One of the best things about USB C and lightning is how you can connect them both ways. Why aren’t all cables like this? HDMI, Ethernet, display port, USB A, etc. Why weren’t these ever designed to go in both ways from the get go? It seems like a simple thing.
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> It seems like a simple thing.
The six dangerous words that will make a programmer or engineer slap you silly.
Some wires (power, USB2.0) are just mirrored (so, you have up to twice the number of wires and twice as large connector needed). Other wires in the USB-C connector are far from that simple.
USB-C has wires inside it that the two end devices use to configure the connection, including detecting the orientation. Afterwards, the two devices have to each set up their own dedicated multiplexer switch chips to arrange the connections on their end of the cable to properly meet up with the rest of the USB circuitry.
TL;DR: There is a tiny computer inside USB ports whose job it is to untangle the connections in the reversible C plug.
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