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.
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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.
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