USB 3.1 Type C - Real-Life Pictures

[AxelRantila]

While this may look cool, I wonder just how many adapters weäll end up needing in the future.

[PopReference]

While this may look cool, I wonder just how many adapters weäll end up needing in the future.

Win key + space bar

 

On topic:

Really hope the new standard is a bit more durable or actually is safer to use while plugged in. Came close to breaking one recently and that can cause real problems for just a small piece of hardware. Dark Souls

[Builder]

Does anybody see the differences in building materials

The microUSB has a metal shell with plastic core and plastic everywhere else. The metal is already bent to the connector shape

The Lightning connector has a metal shell with plastic core and metal behind to prevent bending. The connector has metal poured or an outside protective ring

Do you think this ripOFF is as good as the original 

It's the reverse of a lightning connector. Poor design. I hope it's made well.

 

I'd like to see some data on that, because I do not know anyone who have had theirs broke (except the stupid old dock connector for their Apple devices. Those broke all the time).

I've never had a problem with my 30 pins, ("FANBOY!") but I had a Nook Color on which the micro USB did not break. In fact durability was fine. The problem was both the connector and the socket were made to extremely low tolerances. If you so much as looked at the damn thing wrong, it would fall out. This was the case with three replacement connector I bought as well. The problem with micro USB has always been low tolerances. It's too inconsistent a connection. Honestly, mini USB A to B is the best connector they've ever made. Extremely solid, never falls out, sticks in at the same angle every time. 

 

Micro USB isn't frail. it's not easy to bend the connector. I can dangle my phone off the edge of my charging cable without an issue.

 

Bending the metal on the connector of the cable is not easy; I can't even do it on purpose using my old dead phone and a spare cable. Cheap micro USB cables, cheap lightning cables - the clue is in the name.

 

Operating the device normally cannot bend the metal. The plastic inside the female connector rigidly supports the male connector.

 

I don't know who you think you are to make these claims against an industry standard (for a reason, don't you think?) without citing any sources, but seriously dude.

 

Theres a difference between stating your opinion (i think they break more often) and claiming a fact (they break more often, i say so).

You can dangle your phone with lightning too, even more so. There's an internal spring loaded clip that holds it in. I can dangle almost a kilo off the connector when it's plugged in. I don't think you can do the same with micro USB.

 

It's more like statistics. In my experience, many people claim to have had a lot of problems with microUSB compared to other connectors like A, and the other B variants. In that regard, it's much more frail. I'd love to see someone make a poll/chart of people who've broken their connectors compared to other connector types.

It's indeed a lot more fragile. Why USB is so stuck to this current design I have no idea. The problem with micro USB is there isn't enough "meat" on the connectors inside and the connector itself is extremely thin, made out of even thinner metal, and often not very well so at that. Between my Nook Color, Kindle Fire, and Kindle Fire HD, I've had four micro USB connectors that were flaky as described above, two that broke, and finally one that work almost perfectly that came with my Kindle Fire HD.

 

Apple makes all the lightning connectors and sockets, they sell them to people and then they get stuck on either end of a wire and then you have a cable. That's why lightning cables are so consistent.

[Techhog]

 

Does anybody see the differences in building materials

 

The microUSB has a metal shell with plastic core and plastic everywhere else. The metal is already bent to the connector shape

The Lightning connector has a metal shell with plastic core and metal behind to prevent bending. The connector has metal poured or an outside protective ring

Do you think this ripOFF is as good as the original 

 

 

 

How to identify an Apple fanboy: They call anything remotely similar to an Apple product a copy, since Apple apparently invented everything.

[Techhog]

You can dangle your phone with lightning too, even more so. There's an internal spring loaded clip that holds it in. I can dangle almost a kilo off the connector when it's plugged in. I don't think you can do the same with micro USB.

To be fair, the iPhone is so hollow-feeling light that it really doesn't take much for that.

[Builder]

To be fair, the iPhone is so hollow-feeling light that it really doesn't take much for that.

Hollow feeling? Have you even felt one? It's possibly the densest object I own. It's packed wall to wall inside.

[ZeroBreaker]

 

I've never had a problem with my 30 pins, ("FANBOY!") but I had a Nook Color on which the micro USB did not break. In fact durability was fine. The problem was both the connector and the socket were made to extremely low tolerances. If you so much as looked at the damn thing wrong, it would fall out. This was the case with three replacement connector I bought as well. The problem with micro USB has always been low tolerances. It's too inconsistent a connection. Honestly, mini USB A to B is the best connector they've ever made. Extremely solid, never falls out, sticks in at the same angle every time. 

