Three things you should know about USB Type-C

Whether you’re excited about today’s news from the Apple event, or you are looking toward the future of USB technology, there’s a handful of exciting new features packed in this tiny cable. The MacBook is the first notebook to use the connection, but it’s likely we’ll see many other devices following suit this year. In the meantime, here are a few things you should know about USB Type-C (also known as USB 3.1) connections:

It’s easier to plug in

No more fiddling with the cord to make sure it’s plugged in the correct way every time, because both ends are the same and there is no “upside-down.” Hopefully this means fewer scratches all over your device’s charging port area from trying to plug it in with the lights off.

Data transfer and power capability have greatly improved

USB Type-C offers a transfer rate of 10Gbps, which is double the transfer speed of USB 3.0 (5 Gbps). Additionally, the cable offers 20 volts and 5 amps of power, compared with the 5 volts and 1.8 amps of its predecessor. This means less waiting around for devices to transfer data or for their batteries to charge.

USB dongles are going to be your new friends (for now)

The Type-C standard hasn’t reached widespread adoption (yet). In the meantime, you’ll need to collect some dongles to connect your favorite things together (like an HDMI screen, or a device with an older USB version). If you’re purchasing a new MacBook, there’s a multiport dongle available to make the transition less of a hassle.

If you’d like to read a more about USB standards and the path to USB 3.1, check out Dong Ngo’s “USB Type-C: One cable to connect them all.”