Mobile phones have a history of nearly 20 years since their development. Although the 20-year history is not very long, just like the appearance and shape of the mobile phone, the charging interface types of mobile phones have been replaced unknowingly. Let’s take a look today. What are the charging interfaces of mainstream mobile phones in the past decade? And why do new phones now like to use the Type-Ch interface?
Mini USB interface
In fact, mobile phones did not have USB interface at the beginning. With the popularity of MP3 and cameras, mobile phones have the need to interact with PCs and use them to transmit music and photos. However, at that time, there was no unified standard for the charging interface of mobile phones. The charging interfaces of various mobile phone brands were diverse, with all styles, and the data cables were not compatible.
With the rise of Windows mobile phones and PDAs, the charging interface standard of mobile phones has finally been unified - Mini USB, which is the earliest USB interface, and it has also been used in the fields of card readers, digital cameras, etc.
Micro USB interface
In the era of smart phones, as mobile phones gradually transition to lightweight, Mini USB undoubtedly restricted the reduction of mobile phone size, so Micro USB2.0 came into being. Compared with Mini USB, Micro USB2.0 is much smaller in size. Until today, Micro USB2.0 is still widely used in various devices, in addition to mobile phones, there are also power banks, Bluetooth speakers, etc. However, it also has a big problem, that is, this flat trapezoidal interface often faces the embarrassment of insertion and reverse, which not only wastes time, but also easily loses the life of the wire.
In addition, there is Micro USB 3.0. Compared with Micro USB 2.0, although the transmission speed will be faster, its interface is larger, it is inconvenient to plug and unplug, and the failure rate is also high. Therefore, it only exists on a few Samsung models, and it was gradually eliminated later.
Type-C interface
So, a more convenient Type-C interface is here! Unlike previous products, Type-C is unlike many as soon as it appears. It changed the problem of irregularities on both ends of the charging interface in the past and achieved the goal of "both and back can be inserted". This is also one of the reasons why Type-C was immediately popular in the digital circle after it was launched.
Type-C is very popular, and the size of Type-C is very small, only 8.3*2.5mm, which is very suitable for increasingly small-scale devices;
with the support of the USB3.1 protocol, the transmission speed can reach 10Gbps;
can provide up to 100W of power output, and can also achieve bidirectional power supply;
can also transmit audio and video signals, expanded to a variety of audio and video output interfaces, such as HDMI, DVI, VGA and other interfaces, and can even achieve 4K resolution expansion.
In other words, Type-C's advantages are not only small interfaces and can be plugged in front and back, but also can integrate charging, data transmission and audio and video, greatly reducing cables.
More importantly, Type-C's application scope is not limited to mobile phones, and now some computers, such as Apple's laptops, have also begun to use it. This means that Type-C may become a unified standard in mobile phones, computers and even other digital fields in the future, which will bring great convenience to users.
In addition, the Type series interface is not only Type-C, but can actually be divided into Type-A, Type-B and Type-C. Type-A is our common standard USB interface, which is widely used in mobile phones, computers, and even TVs. Type-B, with a small port, is commonly found in printers and monitors with touch and USB interfaces, and has a niche application range. Finally, it is the Type-C that we often use in daily life.
Common misunderstandings about Type-C
Although Type-C has many advantages, it is not perfect. Since its emergence is relatively late, some users do not know Type-C very well.
1. The Type-C interface does not necessarily support the USB 3.1 fast charging protocol. In fact, in most cases, the speed of USB 2.0 is still the speed of USB 3.0 or 3.1 is the speed of USB 3.0 or 3.1 on the computer.
2. Type-C transmission speed is not necessarily faster than Micro USB? In fact, the charging speed of the USB interface depends on the supported charging protocol, while Type-C and Micro USB are only interface specifications and have nothing to do with transmission speed. Compared with the two, the advantage of Type-C is that it has more pins and , and can identify more complex protocols without modification, and has wider application potential.
Dock interface
The earliest model of iPhone was the Dock interface, but the flat-length body type is easy to cause inconvenience, not only looks bloated, but also not convenient to carry, so it was gradually eliminated in the later stage.
Lightning interface
In the iPhone 5 era, the Dock interface, which had been criticized for a long time, was finally eliminated. Instead, it was replaced by the lightning interface with a large size that also supports forward and reverse insertion, which was highly popular among Apple fans as soon as it was launched.
Speaking of this, the history of mobile phone charging interface has also been discussed. It can be seen that the history of mobile phone charging interface has always revolved around the three elements of "minimizing, faster transmission speed, more transmission functions". With the diversification of digital products and the closer connection between them, smartphones will be integrated into an ecosystem like other digital products.
The charging interface of the mobile phone is also very likely to become "smaller, faster and more comprehensive". Type-C is the perfect embodiment of this process. As for whether Type-C will continue to develop in the future or be replaced by better interfaces, let's wait and see!
