Ask Lemmy

I like that I can plug it in both ways but it feels really insecure in my devices. I also don't like that people are trying to replace USB A with it bc the smaller, flimsier USB standards are only needed for small devices like phones. Anytime you have the space for the more robust version you should use it.

Compared to USB-A, not really that much of a game changer (it’s still the most common for me). Though I do not miss the three rotations to get it in.

Compared to Micro-USB? Holy fuck, I almost refuse to buy anything still using Micro-USB ported now. Mainly because I can’t never find the fucking cable for it.

I think the real game changer here is the USB-PD. I now only bring a single charger for both my laptop and my phone. Also, a lot of different laptops now charge with USB-C, getting rid of the need of different plugs.

Props to the Thinkpad USB-C retrofit hack. Granted they only work with 65w, but it is still great! My Anker Nano GaN charger is only a little bit larger than an ice cube, definitely smaller than most traditional USB charger, yet it packs 65w.

Fucking awesome, it is. When I travel, I take 1 laptop power cord. Charges my phone, laptop, Switch, and backup battery. (The backup battery’s output ports are USB-A, but it’s got a lil converter cable that stays in the lil bag that the backup battery is stored in.)

Usbc-pd is an absolute game changer as an off grid person. The fact a 100w charger can act as a dc to dc converter with up to five output voltages, at up to 100 watts is crazy. And that the protocol automatically detects and communicates the proper voltage is very convinent. The problem is that usbc-pd 100w chargers are expensive and you need to know what you are doing if you want to diy power appliances with it.

Its really nice to have a standardized cable that just works and can be plugged in both ways. We really are approaching a Universaal Cable after a quarter century of RnD.

So far it's a mess.

I still have Micro USB devices, so I need two cables or USB-C→Micro USB adapter.

I have PCs without USB-C ports, so another adapter needed USB-C → USB-A.

But, I can now "dock" my new-ish laptop with only one USB-C ↔ USB-C cable to a monitor.
Monitor gives power.

Not at all, its slightly more convenient.

It’s been more of a pain in the arse than initially expected.

Most motherboards (for example) only have 2-4 USB-C ports, meaning that I still need to employ A-C and C-C cables for peripherals etc.

My main gripe is that the standard just tries to do too many things without clear delineation/markings:

1. Is it a USB 2.0 (480Mbit), 5Gbit, 10Gbit or 20Gbit cable? Can’t really tell from the plug alone.

2. More importantly, for charging devices: How the heck do I determine maximum wattage I can run?

For all its faults, at least the blue colour of a USB-3.0 plug (or additional connectors for B/Micro) made it easy to differentiate !

Now I’m eyeing up a USB Cable tester just to validate and catalogue my growing collection! 🤦🏻‍♂️

A big one. No more brittle micro usb, which would eventually become loose and start falling out when charging. Being able to charge my laptop using my phone charger is also good.

With a laptop and phone which both can use it my backpack while travelling is so much lighter and less bulky. For me it absolutely was a game changer, I just don't like that I need to carry a USB a to C adapter for all the legacy USB A ports.

Works great, rarely have issues with the port breaking unlike prior small usb standards, it's nice how ubiquitous it is so I have way less random cable connectors around.

So much harder to solder, making repairing my stuff more difficult :(

Also, a USB cable is no longer a USB cable. Now I have to guess what the rated wattage was, if it's power only/data only/mixed.

All in all, a step back in my opinion.

Its convenient and superior to Micro. But mostly its just nice that both mine ans my wife's phone uses the same cord.

Last week I found out that there are off-brand batteries for my DSLR cameras that can be charged directly through USB-C so I don't have to pack a different charger for every camera. Let that sink in!

Overall pretty great, in a pinch I can charge my laptop on a Nintendo Switch power supply. Now if I could just upgrade the last few remaining Micro-USB and Lightning devices without spending a fortune...

Really hasn't been much of one. I still own devices that charge from MicroUSB, a lot of peripherals are still USB-A, there hasn't been any significant movement by the industry overall to move everything to C, so mostly it means I just need to carry more cables.

Not as much as going from coax to RJ45, or from PATA to SATA, or from PC/AT to PS/2 to USB or Bluetooth, or from D-SUB to DVI to HDMI or Display port, or from the old serial and parallel ports to USB or Bluetooth (I mainly skipped SCSI), and I sort of miss having to turn the connector 360° around for it to fit...

I was pretty fucking disappointed how flimsy the jacks are.
I've had 3 phones and a laptop I had to replace because the USB-C jack started to wiggle and wouldn't connect anymore.

Like others, USB-PD is amazing. My monitor has 90W which is plenty for my laptops. Gaming laptop, not so much. The only device I have that isn't USBC/Thunderbolt is the damn mouse. I rarely ever need a USB A port for anything other than charging. Even my flash drives are all USBC.

