I’m still on the fence with respect the the usb-c device side durability. Time will tell, and I guess wireless charging can make it all moot if you’re patient.
this post was submitted on 03 Jan 2025
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There's nothing stopping the manufacturers from agreeing on a new standard. The key point is they all have to use the same standard.
You have to admit, it seems very unlikely though, right?
Well it's not going to change anytime soon since USB-c is current tech, but there's really no reason to.
Yeah, it’s a weird state of things. But not really, when you think about other cable standards.
It’s interesting how USB, and now USB-C is becoming a standard power delivery interface. Even for things that have no “smart” features. I’m actually interested in getting USB-C wall outlets. In a few places.
i don't get why people want C outlets, USB A outlets have been standard since time immemorial at this point and they're fine for that. The only time i see a reason to output power from USB C is when you're getting a charge from someone's phone, otherwise it can just be A
Well, now that everything is C we can have bidirectional cables.
Eventually we will have devices and computers with just USB C on them. And many chargers have USB-C on their end now too.
It’s going to all shift to USB-C. And A will slowly go away. Maybe very slowly, but it will, predominantly, go away.
USB-A ports will go away in cars. And then it’s again just C on both ends. I was in a U Haul truck, of all things, that had USB-C back in 2020.
One Cable and Connector to Rule Them All.
As opposed to what, lightning? Laptop DC barrel connectors? Micro USB?
Lightning and barrel connectors are pretty solid.
Micro USB is worse than USB-C for sure. See my other comment on this post.
I’ve got a an iPhone 5c that still charges and works well (for playing some old seasonal games my wife loves) and its lighting port is still fine. As are all the other lighting ports I’ve got (7-8 devices over the years). I tend to use my devices for as long as they get OS support (and way longer on the laptops). The cables are the first to fail when bent or mishandled while charging.
I’ve now heard a few stories about melting connectors when they’re being held (a bad habit my wife has while laying in bed, but it only hurts the cable, so it’s not the end of her phone if it happens…yet). The USB-C charging on my MacBook is finicky as fuck, but it at least has 4 different ports if one fails.
The MagSafe connectors on MacBooks are the best IMO, my older MacBooks always connect with a click and start charging with a led indicator to show status. They never should have changed it. Which is probably why they changed it back.
Anecdotally, both Valve and Meta have struggled with the durability of USB-C on their Index Controllers and Quest headsets respectively.
When used with a device that will move around, and maybe bump into things, USB-C can be easily shorted out leading to melted connections on these devices. To the point where Valve started asking users to stop charging their controllers while they are using them. A little alert pops up if you do.
I personally had one Index controller melt its port due to the USB-C connection not being solid. I found it melted during charging one time. I must have set it down at a bad angle. I’ve also seen many Quests get posted online showing a melted USB-C port.
I also find the USB-C port on the PS5 controller isn’t 100% stable too. I use it with a high quality cable on my PC.
Micro USB was worse about connection stability. But I’m not aware of it easily melting ports.
The USB-C connections Apple makes seem to be to a higher standard than all the ports I just mentioned. It is possible to make solid ones. But it seems you need to intentionally do so.
Is anyone else aware of anecdotal USB-C durability issues? It seems like the port is fine, but only when it’s reinforced/high quality.
It might have more to do with build quality. I've never had an issue.
That’s exactly what I’m saying. I’m not use to having this variability in build quality of USB ports, or Lightning ports.
I’m use to it either always being shit (micro-usb) or almost always fine unless an incident damages the port. USB-A is rock solid, relatively speaking.
No one uses Micro USB so that's not really reliant. As far as lightning goes it is just as variable as usb-c.
Maybe I am reading into it but it sounds like you just are one of those people who thinks "Apple good everything else sucks"
Did I get micro wrong? I mean the one the PS4 controllers had. I’m just comparing it to past standards. Why can’t I compare the durability? That’s what this thread of comments on this post is about.
Lots of companies make quality usb-c ports. I just happen to know of two surprising examples where the quality was lacking. I wouldn’t expect Valve and Meta to have poorly made ports. I’d expect cheap Chinese designed/produced devices to have them.
Apple was just an easy example of quality well built ports.
I've had USB-C devices since my first Nexus 6p in 2015. Every charger I've ever had still works. I've had one cord fail in all that time. While USB-C has its flaws, durability isn't one of them for me.
My 2017 laptop has one less than reliable port out of 4 (the rest are fine). They are the only charging ports and since the rest work I should be fine as the hardware otherwise is still working well.
Time will tell
USB C has been around for 10 years, we already know it's very durable (at least the connector itself, cheap cables are another story)