Can someone explain to me the history and the issues (structure) that lead to micro-usb then lightining and now type-C please ?
Posted by KirikouCaribe@reddit | hardware | View on Reddit | 4 comments
Hello everyone ! We had micro-usb on our phones and then lignthining appeared and now we have usb-type C. Besides the desire for it to be reversible what were the issues that drived companies to create lightning and type ?
What did they upgraded in Usb-type C that made it quicker than micro usb to share data and charge my phone ?
I'm also wondering how does it work ? I understand what happend in the cable before the head of the charger but what is structurally the head of a charger and how does it work ?
Example what makes it grip ? I can hang my phone by the cable on new micro usb chargers but when they get older the phone just slide down.
I'm so ignorant on the topic that I don't even know what to look for on the internet đź« . I just found numbers about how one is faster than the other not really what is the hardware difference.
Thank you all in advance !
HustlinInTheHall@reddit
There are a number of factors that go into connector design, especially cost, power and data delivery demands, licensing fees, copy protection needs, etc.
Your questions range all over the place but in essence, there were many different connections that arose to solve different challenges. Early PCs had specific ports for keyboards, mice, printers, modem cards, displays, etc. Some of these were already industry standard (3.5mm analog headphone jack), some were designed by multiple companies, and some were just brute forced into becoming the standard for PCs (IBM's PS/2 Port for keyboards and mice).
USB was meant to align all these needs in one connector that could handle most data transfer needs from 1.5Mbps -> 12 Mbps which was super fast for the mid-90s when it first came on the scene. At this point small consumer electronics did not typically accept data (or send data to) computers so it was more about PCs and their accessories than multiple devices.
Apple pushed some proprietary connections like FireWire as it tried to establish itself as a dominant player in specific niches like digital video editing. The first iPods used FireWire to transfer music files and they were fantastic for capturing DV video from tape decks for professional editing, letting you capture and mark up footage in real time. Apple moved on to the 30-pin connector and then Lightning, advancing alongside USB in speed and power delivery but maintaining an ecosystem they could control and financially benefit from. The EU forced them to move to USB-C.
USB moved to USB-B (the mini, micro era) to fit the rising wave of consumer electronics similar to Apple, but in a more standard way across many companies. The issue you refer to about connectors being too easy to pull out is part of the standard, with both input force and extraction force specified by the documentation.
USB-C uses a leaf-spring design in the connector which provides much better connection force and requires a higher extraction force than other small USB connections, so even small gadgets can be held firmly in place and not removed just from the tensile strength of the cable sliding around. You can read up on the standard geometry here: https://www.usb.org/sites/default/files/USB%20Type-C%20Spec%20R2.0%20-%20August%202019.pdf
But one of the design. goals of USB is that most of the wear of insertion and extraction is borne by the cable, since it's cheaper and replaceable. So the connection force tends to come from the cable and a device that feels "loose" typically will return to normal with a new cable.
ditroia@reddit
Pre iOS/Android every phone maker used their own proprietary charger. Then Apple decided to use their 30 pin charger from their iPods on the iPhone. Android phones used the more open standard of micro USB.
Then Apple decided that the 30 pin connector was too big and clunky and instead of using micro USB, they decided to design their own proprietary connector called lightning.
It was much smaller and thinner than 30 pin, was reversible and probably most importantly had protection that initially made it harder to make your own cables without paying Apple’s “made for iPhone” licensing fee.
In the meantime Intel, Apple and others developed the USB C standard. Apple used it on their laptops but not phones.
Eventually the EU forced all phones to use USB C a few years ago and the reluctantly started using it.
This is all from memory, but roughly what happened.
Osama_Obama@reddit
Good starting point would be the wiki.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB-C
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