Everyone hopes that the technological products they possess will be durable and timeless, but in the face of the changing usage habits that come with it, reality is always cruel and bony. Some things that are used for granted are often swept by the replacement of new software and hardware, because these new rules are often more advanced, disruptive, and represent future trends.

For example, the industry wide USB interface standard has changed its format. Although technology giants have already pushed for the iteration of new products, it will take some time for users to replace their inventory as a whole. In order to adapt to the industry wide interface standard, users have chosen to silently purchase various adapter cables to solve the problem of interface incompatibility.

In recent years, in order to make laptops lighter and thinner, manufacturers have gradually eliminated various previously bulky and single function interfaces, and replaced them with a lightweight and integrated interface format: USB type-c. Although there are still a large number of products on the market that need to be connected to USB C through adapters, I believe this transition will not last too long because some companies have already started researching and releasing new products with USB C interfaces to adapt to the arrival of this completely new interface system. They have also quickly laid out their own products, and the industry upgrade wave around USB C interfaces is gradually beginning.

For the entire technology industry, USB C is a recognized future technology trend, adopting a symmetrical design without distinguishing between positive and negative. In line with the latest USB 3.1 standard, USB C replaces HDMI, DP, VGA, and USB-A with just one interface, providing high-speed data, audio/video, and power transmission capabilities. It endows monitors with more functions and stronger interactivity, providing a new possibility for them to become the core of desktop data interaction. This interface change has triggered a revolution in data transmission and an overall upgrade of consumer experience.

Taking personal use as an example, I used to use the 13 inch MacBook Air. In order to make my work more convenient, I have equipped a mechanical keyboard, a Portable storage device, a monitor and headphones. The four accessories, along with the laptop power supply, basically occupy all interfaces except for the SD card slot. Although the efficiency advantage is obvious during use, every connection is a headache.

In this case

Last month, I upgraded my main office computer to a brand new MacBook Pro, with a slim body equipped with four identical USB C interfaces. In order to avoid a messy scene on the desktop, I decided to find a monitor with USB C interface support to be compatible with the new interface. Among all the brand products currently on sale, there are not many models to choose from.

Firstly, the budget should be below 4K, and secondly, the screen should be as large as possible, preferably with a wide color gamut for easy image editing. Finally, ThinkVision T27h was selected for evaluation.

From the perspective of daily office efficiency, the importance of monitor interface compatibility is much higher than the quality of screen display.

The ThinkVision T27h in hand has one input, one output, two DP ports, two HDMI ports, and a fully functional USB C port. The fully functional USB C port is the focus of my desktop system reconstruction this time, and I will focus on it later.

There are a total of 4 USB 3.0 output ports and a 3.5mm headphone interface on the side of the body. These interfaces, along with the bidirectional USB C interface, turn the entire screen into a Dock, basically solving the awkward situation where computers only have USB C interfaces and cannot directly connect to other hardware.

Intuitively introduce how I arranged this desktop system. Firstly, I have two game consoles, a Sony PS4 and a Nintendo Switch, which are connected to the monitor through HDMI ports. The DP port is temporarily unavailable and not used.

The USB - c port is directly connected to my MacBook Pro. Because the USB - c port has a downlink function, the computer and the monitor only need one line to connect, which can achieve the Dwifungsi function of image, sound and other data transmission and power supply to the computer.

In fact, it is difficult to express the improved level of convenience in text, but if you use a laptop to connect to the screen for office work, you can probably understand the original troubles. If your accessories are all wired, then when connecting, you need to plug in the power cord to the computer, connect the screen to the computer, and then connect the computer to your keyboard and mouse peripherals. When all this is done, you will find that you still need a hub to beautify the desktop.

But if the screen has a USB C uplink and downlink interface, and your computer's USB C interface supports power supply and data transmission functions, then every time you use it, you only need to connect the computer to the screen with a cable.

I connected the remaining peripheral devices to the USB interface on the side of the T27h screen, and the 3.5mm headphone jack was connected to a wired desktop audio device, ensuring the sound quality of the desktop system while avoiding the hassle of pairing wireless audio with the device every time. Wired mechanical keyboard, SD card reader and a 2T Portable storage device are directly connected to three USB 3.0 interfaces, so that each time the computer is connected to the screen, the card reader, keyboard and Portable storage device are directly available. The remaining USB port that can power up, I choose to plug a USB C cable into it, ready to connect or charge my phone or other hardware devices to the computer at any time.

