USB 3.0 Promoter Group announced that it is working on a new design to make USB connectors reversible, slimmer and faster at transmitting data and power. The new connector is likely to resemble Apple's Lightning connector.

It was difficult enough to figure which side's up when plugging a Universal Serial Bus connector. It had become more difficult when you need to choose from a variety of connectors which cable to use with the right gadget. Prompter Group addressed this problem with the Type-C connector. With its reversible design, you don't need to make sure that the connector is flipped upside down in contrast with the port.

"This new industry standards-based thin connector, delivering data, power and video, is the only connector one will need across all devices," Alex Peleg, Vice President of Intel's Platform Engineering Group, stated.

The USB Implementors Forum announced that the new Type-C Connector will bring other improvements such as the following:

  • Smaller size to fit more easily not only on mobile devices but also on thinner laptops, flat-panel TVs, and other space-constrained devices;
  • Faster data transfer rates at 10 Gbps for more efficient data encoding. This new spec doubles the USB 3.0 capacity in terms of performance;
  • Better power charging to carry more electrical current for faster charging of USB-connected devices.

Unfortunately, there was no illustration of the new connector yet. CNET reported that the USB 3.0 Promoter Group is still "in the process of selecting between a couple of alternatives so it would be premature to share something that might be a bit misleading."

The new USB Type-C connector is expected to come out midyear of 2014.