Apple patented a new type of USB plug in 2013 that could be shipped with the upcoming iPhone 6, a recent report from 9to5Mac shows. The connector is compatible with USB Type A, the same type used by all computers today. Like the iPhone Lightning connector, it is reversible, precluding users from trying to plug it in incorrectly.
The USB Promoter Group recently announced a separate “Type C” reversible USB cable. This cable would not fit the USB ports on current Apple technologies; however, the recently discovered patent makes it seem like the company was one step ahead. Based on the patent description quoted by 9to5Mac, Apple’s invention “may be compatible with any current or future electronic device that includes a standard USB receptacle connector.” The USB plugs also “have a 180 degree symmetrical, double orientation design, which enables the plug connector to be inserted into a corresponding receptacle connector in either of two intuitive orientations.”
USB to Lightning
The smaller size was the biggest reason for Apple to move to the current USB-to-Lightning cable from the previous 30-pin model, followed closely by the reversible connection. A constant problem for iPhone users was plugging in the cable incorrectly, and the reversible Lightning cable fixed that. Current MicroUSB connectors—what Android smartphones use to charge and connect to computers—are not reversible and have a very similar problem, though they have a trapezoidal shape with one side noticeably longer than the other.
While it’s not clear whether the new Lightning cable will be released with the iPhone 6, it wouldn’t be a surprise to get a newer, simpler cable if Apple is already going to make major changes to the smartphone. As Apple is already expected to make 80 million iPhones for this holiday season, according to Gizmodo, that also means at least 80 million new cables to go along with it.
Do USB cables today drive you crazy? Let us know if a reversible cable would make life noticeably better for you in the comments below.
Image courtesy of Flickr
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