It is always great to see a company embracing a newer and better standard of technology that will allow its products to become ‘future-proof’ at least to a certain extent. However early adoption can also cause some trouble especially in the initial period where the technology isn’t available easily or as widespread.
That’s the case when OnePlus announced the OnePlus 2 with a USB Type-C port. The port allows you to connect the Type-C end either way unlike microUSBs which are only compatible in one direction. It also doesn’t have any sharp pins on one end so you wont accidentally scratch your device while trying to search for the port at night for example.
But the issue arises when you misplace or break your cable for example. If you had a smartphone with a microUSB cable, you could easily buy a new one probably even at your nearest convenience store or perhaps you even have a few spares lying around your house from your other gadgets and smartphones. But in the case of a USB Type-C port which has only recently starting popping up on laptops and smartphones alike, that’s not the case. Not many manufacturers offer the cables and as a result it becomes a problem for the users as they won’t be able to transfer data or worse yet, they won’t be able to charge their phones.
To solve the early crisis of availability, OnePlus will begin selling its USB Type-C cables at a price of US$5. That is quite a good price and it is quite possible that they aren’t really doing it to make a profit but rather to spread awareness and make sure that their consumers don’t face any shortages or inconvenience. OnePlus currently sells its microUSB cable for US$9.99 Another good thing about the OnePlus USB Type-C cable in particular is that even the full size USB 2.0 Type-A part is reversible so again you don’t have to fiddle around and see which direction is right.