USB 3.1 type C (USB-C) connectors and adapters

(USB type C)! This port is the plug of the future on computers and maybe also Apple's new Thunderbolt. Within a few years, it will be standard on new devices to replace the well-known USB connector. USB-C supports video, data, audio and power, and so does Thunderbolt 3. However, Thunderbolt 3 is primarily a data port which has USB-C built in. Check out our range of products based on the new standard USB-C.

Generation	2018	2017	2016	2015	2014	2013
MacBook Air 11" & 13"
Macbook
Macbook Pro 13" & 15" Retina
Macbook Pro 13" with and without touchbar
Macbook Pro 15" with touchbar
iMac 21.5"
iMac 27"
Mac Mini
iMac Pro
Mac Pro

What's the difference between Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C?

USB-C supports video, data, audio and power, and so does Thunderbolt 3. However, Thunderbolt 3 is primarily a data port that has USB-C built in for other functions. Thunderbolt 3 extends a few features on USB-C. Thunderbolt 3 is much faster with 50Gbps against 10Gbps that USB-C can deliver. At the same time, Thunderbolt 3 supports more 8K video at 60Hz and supports up to 7 linked devices in succession.

USB-C for video adapters

One uses USB-C for video adapters because it is many times cheaper. The price of an adapter for Thunderbolt began in the summer of 2017 at approximately 3,000 DKK, while the price of USB-C begins at approximately 50 KR. A Thunderbolt adapter is in fact a new graphics card that you put directly into the motherboard of your Mac (via Thunderbolt) and it improve your Mac, for example, give it a better gaming experience. However, it also means that prices are very different on USB and Thunderbolt. The same applies to the earlier versions with Thunderbolts 1 and 2 Med mini DisplayPort Built-in.

USB-C has already become widely used in its first year because all devices use it: Android mobiles and PCs in all forms come today with USB-C. This is the first time we've seen something resembling a truly universal standard.

However, the USB-C for HDMI adapters are great for your Mac, but they don't work for Android phones. You can also get USB-C cables that only support USB 3.0 or even 2.0 speeds because the USB device has decided to expand the standard. At Mackabler.dk, we think it's a lot of juks and it makes it harder for consumers, so we're doing what we can to tell you what cable you're buying and what devices it works for.

The individual adapter or dock

The first USB-C devices we had here at Mackabler.dk were USB-C docks with a lot of ports. That's because Apple, with their Macbook, made it impossible to use more than one connector, and therefore the adapters could do a lot. Fortunately, the new Macbook Pro can do something more, as the small version comes with 2 USB-C connectors with Thunderbolt 3, while the 2 large versions come with 4 connectors.

However, it is still great utility of downloading from a dock, because to a dock to a Macbook Pro provides a whole lot of options from a single connector. Today, however, there are many different options.

You can find docks that have multiple video ports or data ports. These docks work in the way that only one of the video ports works at a time because USB-C does not support multiple video signals on the same connector. Therefore, if you need multiple external monitors, you will need multiple ports for that. Here the solution can then be Thunderbolt 3, which supports up to 4 monitors per connector and much more data. However, Thunderbolt 3 is, as mentioned, significantly more expensive.

Limitations

USB-C is not only good. USB-C has a number of limitations that make Mac users in particular feel a little limited. You can buy docks with more than 2x USB-C ports that support up to 5 Gbps, but if you plug 3 USB3 disks into your Mac through a single USB-C connector, your dock becomes very unstable.

USB-C only supports 10 Gbps, which isn't much compared to the other ports that the Mac has had for years. Thunderbolt 2 undfor example, 20 Gbps and up to 3 monitors where USB-C only supports a single monitor. Luckily, the Macbook Pro, the new iMac's, iMac pro's and future Mac's come with Thunderbolt 3.

This version of Thunderbolt isn't limited in the same way as USB-C, and luckily Thunderbolt 3 is built into USB-C, so you don't have 2 adapters. The TB3 (Thunderbolt 3) supports up to 8K video, 4 monitors and up to 40 Gbps.

USB-C also works as a video port

USB-C video is usually set up such that HDMI adapters work with video up to 4K at 30 Hz. All USB-C to mini DisplayPort and DisplayPort support 4K at 60Hz.

That's what almost every other PC monitor uses if we look back from the 90s to the present day. 60Hz is less important for video because the video is almost never made with more images than 30 per second (in the US) or 24 per second (in the EU).

USB-C supports charging up to 100W for PCs, and the same is true for mobiles, although no mobiles are yet charged at 100W. All Mac ́s can be charged with 100W. The largest Macbook Pro only uses 87W for charging, so that means a USB-C cable can always be used for a Mac.

However, the new iMac with Thunderbolt 3/ USB-C cannot power through the USB-C port. It would use more than 100W, which is therefore not possible.

USB-C for Mac's and PCs with Windows

USB-C is not just for Mac's. Many PCs with Windows come with the plug, and smartly enough all the same adapters work, and they can do exactly the same, whether you're running iOS, Linux or Windows. In fact, only the hyper company makes adapters that only work on the Macbook Pro: the two ports only fit in the Macbook Pro, but are also a thunderbolt 3 hyper adapter.

USB-C is a universal input that can be used for all four main forms of connection:

Video, audio, data and Power.

Right now, only Apple has bet 100% on USB-C, so it is necessary to use adapters to connect, for example, an external hard drive to your Macbook. Before the plug hits completely and more companies bet on it, there will be few devices with the entrance. However, we have no doubt that more companies will follow. The new input is very powerful and supports completely up tik 8K resolution, just like DisplayPort 1.3.

Here at Mackabler we predict that within a few years there will be high demand for equipment for USB type C, as it is really smart to only have to use a single connector for your computer. At Mackabler.dk, we have collected the usable cables for you, who are lucky to own one of the new devices with USB-C.