“Back in July we reported on one of Apple’s patent applications regarding a new reversible USB Connector which would likely comply with the new USB Type-C standard,” Jack Purcher reports for Patently Apple. “A new rumor surfacing yesterday claimed that Apple will be using a single Type-C USB port on their next generation MacBook Air as a means of making the new design much thinner. Apple’s new connector is reportedly to replace Apple’s Thunderbolt Display port as well as MagSafe. Is the new reversible USB connector stemming from Apple’s patent-pending invention the one they’ll use for the new MacBook Air or is Apple’s radical universal port invention ready for prime time?”
“Back in October 2013, Apple filed for a patent regarding a radical new connector that could replace the standard USB, HDMI, DVI, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt, FireWire and beyond ports that come in varying sizes,” Purcher reports. “Will Apple really limit the new MacBook Air to a single USB port or will they introduce a smarter universal connector and port system to accommodate many kinds of standards such as HDMI, DVI and Thunderbolt? Only time will tell which way Apple will go, but if there was ever a time to introduce Apple’s new patent pending universal connector, it would be now.”
Read more, and see Apple’s patent application illustrations, in the full article here.
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