The following is the USB-IF organization's description of type-c:

With the development of platform usage models, the requirements for usability and robustness of USB type-c continue to improve, and the existing USB connector groups were not initially designed for these newer requirements. This specification aims to establish a new USB connector ecosystem to address the constantly changing needs of platforms and devices, while retaining all the functional advantages of USB, which form the foundation of this most popular computing device interconnection.

There are three different appearance interfaces for the USB interface,

Namely type-a, type-b, and type-c.

Type-a

The most widely used interface standard in computers and electronic accessories, including mice, USB drives, and data cables, with the largest volume.

Type-b

Generally used for external USB devices such as printers, scanners, USBHUB, etc.

Type-c

A type of interface that can be applied to both PC (master device) and external devices (slave devices, such as mobile phones).

This figure roughly explains the different forms of USB, and it can be seen that the interfaces corresponding to different versions (2.0/3.0) are different. Basically, the USB 3.0 era was made to be compatible with USB 2.0.

Type-A USB 3.0 and 2.0 have the same shape, and the devices can also be compatible with each other. Here is a simple science distinction for everyone.

The color of the rubber core in the interface can distinguish between USB versions

Advantages of the type-c interface

A major feature of the USB 3.1 (type c interface) version is its transmission speed, which doubles the theoretical bandwidth from 5Gbps to 10Gbps compared to previous versions.

Another major feature of type-c data cables is that they do not distinguish between positive and negative, and can be inserted freely.

Unlike the traditional USB Type-A and Type-B interfaces commonly found in daily life, the new type-c interface has been slimmed down in size, only 8.3 * 2.5mm, making it more suitable for use in increasingly miniaturized electronic devices and can withstand more than 10000 repeated plugging and unplugging.

Strong power supply capability, the type-c interface adopts the USB3.1 standard and can provide up to 100W of power output. It can achieve bidirectional power supply through the USB type-c interface: it can charge the device itself and external devices, and the device charging time can be correspondingly shortened.

The type-c interface has strong scalability and can transmit audio and video signals. It can be extended to various audio and video output interfaces, such as HDMI, VGA, DVI interfaces, and can even achieve extended transmission up to 4K resolution.

Source: Popular Science Shandong