The part that really got me from this talk was the added expense and complexity associated with the orientation-independent connector. It's neat that it'll plug-in either way, but at a cost that seems unjustified. USB-A connectors are a pain to plug in, for sure, so there was arguably room for improvement. An asymmetric connector shell would have done the job fine at a much lower cost.
Also, all the power delivery negotiation details sound excruciating. It frustrates me how we make something elegant and simple then gunk it up w/ edge cases.
An asymmetric connector shell would have done the job fine at a much lower cost
It would have done a worse job by definition. Weird take. The lightning connector was a massive competitive advantage to Apple for years and the other side of the market needed an answer.
I don't have the problems with HDMI or micro-B USB, both of which have asymmetric connector shells, like I have with USB-A. The presentation talks a lot about the costs (complexity and money) associated with the orientation-indeoendent connector. It doesn't sound worth it to me when you're talking about the scale involved.
Comments
The part that really got me from this talk was the added expense and complexity associated with the orientation-independent connector. It's neat that it'll plug-in either way, but at a cost that seems unjustified. USB-A connectors are a pain to plug in, for sure, so there was arguably room for improvement. An asymmetric connector shell would have done the job fine at a much lower cost.
Also, all the power delivery negotiation details sound excruciating. It frustrates me how we make something elegant and simple then gunk it up w/ edge cases.
It would have done a worse job by definition. Weird take. The lightning connector was a massive competitive advantage to Apple for years and the other side of the market needed an answer.
I don't have the problems with HDMI or micro-B USB, both of which have asymmetric connector shells, like I have with USB-A. The presentation talks a lot about the costs (complexity and money) associated with the orientation-indeoendent connector. It doesn't sound worth it to me when you're talking about the scale involved.