 

 

Mini USB had too much pressure on the connectors themselves from the shape, hence the change to micro.

 

You can dangle your phone with lightning too, even more so. There's an internal spring loaded clip that holds it in. I can dangle almost a kilo off the connector when it's plugged in. I don't think you can do the same with micro USB.

 

It's indeed a lot more fragile. Why USB is so stuck to this current design I have no idea. The problem with micro USB is there isn't enough "meat" on the connectors inside and the connector itself is extremely thin, made out of even thinner metal, and often not very well so at that. Between my Nook Color, Kindle Fire, and Kindle Fire HD, I've had four micro USB connectors that were flaky as described above, two that broke, and finally one that work almost perfectly that came with my Kindle Fire HD.

 

'Yeah, you can do this on mine too, that's why mine is stronger'.

 

USB designs have generally been very well thought out. The USB plug we all know didn't really have any issues in terms of engineering, simply people struggling with working out how to plug it in due to the many different positions and places USB has been used over the years - It's almost standard to have USB vertically on the motherboard and horizontally on the front i.o. The 30 pin connector apple loved for years would have had the same issue had it been in use the same way.

 

Mini was the one I disliked, because the connector shape just wasn't intuitive and my PSP often creaked and groaned when plugging in the connector.

 

Micro has been the de facto standard for mobile phones for years now. There simply hasn't been a need for any change. It is robust, versatile and for some reason it's only apple fans who seem to have issues with them. It's the best non-proprietary solution we have right now.

Hollow feeling? Have you even felt one? It's possibly the densest object I own. It's packed wall to wall inside.

The latest iPhones are really light. The point he was making is that it would put less pressure on the cable than something like my m8, which is significantly heavier, or my older bricks.

[Builder]

it's only apple fans who seem to have issues with them.

This is simply not the case: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1641473

 

XDA devs couldn't be less like Apple fanboys, and there are several people in that thread that have huge issues with them.

 

http://lifehacker.com/5947793/fix-a-loose-micro-usb-port-with-a-sharpened-toothpick

 

Explains that micro USB cables get looser over time to the point where they eventually just fall out.

 

You can read about the technical issues of it here: http://www.webtorials.com/content/2013/11/micro-usb---unmitigated-stupid-blunder.html

 

Thread showing that it's a common problem for Kindle Fire users: https://www.ifixit.com/Answers/View/112103/Intermittent+USB+Power+Port+-+Common+Problem

 

You can try to cover this up all you want. I'm not saying that they're all like this, however to call them consistent would be a joke and a half. Lest we forget that I was not always an Apple user. I had a Moto Q with mini A to B that worked great. Never had an issue with the cable, ever. The fact remains that the connector itself is poorly designed and the manufacturing processes used to produce them do not consistently produce high tolerance parts.

 

I do a lot of work with electrical engineering, and in all my years of soldering sockets onto circuit boards, I've never seen a socket that was as poorly designed as micro USB. There's a reason they're switching to type C.

[ZeroBreaker]

This is simply not the case: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1641473

 

XDA devs couldn't be less like Apple fanboys, and there are several people in that thread that have huge issues with them.

 

http://lifehacker.com/5947793/fix-a-loose-micro-usb-port-with-a-sharpened-toothpick

 

Explains that micro USB cables get looser over time to the point where they eventually just fall out.

 

You can read about the technical issues of it here: http://www.webtorials.com/content/2013/11/micro-usb---unmitigated-stupid-blunder.html

 

Thread showing that it's a common problem for Kindle Fire users: https://www.ifixit.com/Answers/View/112103/Intermittent+USB+Power+Port+-+Common+Problem

 

You can try to cover this up all you want. I'm not saying that they're all like this, however to call them consistent would be a joke and a half. Lest we forget that I was not always an Apple user. I had a Moto Q with mini A to B that worked great. Never had an issue with the cable, ever. The fact remains that the connector itself is poorly designed and the manufacturing processes used to produce them do not consistently produce high tolerance parts.

 

I do a lot of work with electrical engineering, and in all my years of soldering sockets onto circuit boards, I've never seen a socket that was as poorly designed as micro USB. There's a reason they're switching to type C.

 

The first link you gave, to xda, is a thread about cables breaking. The OP specifically says the connector is always solid and only the cable breaks. So theres that.