This interface extension support minimizes connection complexity and eliminates the cost of purchasing adapter cables on the desktop system, making the screen the center of the desktop system.

In addition to the connection of interfaces, the convenience of switching between different signal sources on the display also directly affects the convenience of switching when a display is connected to multiple accessories. Although many monitors nowadays use virtual touch buttons, this always gives people a sense of insecurity when switching signal sources, unsure if they have successfully triggered the button. The lower right corner of T27h uses a physical button, and the way to switch signal sources is also very direct, which allows me to quickly switch from the computer screen to PS4 or Switch.

Looking at the overall appearance and visual quality, the reason why I put these two parts at the end of the experience is actually very simple. As mentioned at the beginning of the article, from a daily office perspective, the importance of monitor interface compatibility is much higher than that of screen display quality.

The T27h installation is very convenient. Screw the bracket onto the base and then hang the screen, directly supporting -5 º/30 º forward and backward pitch, 110mm vertical lift, ± 45 ° horizontal rotation, and ± 90 ° vertical rotation. It will not cause users to feel cervical discomfort due to height and screen angle. In addition, the overall frame of the machine is very narrow, with an inner frame of only 5.5 mm. After the screen is lit, the first impression is very good. Overall, this is an efficient productivity tool that balances form and function, appearance design, and practicality.

In terms of image quality, the IPS panel resolution of T27h is QHD2560 × 1440 @ 60Hz, visible angle of 178 °, brightness of 350 nits, color gamut of 99% sRGB, absolutely sufficient for daily work, and among products in the same price range, the display quality of T27h is considered superior. This screen has also passed the Rhine T Å V Eye Comfort Certification from Germany, which includes four evaluation criteria: non flashing screen, filtering screen blue light, reducing interference light source reflection, and reducing attenuation of image quality from different angles. Simply put, it's about trying not to hurt your eyes.

This system basically constitutes the best solution in the USB C ecosystem, leveraging the more efficient transmission capacity, richer scalability, and stronger power supply capabilities of the USB C interface. For users who use laptops as the core of their desktop ecosystem, the ability to connect their entire set of desktop accessories through a USB C cable on a screen and start working at any time is undoubtedly a revolution in connection efficiency. From the perspective of desktop aesthetics, the previously cumbersome multiple connection lines can now be simplified through the screen's support for USB C functions, bringing a more unified and ultimate visual simplicity. And when users build desktop systems, they also solve the wiring problem.

As for appearance, the ThinkVision T27h continues the consistent design language of the Lenovo Think family. The overall design presents a tough and minimalist tone, but it is indeed too low-key for the appearance control.

Although USB C is currently only a standard configuration for leading brands and flagship products, and has not yet reached the mass consumer level, USB C may occasionally bring compatibility inconvenience in the connection of mass devices. The brand that has fully adopted USB C into the product docking system has not yet fully awakened.

However, more and more devices are switching to new USB C interface specifications, whether it's smartphones, computers, or other peripherals. USB C can directly optimize the entire hardware interface ecosystem. As a multifunctional interface, it can perform audio/video transmission, data transmission, and charging. While making the device lighter and thinner, it can also enable the device to have faster charging speed and better data transmission capabilities.

From the perspective of the entire desktop system, although the USB C interface can directly greatly improve the convenience of connecting laptops to screens, the biggest problem is that there are currently too few products on the market that support fully functional USB C connections and can provide multiple output interfaces. In the traditional hardware field of desktop computer screens, USB C is still a special interface support, mostly only appearing on some manufacturers' latest high-end products, There are not many cost-effective desktop screens on the market that support USB C connectivity.

Popularizing USB C seems like a standard upgrade, which involves consensus reached across the entire industry upstream, midstream, and downstream. Essentially, USB C is an inevitable trend for technology to self evolve. Although we still need to wait for some time, fortunately, more and more brands are willing to use product upgrades to build a new type-C connector interface ecosystem.

Source: Tiger Smell