Even though the USB standard was constantly being improved it was time for a bigger upgrade. Unlike the computer industry, USB hasn't changed a lot since 1994. There were a couple of problems, that were becoming more and more evident. The connector wasn't reversible. It couldn't deliver enough power. The connector was too big for smartphones and other portable devices. A lot of variants were developed which were trying to solve the problem, but it just made things worse.
USB started to become more and more counterproductive. The original dream of having just one type of port for every device disappeared. Just take a look at this:
The industry decided to create a new standard: USB Type-C. It solved all of the problems. It's thin. It's reversible. It can deliver enough power to be able to charge a laptop. And there is only one type of plug. This:
The standard was finalized in August of 2014 and it's being adopted at amazing speeds. Most flagship Android smartphones from 2015 and 2016 already use Type-C instead of microUSB. It is also being adopted for laptops especially in the business sphere. Even APPLE decided to include it in it's new MacBook:
Intel's new Thunderbolt 3 standard uses the Type-C port as well. Dell even made monitors, that use Type-C instead of HDMI.
It's fair to say, that USB Type-C is the plug of the future. It will replace the old USB, microUSB, HDMI, charging cables, Thunderbolt 2 and many others. It will replace everything, And that's good. We would finally have to use only ONE type of cable for everything, making our day-to-day lives easier.
