still could have put two USB-C ports in the MB.




    Yeah they could have but I think they didn't just to prove that it was unnecessary. They are advancing their vision of the way people should be using computers. Charge it up at night and work all day storing data in the cloud. USB external and flash drives are obsolete for a portable. 

  • Reply 5 of 57
    bwikbwik Posts: 565member
    Same s/// different day. Suppliers can do whatever they want, but Apple themselves will drop the idea within months. Which will leave everybody out in the wilderness, again, for the 35th time.
  • Reply 6 of 57
    jorgiejorgie Posts: 38member
    Yea, I a sure it will be successful because Apple used it.. Its success will have nothing to do with the fact that it is faster, smaller, more durable, and reversible.
  • Reply 7 of 57
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,382member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TheWhiteFalcon View Post



    "Aggressive early adoption" = putting it in one relatively low volume halo product.



    I'd hate to see what passive adoption looks like...

     

    Adopting it before anyone else, and as the one and ONLY port, which is used also for power, in their most HEAVILY marketed Mac product is actually considered aggressive. Passive adoption would have been throwing it in as an "extra" port. 

     

    But don't try to use context, rationality, or anything like that. 

  • Reply 8 of 57
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by MrShow View Post

     

    Yes because that really helped with Firewire. :D




    No way did Apple’s MacBook adoption of USB c-type influence or accelerate its adoption by other OEMs. That’s just nonsense hype from an AI writer. Look, I’m as big a fanboy as any but come on now, USB has won hands down. NuBus, SCSI, ADB, Firewire, Thunderbolt have all LOST! It would not surprise me to see Apple drop Thunderbolt in the next few future Mac iterations. Heaps of praise to Apple for trying to promote new technologies but they all lost. I’m sitting here right now on my 27” iMac 14,2 using a Thunderbolt->Firewire adapter so I can keep using my perfectly good Firewire external hard drive. Any new drives will be USB 3.0 period. I’ve learned my lesson.

  • Reply 9 of 57
    lkrupp wrote: »

    No way did Apple’s MacBook adoption of USB c-type influence or accelerate its adoption by other OEMs. That’s just nonsense hype from an AI writer. Look, I’m as big a fanboy as any but come on now, USB has won hands down. NuBus, SCSI, ADB, Firewire, Thunderbolt have all LOST! It would not surprise me to see Apple drop Thunderbolt in the next few future Mac iterations. Heaps of praise to Apple for trying to promote new technologies but they all lost. I’m sitting here right now on my 27” iMac 14,2 using a Thunderbolt->Firewire adapter so I can keep using my perfectly good Firewire external hard drive. Any new drives will be USB 3.0 period. I’ve learned my lesson.

    SCSI wasn't an Apple standard.
  • Reply 10 of 57
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by lkrupp View Post

     



    No way did Apple’s MacBook adoption of USB c-type influence or accelerate its adoption by other OEMs. 


    No, but perhaps Apple's invention of the reversible Lightning port did influence the USB committee to redesign their plug.

  • Reply 11 of 57
    cashxxcashxx Posts: 114member
    I think its mainly from the European union required the standardization of the ports or something that caused USB-C to become popular. Apple worked with other companies to make the standard I thought. Apple had one of the most engineers on the project though along with I think Intel it was. It would be great to see all the companies move to a standard, but I hate to see the magnetic features leave the mac line for the power cord.
  • Reply 12 of 57
    netroxnetrox Posts: 1,415member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by lkrupp View Post

     



    No way did Apple’s MacBook adoption of USB c-type influence or accelerate its adoption by other OEMs. That’s just nonsense hype from an AI writer. Look, I’m as big a fanboy as any but come on now, USB has won hands down. NuBus, SCSI, ADB, Firewire, Thunderbolt have all LOST! It would not surprise me to see Apple drop Thunderbolt in the next few future Mac iterations. Heaps of praise to Apple for trying to promote new technologies but they all lost. I’m sitting here right now on my 27” iMac 14,2 using a Thunderbolt->Firewire adapter so I can keep using my perfectly good Firewire external hard drive. Any new drives will be USB 3.0 period. I’ve learned my lesson.


     

    Thunderbolt 3 uses USB 3.1 Type-C port so people don't really lose anything by using Thunderbolt or USB 3.1 protocols. USB C is the future and people will demand more USB C type based devices. It's just easier and faster. 

     

    http://www.cnet.com/news/thunderbolt-3-and-usb-type-c-join-forces-for-one-port-to-rule-them-all/

  • Reply 13 of 57
    esummersesummers Posts: 953member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by lkrupp View Post

     



    No way did Apple’s MacBook adoption of USB c-type influence or accelerate its adoption by other OEMs. That’s just nonsense hype from an AI writer. Look, I’m as big a fanboy as any but come on now, USB has won hands down. NuBus, SCSI, ADB, Firewire, Thunderbolt have all LOST! It would not surprise me to see Apple drop Thunderbolt in the next few future Mac iterations. Heaps of praise to Apple for trying to promote new technologies but they all lost. I’m sitting here right now on my 27” iMac 14,2 using a Thunderbolt->Firewire adapter so I can keep using my perfectly good Firewire external hard drive. Any new drives will be USB 3.0 period. I’ve learned my lesson.


