this post was submitted on 24 Nov 2024
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What's wrong with having the option?
The more its held onto on devices, the more things will just keep using it. If we had ditched USB A on new devices (desktop motherboards included) companies would start actually releasing USB C peripherals and other devices. Think mouse dongles, keyboards, speakers, etc.
I honestly don't really see that as a problem. If customers really want USB-C, they'll buy USB-C peripherals and USB-A will drop off naturally. But if USB-A peripherals are more attractive (i.e. cheaper), then I see no problem with both continuing to exist. Let the people decide, don't force USB-C down their throats...
How? If there are basically no USB-C peripherals, how are people going to buy them to show their support? One side needs to start first so the other will get on board, otherwise people will just stick to USB-A because there is no other real option. Apple is trying, and they are usually the trendsetters in the tech space, but it doesn't seem like the rest of the market is jumping on board like the usually do.
The people can't decide if there isn't anything to decide on.
There are USB-C peripherals though. I just did a quick check for "USB-C " (tried mouse, keyboard, and drive) and found plenty of options. The USB-A devices are frequently cheaper, probably because USB-A compliance is a lot easier than USB-C compliance, which translates to cheaper products.
If the market doesn't jump to support USB-C, it's probably because it's either too expensive or customers don't care. If neither is the case, the companies that make USB-C devices would make a killing and everyone else would rush to catch up.
I personally slightly prefer USB-C, but I don't need everything to be USB-C. USB-A still works fine, and they work especially well w/ my older devices. What benefits do I get by switching to USB-C? Having everything the same is nice, but how much is that actually worth when it comes to extra costs?
I guess that is where our opinions differ. I find USB A doesn't work fine, and is a pain in the ass that I only use because I have to.
If you actually look at those results when searching USB C you will see that they are nearly all either cheap no name products or come with a dongle (the thing I want to avoid). But back to the customers will change naturally thing, that wont happen until they have the choice. I could see your argument making sense if all manufacturers decided to make every product in both styles for 5 years to see what everone wants to use, but that isn't going to happen. People will choose devices for what they have, and what they have is nearly 0 USB C ports on everything.
IF 50% of mainstream brand peripherals and IF motherboard manufacturers actually had more than a single USB C port (if any) surrounded by half a dozen USB A ports, people might actually have a choice. Right now its buy USB A or go to dongle hell, which I very much dislike.
And I honestly don't think USB-A is that bad, especially on a laptop where I can look at the cable and put the solid part on the bottom. It's really annoying on desktops with vertical ports on the back that I can't see while plugging in a cable.
USB-C costs more and is totally overkill for most peripherals where speed really isn't a concern. I really don't care if my keyboard is USB-A or USB-C, I plug it in once and I'm done (on my laptop, it's to a USB-C hub). Likewise for a mouse. I do care for external SSDs, so mine is USB-C. I don't care for charging my headphones or other small wearables, I just leave the charging cable in the hub/desktop. I do care about my monitor, and that's either USB-C (work) or DisplayPort (home desktop).
Both ports are fine. USB-A is a lot cheaper, so I'd rather pay less than force everything to be USB-C for reasons.