Nowadays, not only are the charging interfaces of many mobile phones replaced by Type-C interfaces, but also the Type-C interfaces are popularized by computers and USB flash drives. Compared with the coexistence of various interfaces in the past, it is embarrassing to find suitab

Review expert: Zheng Yuanpan

Professor of Zhengzhou University of Light Technology

Nowadays, not only are the charging interfaces of many mobile phones replaced with Type-C interfaces, but computers and USB flash drives are also popularizing Type-C interfaces. Compared with the coexistence of various interfaces in the past, it is embarrassing to find suitable charging cables everywhere when mobile phones and computers are out of power. The unified interface is simply too friendly!

Why do people favor Type-Ch interface so much? The most common understanding of Type-C interface is that it does not need to distinguish between positive and negative, and charging is faster. After all, who can refuse the efficiency of "charging for five minutes and talking for two hours"?

Source | 360 Image

So, why doesn’t the Type-C interface distinguish between positive and negative? Can it really make charging faster?

Next, we will learn more about Type-C.

Type-C interface charging faster?

Type-C is an electronic device interface standard, also called USB-Ch. In August 2014, USBIF (USB Implementers Forum, USB Standardization Organization) released the USB Type-C interface standard. It also relies on its own technical advantages to gradually develop into a unified electronic interface.

Why can Type-C be so widely used? In fact, this mainly stems from the Type-C interface standard, which is an extremely important part of fast charging technology.

interface development Source | 360 pictures

With the development of network technology, mobile phones rely on the network more and more. The faster the internet speed, the more problems the mobile phone needs to deal with during the same period of time, and the more battery consumption it will be. At present, if you want to reduce the battery consumption of your mobile phone, you can start from two aspects: one is the update of your mobile phone battery, and the other is the charging technology.

However, there has been no new breakthrough in the technology of the mobile phone battery market. If you want to change the problem of fast battery consumption in mobile phones, it is particularly important to develop fast charging technology.

At present, there are two common fast charging technologies: one is to achieve fast charging by increasing the output voltage of the power adapter (the power supply transformer device , commonly known as the charger head) output voltage to increase the charging power; the other is to achieve fast charging by outputting a large current through the charger head to increase the charging power.

power adapter Source | 360 pictures

In recent years, domestic mobile phones that use low-voltage fast charging technology have developed rapidly, and low-voltage fast charging technology has gradually occupied the market. Compared with the two charging methods, low voltage and high current charging methods can achieve higher efficiency at the same power. However, the traditional cable (charging cable) and interface cannot withstand high current and cannot guarantee charging safety.

Cable Source | 360 Picture

In order to achieve fast charging while ensuring charging safety, the fast charging charger head needs to convert the alternating current in our lives into the specified voltage and current. At the same time, voltage and current transmission also requires the use of special fast charging cables and interfaces.

left traditional interface, Type-C interface on the right. Source | 360 picture

Type-C interface has several times the number of contacts of the traditional interface, which makes it able to withstand much more current than the traditional charging interface, which is more suitable for fast charging technology. In addition, the chip of the Type-C interface has added E-marker chip , which can be recognized by each other, to ensure that the Type-C interface can automatically identify the charging and receiving devices, ensure charging safety, and support two-way charging.

Source | 360 Picture

At present, USBPD (USB Power Delivery, power transmission protocol) is not unified, and can be compatible with different charging voltages of 5V/12V/20V and different charging currents of 1.5A/2A/3A/5A. USBPD sets 10W/18W/36W/60W/100W five-level charging specifications. The increase in charging power requires higher requirements for interface chip security. The Type-C interface and USBPD can fully realize the charging power of up to 00W, and ensure the safety of charging when high voltage and high current output is output.

Type-C interface is suitable for multiple power sources | 360 picture

So if you want to charge your phone quickly, it can not only be done by the Type-C interface standard, but it is an important part of fast charging technology.

In addition to this, what are the advantages of the Type-C interface? Advantages of

Type-C interface

has no directionality
Type-C interface designs all signal pins on the "tongue" in the middle. The front and back are 2 , and the arrangement is basically symmetrical, which means that it no longer needs to distinguish between the front and the back.

Source | 360 Picture

realizes full function of data cable

Type-C interface can support data, audio, and video transmission and charging functions at the same time, realizing that one wire replaces multiple cables. There is no need for many data cables with different functions to realize the full function of the data cable.

realizes the combination of multiple interfaces Source | 360 pictures

Strong data transmission capability

Type-C interface not only can charge bidirectional, but data transmission also supports bidirectional . And it can support multi-screen display and 4K ultra-definition resolution transmission. Today, most electronic devices only have one interface, and the Type-C interface realizes video transmission, greatly improving the convenience of using electronic devices.

size small

In fact, the Type-C interface has been used in laptops for a long time, which can save the laptop about 2/3 of space.

Nowadays, mobile phone design has always pursued to be thinner, and the 3.5mm audio interface has become one of the bottlenecks for mobile phones to become thinner. In addition, the pursuit of digital high-definition audio in the market is getting higher and higher, and the traditional 3.5mm audio interface can no longer meet the demand. The Type-C interface is not only smaller than the traditional audio interface, but also enables digital audio interfaces. This also accelerates the elimination of the 3.5mm traditional audio interface.

3.5mm interface Source | 360 picture

Extend service life

Durability is an important aspect of testing interfaces. The Type-C interface directly solves the situation where the user inserts the reverse interface and extends the interface service life. Its interface uses a symmetrical arc appearance, and the stress-bearing part is mainly in the metal shell, which improves protection of the intermediate data channel and reduces damage to the data channel by the plug-in interface.

Source | 360 Picture

Type-C interface, as an important transmission link of fast charging technology, not only realizes fast charging, but also provides people with a lot of convenience. If you don’t have to worry about plugging in and looking for various adaptive interfaces, it is not unreasonable that Type-C interface is popularized so quickly.