Besides the obvious reasons (it’s smaller than usb and can work both angles of insertion unlike micro-usb), why is usb-c considered superior? I understand it’s more able to handle fast charging and better data transfer, but what are the mechanics behind that?
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The old USB connectors have four electrical contacts. Data positive and negative, ground and power. With the latest USB 2 standard we were at the limit of what was possible with this and still be backwards compatible. For high speed data transfers we needed a new type of data cables based on AC technology rather then the old DC technology. The equipment at either end would not be backwards compatible. So for USB 3 there are separate high speed data contacts, one in each direction. That means a minimum of four extra contacts. The old data contacts were kept for backwards compatibility. For high power delivery it is important that the device and charger is able to be in constant communication so they can negotiate the voltage and current at any time as well as test if there are any issues with the cable or connectors. In the older standards this was added on to the existing wires but this was hard to implement. So when redesigning the connector and cables anyway they added a dedicated power communication connector as well.
The first thing they did was to cram these five contacts into the back of the USB-A connector. You can actually see this in USB-3 enabled USB-A connectors as they have four contacts in the front and then five more in the back. But for micro-USB there were not enough room. The first attempt was to make the connector wider with an USB-3 section to the side. But this made it longer then the USB-A connector and even more fragile. So they ended up redesigning the entire connector into the USB-C connector and fitted a lot more contacts into it. Not only for USB-3 but also future proofing it with more contacts which have enabled it to be used for things like thunderbolt and USB-4 as well.
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