I have been able to use 1 charger for almost everything for several years now. Sometimes I have a finicky device that doesn't like the high wattage PD chargers and will only trickle charge, but work fine with my other smaller charger. The GaN chargers are nice and compact. I break USBC cables a lot less often, but that is because I am a walking disaster most of the time. I would break micro USB cables constantly, or rip the ports to pieces.

One note though on USBC ports on a monitor. Beware using the really really stiff cables on ports that are positioned where the cable would be parallel to the table instead of the port pointing down. That port will definitely wear out or break entirely from the constant downward force and lack of support of the cable in the port. This is especially true if you use a monitor arm and the cable gets moved. Seen this on both Samsung and LG. My Dell points downward. I really like the pro PS5 controllers as it comes with a little cage that holds the USBC cable in place and protects the port from exactly that scenario. These monitors absolutely need something like that, especially with how expensive they are.

It's nice that my phone charges quickly, but otherwise I don't notice. It's just one more cable type I need to search for.

It's pretty convenient. Now I can take my soldering iron and my power tool battery (with SN USB-C adaptor) and solder wherever the fuck I want

I certainly like it better, it's an improvement, but "game changer" is strong. I'm slowly replacing gadgets to USB C through attrition. The charge port has ceased to be the failure point for any of the gadgets I own. My pile of spare cables is still excessive, but moving further back in my storage closet because I need them less and less.

It changed my economy game.

Now I have to buy an USB-C to USB-A adaptor to plug USB-C stuff into my already standing devices. Honestly, no idea why didn't they make it connector-compatible. Wasn't that the entire point of the "U" in "USB"?

It was great!

I could get rid of a lot of "extra" cords. I can just keep one usb c and charge my phone, my mouse, and headphones with one cord. Shoot, I can even charge my controllers now too. I like that they're becoming like outlets. Like, this is just how you get power to the device(S). Without searching for the "right" cord all the time.

Not at all a game changer, for me.

I mean, it's just another and one more type of cable. Sure, in theory it's simpler than many various cables and it's even less stupid than the previous USB types, but it's still a mess.

At least, for non-geek me, those cables are a mess as I need to be able to distinguish between the exact same cable to find which one is USB-C or Thunderbolt, between the various versions of USB-C itself, and then between USB-C that comes with or without power delivery, and with what power limitation? And then, despite USB-C supposedly being a standard there are still too many cables that just won't work with certain devices because reasons.

Add to that the many USB-C docks (and dongles) that work... more or less reliably and more or less as marketed (even more so under Linux, but those issues exist under Mac and under Windows as well).

Older cables and ports were cumbersome, and thick and whatever but, as far as I'm concerned, for the most part they just worked like they were supposed to. And I never had an issue knowing which cable to plug into which port as they all looked, you know, different.

Nowadays, I have to label each one of my USB-C cable with some masking tape so I can identify it in a glimpse without wasting my time trying them all one by one.

Edit: some clarifications.

Personally, I like the iPhone charging port better as there's less that can go wrong with it, but USB-C is pretty good too.

I like that I don't have to orient the cable plug-ins just right. I can flip it over and still plug it in just fine. That's why I don't like mini USB, micro USB, or USB-A

I like its reversibility and faster speeds compared to MicroUSB. Being in the USA where everyone has iPhones though, it was hard to bum chargers from other people (before the iPhone 15 anyway)

Total game changer. Plug all my peripherals into my monitor. USB C from my monitor to my work laptop. After work I plug it into my home desktop. Also just having one charger and one cable for my phone, steam deck and laptop is amazing especially for work trips.

Well, for me, the selling points are:

• Versus earlier versions of USB, it's reversible. This isn't a game changer, I guess, but it's definitely nice to not have to fiddle plugs around all the time.

• I don't know if it's the only form of USB that does USB PD -- I'd guess not -- but in practice, it seems to be pretty strongly associated with USB PD. Having USB PD isn't essential, but it makes charging larger devices, like laptops, a lot more practical. I can lug around a power station that doesn't need to have an embedded inverter.

I still feel that it's kind of physically small and weak compared to USB A. That's an okay tradeoff for small portable devices that don't have the space for larger connectors, but I'm kinda not enthralled about it on desktop. I worry more about bending connectors (and I have bent them before).

So for me, I'd say that it's definitely nice, but not really in a game changing sense. I could do the things it can do in somewhat-worse ways prior to USB-C.

For charging, it's fine, I have equipment to do some mid level testing of how much power a USB cable can transmit, I can also verify if a charger supports quick charge and other charging protocols.

For data transfer, it's frustrating, you gotta find the cables that are not just USB2 with a USB-C connector.

Then you have thunderbolt, which is even more expensive....

Now I need to deal with USB-C to micro USB and USB-A for my old devices. Things will be better eventually, I guess, but it's just shifted the annoyance around for now.

My phone is slightly easier to plug in though.