{"id":7336,"date":"2015-03-30T10:49:45","date_gmt":"2015-03-30T09:49:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.mentor.com\/colinwalls\/?p=7336"},"modified":"2026-03-26T16:45:37","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T20:45:37","slug":"usb-3-1-my-wishes-granted-the-type-c-connector","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/embedded-software\/2015\/03\/30\/usb-3-1-my-wishes-granted-the-type-c-connector\/","title":{"rendered":"USB 3.1 – my wishes granted: the Type C connector!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nowadays, all computer users just take USB for granted. Plug a device in and it just works. Those of us who remember the Bad Old Days – i.e. before USB – probably appreciate it rather more, as we can remember the challenges involved in adding the simplest of peripherals to a PC. Another angle on USB is the embedded software perspective, where the underlying complexity is laid bare. To me, that is more interesting.<\/p>\n

USB does not stand still and its evolution is continuing apace …<\/p>\n

USB has now been with us for nearly two decades – it has done very well for a technical standard in the computer world. Part of the success was due to it being a good solution to a long felt need. But its longevity is largely accounted for by the steady progress of the standard, offering increased performance and functionality as it has been needed.<\/p>\n

I first wrote about USB<\/a> here quite a while ago. At that time I was intrigued by the ease of use versus internal complexity issue. In due course, I began to get excited<\/a> about the advent of USB 3.0 and I have continued to discuss this topic at conferences etc. ever since. More recently I was even more excited<\/a> by the first sniff of USB 3.1.<\/p>\n

USB 3.0 was a big step and is only now beginning to be the de facto standard on PCs, although RTOS implementations have been available [like that for Nucleus<\/a> for example] for a while. In many respects, this iteration of the USB standard was almost “back to the drawing board”, as a lot of changes were made to the way data is carried. The big challenge was any semblance of backwards compatibility with USB 2. This was achieved by creating a hybrid connector, which could still be used with USB 2 hardware. The plug, for example, appears externally to be almost identical:<\/p>\n

\"USB3\"<\/a><\/p>\n

With USB 3.1, the rethink has gone much further. One of the most visible changes is the “Type C” connector, which is not directly compatible with its predecessors [although adapters will be available]. Here is what it looks like:<\/p>\n

\"USB31\"<\/a><\/p>\n

As you can see it is quite a bit smaller. It is also reversible – just like the Apple Lightning connector! No more fumbling around to get the plug the right way up.<\/p>\n

But the changes effected by the humble “.1” version increments do not stop with this wonderful connector:<\/p>\n