 

The second link is a lifehacker article on cleaning the connector to obtain a tighter fit. The article suggests it happens often, but the nature of the problem means that it should affect all connections with a female socket. Micro USB has been around much longer than Lightning - the oldest device you can find for the latter is two years old. I can assure you that if lightning had the same reach and same age as micro USB in consumer products, it would have the same issue. So theres that.

 

The third article is specifically talking about use in a professional environment. It's a consumer standard. It shouldn't be considered in the same ballpark. The main issue is the whole BYOD craze america is into. So theres that.

 

And Amazon is not a hardware company. It's products in tech are notorious for competitive prices with little to no markup. They aren't high quality by definition. The problem as detailed in the thread is the lack of sturdy connection from the connector to the mainboard, not the connector itself. So theres that.

 

So i've yet to see anything that suggests micro USB is poorly designed for it's purpose.

 

The main reason they will switch to type c for phones (still not even a confirmed thing, just something that seems obvious) is because micro USB 3.0 is far too big for such portable devices. So theres that.

 

Please, actually read your sources first.

[AxelRantila]

. There simply hasn't been a need for any change. It is robust, versatile and for some reason it's only apple fans who seem to have issues with them. It's the best non-proprietary solution we have right now.

Since I bought an aftermarket micro USB cable for my mobile battery pack, I've had no issues with the connector isself. If anything, we should blame phone manufacturers and such for shipping them with sub-par cables.

[Techhog]

Hollow feeling? Have you even felt one? It's possibly the densest object I own. It's packed wall to wall inside.

You don't own anything dense then. O_o I wouldn't make a statement like that without context. Maybe the 5S is more dense than the 5? That would explain it. I'll ask my brother to let me hold his for a sec.

[Techhog]

This is simply not the case: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1641473

*reads the very first reply*

[Builder]

The third article is specifically talking about use in a professional environment. It's a consumer standard. It shouldn't be considered in the same ballpark. The main issue is the whole BYOD craze america is into. So theres that.

I read all of my sources. However I get the feeling that you didn't. It's not talking about usage in a professional environment, so I'm not sure where you got that from. Here's a quote from it:

 

Personally, I've had three devices "fail" in a period of less than two years because of failed USB connections.  Repair shops confirm that the vast majority of cell phone and tablet repairs are due to bad micro-USB connectors - right up there with broken screens.  And the connections are so flimsy that an enthusiastic user can even force the connectors together upside down.  (Yes, this invariably results in a hard failure.)

[ZeroBreaker]

I read all of my sources. However I get the feeling that you didn't. It's not talking about usage in a professional environment, so I'm not sure where you got that from. Here's a quote from it:

 

The article makes its main comparison with an over-engineered industry connection from years ago. Hardly relevant in the world of consumer electronics.

 

And the paragraph you quoted? Utter nonsense. With my dead razr i I cannot physically force in the micro USB the wrong way round. While i'm no bodybuilder, I do have a decent amount of strength. It cannot go in with my third party cable.

 

And please, don't give me that bullshit - the three other websites you gave helped, if anything, disprove your point.

[Builder]

The article makes its main comparison with an over-engineered industry connection from years ago. Hardly relevant in the world of consumer electronics.

 

And the paragraph you quoted? Utter nonsense. With my dead razr i I cannot physically force in the micro USB the wrong way round. While i'm no bodybuilder, I do have a decent amount of strength. It cannot go in with my third party cable.

 

And please, don't give me that bullshit - the three other websites you gave helped, if anything, disprove your point.

No they didn't. You give Amazon a pass to not make stuff work because people shouldn't expect their stuff to work? Now THAT'S bullshit.

 

I've done it myself several times, with my Nook Color.

 

That connector is not over engineered, I suppose it's before your time, but they ALL used to look like that. 

 

Basically I've brought up arguments that show I'm not alone in having issues with it, and engineering analyses that conclude it's poorly designed. To those you have said I didn't read my sources, that people shouldn't expect Amazon products to be quality, and that engineering analyses are worthless.

 

What more do you fucking want? In your mind I have some sort of blind hatred of micro USB because I'm an Apple user that apparently hates Android devices. That's simply not the case. I'm an engineer myself and I'm telling you, it's a shitty connector. I have had exactly one good experience with it and no problems whatsoever with Lightning cables.

[ZeroBreaker]

No they didn't. You give Amazon a pass to not make stuff work because people shouldn't expect their stuff to work? Now THAT'S bullshit.

