Why does the USB-A connector only work in one direction?

According to PCGamer, the leader of the Intel team that created the USB protocol - Ajay Bhatt, the original USB connector (USB-A) can only be used in one direction, not reversible mainly due to economic issues. Because it would take twice as much cable and circuitry to design a reversible USB connector, the cost would double.

However, this cost-saving design unintentionally confuses users when connecting.

It wasn't until the USB-C connector appeared that this changed and received great support from technology companies.

Universal Serial Bus (USB) was an invention that revolutionized the way people connected devices despite lacking reversibility. Since its introduction with version 1.0 and its 12 Mbps data transfer rate, USB has made major improvements in speed and performance. Today, we are in the USB4 era based on the USB-C connector with faster transfer speeds.

Although USB is now everywhere, convincing major PC manufacturers to adopt the specification was not an easy task, said Bhatt. It took his team a while to prove to PC manufacturers that it was indispensable technology.

Micah Soto

Update 27 August 2024