You may not be familiar with USB Type-C just yet, and that’s OK as it’s not entirely mainstream by any means. In fact, it’s not available in nearly anything, however it’s just been announced for the first couple of new products that will house this next generation USB standard,(the new Macbooks and the just announced 2nd generation Chromebook Pixel)joining the Nokia N1 tablet which already packs Type-C USB connections in its build. Google made the announcement for the new Chromebook Pixel officially this morning, and with it came their unveiling that it would be working off of the new USB Type-C standard, instead of just the traditional USB 3.0 and 2.0 Type-A ports.
Inside of Google’s announcement about the Pixel they revealed something a little more exciting than the fact that the new Pixel comes supporting USB Tye-C, and that’s the fact that more products, including Android devices, will be on their way supporting the USB Type-C standard. Short of the fact that the USB Type-C ports are reversible, making the act of plugging in your devices a breeze with no more “wrong way” attempts to plug things in, USB Type-C ports allow for basically one single port for multiple jobs, including charging, data transfer, connection to monitors or TV’s etc. It will essentially allow you to replace multiple ports and cables for one port and one cable that can more or less handle everything.
While Google’s statement is vague, they’re quite literally telling the public that they, or a partner, will be releasing an Android device(s)with the USB Type-C standard baked in. This could be pointing to a new Nexus phone or tablet in the future supporting USB Type-C, or it could just be other Android devices. Whatever Google means exactly, one thing is certain, we’re going to be seeing more products and Android devices from Google in some way, shape, or form with USB Type-C on board. Google doesn’t mention anything of the sort in regards to a time frame, so we have no idea whether or not we’ll see more products in 2015 with the USB Type-C connection or not. Also worth noting, since Google referenced “Chromebooks” specifically, we know that the Chromebook Pixel will not be the only Chromebook to bring USB Type-C into the build. The possibilities could be endless, and we could eventually see any and all Google related products supporting the USB Type-C ports in the future.