 

 

I'm saying they are different price brackets. In the same way i'd expect a plastic 5c to conk out before a 5s, or something. And that has absolutely fuck all to do with micro USB.

 

 

 

 

I've done it myself several times, with my Nook Color.

 

Stop, and think. You vs the world. Maybe, just maybe, your the one whos not using it right?

 

 

That connector is not over engineered, I suppose it's before your time, but they ALL used to look like that. 

 

 

No. I took that word straight from the article in question. But hey, who needs to read their own fucking evidence, right?

 

 

Basically I've brought up arguments that show I'm not alone in having issues with it, and engineering analyses that conclude it's poorly designed. To those you have said I didn't read my sources, that people shouldn't expect Amazon products to be quality, and that engineering analyses are worthless.

 

Except i disproved the former, and the latter was far more about the quality of materials and workmanship, down to the manufacturer and not the standard. It's the compromise you make when you make a standard open to all. Not something unique. Maybe we should get a single company to have a monopoly on all connectors made. That will surely help!

 

 

 

What more do you fucking want? In your mind I have some sort of blind hatred of micro USB because I'm an Apple user that apparently hates Android devices. That's simply not the case. I'm an engineer myself and I'm telling you, it's a shitty connector. I have had exactly one good experience with it and no problems whatsoever with Lightning cables.

 

No dude. My problem at this very moment in time is that you refuse to accept you are wrong about this pre-concieved notion you have that micro USB is somehow shitty because apple has its own standard that it uses instead. After all, you know best, right? I havnt mentioned so far that actually im studying electrical and electronic engineering at university - a far cry from being in the industry, but enough to show this is what i'm interested in and have some affinity for. Because it isn't fucking relevant - what is relevant is solid data, and we have nothing at all to suggest what you are saying is true. If your beef was with the manufacturers who have lax standards, I would be right with you - but thats not what this is about. You are saying the connector is flawed by design. Give me the fucking evidence that shows it is flawed by design. So far i have seen fuck all.

 

Theres 'heres why its flawed' and then theres 'it is flawed'. One is an argument, one is a statement. Statements of this nature that are worth anybodies time are accompanied by facts and evidence. Where the fuck is yours?

[Builder]

 You are saying the connector is flawed by design. Give me the fucking evidence that shows it is flawed by design. So far i have seen fuck all. Then you didn't read the article I posted. It's a very clearly flawed design, the problem here is that someone is saying something you don't like and then you misquote me deliberately, create straw men, (among other fallacies) and get angry. There's no reason to get angry. 

 

Theres 'heres why its flawed' and then theres 'it is flawed'. One is an argument, one is a statement. Statements of this nature that are worth anybodies time are accompanied by facts and evidence. Where the fuck is yours? Where's yours? Your sig deliberately says that everything you say is just an opinion, so why should I be inclined to believe yours? Prove to me that micro USB is better engineered than Lightning and I'll change my mind. Until now, you've just created straw men of my position, misquoted me, and in general not been very effective in "disproving" anything.

[ZeroBreaker]

 

 You are saying the connector is flawed by design. Give me the fucking evidence that shows it is flawed by design. So far i have seen fuck all. Then you didn't read the article I posted. It's a very clearly flawed design, the problem here is that someone is saying something you don't like and then you misquote me deliberately, create straw men, (among other fallacies) and get angry. There's no reason to get angry. 

 

Theres 'heres why its flawed' and then theres 'it is flawed'. One is an argument, one is a statement. Statements of this nature that are worth anybodies time are accompanied by facts and evidence. Where the fuck is yours? Where's yours? Your sig deliberately says that everything you say is just an opinion, so why should I be inclined to believe yours? Prove to me that micro USB is better engineered than Lightning and I'll change my mind. Until now, you've just created straw men of my position, misquoted me, and in general not been very effective in "disproving" anything.

 

 

Dude. I was annoyed because you didn't read the sources you gave me. Three of four were completely unrelated to the connector itself, and the one which could have had some relevance compared it to a decades old, over engineered (in their words, no less) standard and then made a claim which was completely false. I was actually prepared to take a video of me attempting to shove the micro USB cable into my old phone the wrong way, but you didn't ask.

 

'It's very clearly flawed design'.

No. It's not. It had no solid points against micro USB save for the supposed ability to insert it the wrong way and wreck it. Again, if you sincerely believe it i'll be happy to disprove this.

 

I didn't misquote you. In fact, i replied to every point you made, one by one, in their entirety.