     

    Not sure that is a good reason.  Hard drives only last a few years.  It made more sense to buy firewire drives as a Mac user in the USB 2.0 days since firewire was much faster.  The Firewire was standardized in 1985, so it predated the original USB by a decade.  It was entrenched in the video market and superior to USB 2.0, so it made sense for Apple to include the port.  I would certainly buy a USB 3.0 drive over firewire now because they are now the superior tech.  Particularly if they are USB Attached SCSI (UAS) drives which are significantly faster at most tasks then the older USB Bulk Only Transport (BOT) drives.  It is just buying what makes sense from a price/performance perspective.  Thunderbolt (which currently uses a Mini DisplayPort connector) fills a different roll then USB.  It is an expansion technology similar to PCI Express (and can also carry video in its current form), so it can be used for many tasks that USB isn't suited for.  For instance, you are not going to find a USB to Firewire adapter.  When we shift to USB-C, you will need to use a USB-C to USB-A adapter for that USB 3.0 drive.   I wouldn't be surprised if Thunderbolt gets added to the USB-C connector since USB-C is designed to be repurposed.

  • Reply 14 of 57
    ajmasajmas Posts: 597member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by JackANSI View Post

     

    Apple's adoption did help a little with USB 1.0...

     

    They still could have put two USB-C ports in the MB.


    They could have, but given the incremental upgrade they provided the MBP, I suspect they were taking the safe approach of introducing USB-C to market? Also, given the MBP's user base and the lack of availability of USB-C based devices on the market, it would mean not need to sacrifice port real-estate to make room or try finding extra space otherwise.

     

    I am guessing that the Skylake based MacBook Pros will offer some real tangible points of evolution. I am saying this based on maturity of the USB-C when they come out and what Skylake promises. We also haven't seen much of change recently, beyond Retina and the touch-pad.

  • Reply 15 of 57
    solipsismysolipsismy Posts: 5,099member
    I look forward to this taking hold. Very few cons and a massive number of pros for USB-C. I'm not convinced that Apple was directly responsible for its development (outside of the USB-IF seeing Lightning to get their inspiration), but it's a brilliant solution that should be here for another decade or more. It's possible that it could be the last truly revolutionary port technology for a very long time. It would be nice if USB-C could be used with iDevices but I think it might be too thick.

    bwik wrote: »
    Same s/// different day. Suppliers can do whatever they want, but Apple themselves will drop the idea within months. Which will leave everybody out in the wilderness, again, for the 35th time.

    ¿Que? Apple adopted USB Type-A and is still using it. They also had there 30-pin iPod connector for nearly a decade covering most iPods, and all iPhones and iPads up until the unquestionably better Lightning connector was adopted.

    In fact, by biggest niggle with an Apple release this year is the Apple Watch's PSU not starting off with a USB-C port and accompanying cable connector. it came out just after the new 12" MacBook so it was possible on that level. I'm sure many will say that it then requires that PSU when traveling, but I would have liked that demarcation point with this newly launched product category. It's not like the Watch magnetic cable can be used for data syncing from a Mac/WinPC via iTunes.
  • Reply 16 of 57
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by cashxx View Post



    I think its mainly from the European union required the standardization of the ports or something that caused USB-C to become popular.

     

    Total bull.

  • Reply 17 of 57
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member

    For the sake of the world Apple should switch from Lightning to USB-C across its iOS and Mac devices. The world needs a single port/connector to rule them all. With the only exception to Apple devices being perhaps an SD-slot.

  • Reply 18 of 57
    solipsismysolipsismy Posts: 5,099member
    cashxx wrote: »
    I think its mainly from the European union required the standardization of the ports or something that caused USB-C to become popular.

    Not quite. The common external power supply is already in effect in the EU. One could argue that USB-C increases the complication, but overall it will make it better and there is already work underway for including it as a global standard. One way in which I believe USB-C will affect the EU's is by allowing for an extension into notebooks and other devices that with external PSU's that aren't currently covered. Butt maybe not; if adoption is fast and universal they may not have to mandate anything. It's not like notebooks are replaced and discarded like cellphones are/were. That, along with every OEM (save for Apple) having a seemingly infinite connection types with cords built into the PSU is what pushed the EU to step up in the first place.
  • Reply 19 of 57
    solipsismysolipsismy Posts: 5,099member
    ireland wrote: »
    For the sake of the world Apple should switch from Lightning to USB-C across its iOS and Mac devices. The world needs a single port/connector to rule them all. With the only exception to Apple devices being perhaps an SD-slot.

    Will that fit on their iDevices?
  • Reply 20 of 57
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SolipsismY View Post





    Will that fit on their iDevices?

    Type-C  8.4mm by 2.6mm 

    Lightning 7.7mm by 1.7mm

     

    iPhone 6 is 6.5mm thickness

    iPhone 6+ is 7.1mm

     

    USB-C might fit except for the curved edges of the devices.

Sign In or Register to comment.