 

My sig says everything i say is my opinion, unless otherwise stated. I believe micro USB as a connector is fine for current mobile phones. You don't. However, i didn't push my opinion onto you - you stated that micro USB was inferior as a fact. When i asked you for evidence, you gave me four links. Only one even agreed with you, and as i keep repeating, that claim can be disproven very easily - say the word.

 

And i think you are the one misquoting me. After all, not once have i said that micro USB is better engineered than lightning. What i said was it was an open standard, and it is the best one we have in that regard.

 

So in summary - You said micro USB connectors break often. I said no, show me evidence. You showed me evidence for something else entirely - low manufacturing standards. Like i said, if that was your argument, I wholeheartedly agree with you - the cables are so cheaply and widely distributed, it's ridiculous, but you instead continued to put the blame on the connector itself. You then said, and i quote :

 

'I'm an engineer myself and I'm telling you, it's a shitty connector. I have had exactly one good experience with it and no problems whatsoever with Lightning cables'.

 

Sorry if your lack of understanding the actual issue with micro usb cables, and your inability to read your own evidence didn't inspire much confidence in your engineering ability and insight.

 

I am absolutely not averse to changing my opinion - people have corrected me plenty of times on this forum. A forum is for discussions, and they can't exist in any meaningful sense without differences of opinions, after all. But if you can't back up your claim with appropriate evidence, and if you can't be bothered to read the evidence you gave in the first place, how in the world can i take you seriously?

[Builder]

My sig says everything i say is my opinion, unless otherwise stated. I believe micro USB as a connector is fine for current mobile phones. You don't. However, i didn't push my opinion onto you - you stated that micro USB was inferior as a fact. When i asked you for evidence, you gave me four links. Only one even agreed with you, and as i keep repeating, that claim can be disproven very easily - say the word.

 

And i think you are the one misquoting me. After all, not once have i said that micro USB is better engineered than lightning. What i said was it was an open standard, and it is the best one we have in that regard.

We're having a conflict of communication here. I'm saying that in general micro USB connectors are not made well, you're saying that it's not the fault of the standard but the manufacturer.

 

That's a problem. If a standard is so loose to the point where creating problems like this is even possible, that is a problem with the standard. You're imagining some hypothetical perfect micro USB connector. I'm not saying it doesn't exist, I'm saying that the connectors of this generation seem to be manufactured to lower standards than normal in the case of several companies. Several users on the XDA developer forums had the same experience, as did those on the iFixit page, (if you read it). The people on the iFixit page literally describe an identical problem to me but you don't seem to want to acknowledge that. The Lifehacker article exists because the fit of the connectors gets looser over time, notice there isn't a similar one for mini A to B or Lightning.

 

The analysis goes far beyond "possible to jam it in wrong," but you don't seem to want to read it, so I'll quote the issues for you:

 

 

By contrast, a typical micro-USB connector is connected and disconnected several times a day, it has no reliable method for securing it (other than friction), and it relies on a hope that there's a good physical contact.

The connector has no clip or magnet or other method of securing itself into the socket.

 

 

 

It's this last point that is the true Achilles heel.  The micro-USB connector is designed such that the connector on the cord is (hopefully) sufficiently springy to make a good connection and the data connections are molded into the connector.

The connection internally is provided by the springiness of the contacts inside the connector, not by direct contact itself.

 

 

 

The "equipment side" of the connector is even more vulnerable to failure.  It is, at best, an extension of a circuit board.  Easy to manufacture, but extremely fragile.  So you go directly to a trace on the circuit board, and you hope that the two connectors make sufficiently good contact.

The socket is nothing but a piece of circuit board sticking out into the metal casing, and the connectors are too small.

 

Here's the problem in my own words:

 

-Imagine the connector and the socket contacts as two combs. The connection only works when the teeth on both combs are aligned perfectly with each other.

 

-Alignment being critical, when misaligned the connection will fail.

 

-Even though alignment of the connector is critical, the socket does not hold the connector in with anything but friction, in fact it's possible to insert the connector upside down.

 

-The internal connector on the female socket is fragile, basically an extension of the circuit board it's mounted on.

 

-Because of this design, the connectors frequently fail on multiple devices across manufacturers.

 

In contrast:

 

-The Lightning connector has wider contacts on both ends, making it easier to "align the combs."

 

-Being reversible and having "wider teeth on its combs," the alignment is not critical.

 

-Even though alignment is not critical, there is still a locking mechanism with two spring-loaded pins inside the female connector.

 

-Neither side is fragile, because the contacts on the female side are mounted into the walls of the connector instead of at its center, and the male side is a solid piece of metal with the contacts set in a tough resin on either face.

 

USB 3.1 type C resolves only one, maybe two of the problems with micro USB: reversibility, and possibly making the "teeth on the combs" wider.

[SouthSpoon]

Looks like a hell of an improvement over USB 2 and 3

[BDRUM]

Looks so good!

[ZeroBreaker]

We're having a conflict of communication here. I'm saying that in general micro USB connectors are not made well, you're saying that it's not the fault of the standard but the manufacturer.

 

Every issue you or your three of four sources pointed out was due to manufacturing tolerances in cables. Not the connector, be it male or female.

 

That's a problem. If a standard is so loose to the point where creating problems like this is even possible, that is a problem with the standard. You're imagining some hypothetical perfect micro USB connector. I'm not saying it doesn't exist, I'm saying that the connectors of this generation seem to be manufactured to lower standards than normal in the case of several companies. Several users on the XDA developer forums had the same experience, as did those on the iFixit page, (if you read it). The people on the iFixit page literally describe an identical problem to me but you don't seem to want to acknowledge that. The Lifehacker article exists because the fit of the connectors gets looser over time, notice there isn't a similar one for mini A to B or Lightning.

 

It's what is known as an open standard. The alternative is to do what apple does, which is make your own and control it yourself. This cannot be done on the same scale as USB Micro. In actuality, similar articles do not exist for mini USB as it wasn't adopted in the same way as micro has been. Take a look at the 3.5mm jack - exactly the same guide exists for it.

 

The analysis goes far beyond "possible to jam it in wrong," but you don't seem to want to read it, so I'll quote the issues for you:

 

 

The connector has no clip or magnet or other method of securing itself into the socket.

 

Increase in cost would mean it could not be as ubiquitous as it is now. It is secure enough to dangle my phone, much heavier than an iphone, from without even breaking a sweat.

 

The connection internally is provided by the springiness of the contacts inside the connector, not by direct contact itself.

 

The socket is nothing but a piece of circuit board sticking out into the metal casing, and the connectors are too small.

 

Real world issues as a result of these are?...

 

Here's the problem in my own words:

 

-Imagine the connector and the socket contacts as two combs. The connection only works when the teeth on both combs are aligned perfectly with each other.

 

-Alignment being critical, when misaligned the connection will fail.

 

-Even though alignment of the connector is critical, the socket does not hold the connector in with anything but friction, in fact it's possible to insert the connector upside down.

 

Bullshit. You can't physically do it unless you are mentally incapable or too young to be near such electronics.

 

-The internal connector on the female socket is fragile, basically an extension of the circuit board it's mounted on.

 

-Because of this design, the connectors frequently fail on multiple devices across manufacturers.

 

Evidence PLEASE. That's all i asked for and that's all i havn't had.

 

In contrast:

 

-The Lightning connector has wider contacts on both ends, making it easier to "align the combs."

 

-Being reversible and having "wider teeth on its combs," the alignment is not critical.

 

-Even though alignment is not critical, there is still a locking mechanism with two spring-loaded pins inside the female connector.

 

-Neither side is fragile, because the contacts on the female side are mounted into the walls of the connector instead of at its center, and the male side is a solid piece of metal with the contacts set in a tough resin on either face.

 

But that's irrelevant. When did I argue that micro USB was superior, or that lightning was inferior? My issue was with your assertion that somehow micro usb is fragile by design, and the connectors break often.

 

USB 3.1 type C resolves only one, maybe two of the problems with micro USB: reversibility, and possibly making the "teeth on the combs" wider.

 

Reversibility is less of an 'issue' and more of a peeve. The fact is, micro USB has been in use as the main standard for mobile devices for years now, and there have been no widespread issues with it's connectors. Now unless everyone with a broken micro USB connector has since been scared off by technology and taken to a hermit lifestyle, this means that it was a pretty well engineered for it's purpose. USB type C is only going to replace micro USB due to lack of appropriately sized equivalent for higher speeds.

 

You are still arguing something completely unrelated to your original statement.

[Rannon]

Seems like type-C won't have a retention mechanism. Is it supposed to stay put by being a snug fit?

[Stylez]

Hurry up and become part of my life!!

[Sauron]

The old cables were fine for me, but I can see how this would be more practical. An expansion card on my pc probably isn't going to happen though as I was planning to go crossfire and I have an matx motherboard.