Micro-USB has one tremendously major disadvantage for battery-powered mobile devices: Maximum current.
USB 2 has a maximum current of 1.5A while communicating and 5.0A when not. Micro-USB has a maximum current (per spec) of 1.0-1.8A, and the usual rating for most connectors is 1.0A. The result? By switching to Micro-USB, your iDevice will now take significantly longer to charge. (However, keep in mind the iPhone charge adapter is 1.0A, whereas the iPad adapters are 2.1A).
So in exchange for a standardized connector, we would have devices that take twice as long to charge. Honestly, that's not a tradeoff 99% people would want to make.
The new USB 3.0 power delivery spec supports 3A at 20V over micro-USB for potentially 60 Watts delivered via micro-USB and 100W over USB. The idea is to get rid of laptop charger plugs entirely and replace them with USB. A bunch of companies are on this standard, including Dell, Foxconn, HP, Intel, Microsoft, and Nokia. Apple is absent for some reason. This standard will also allow external hard drives, printers, etc to be powered over USB without a separate power plug.
This will be an interesting change if the standard catches on. I wonder about the failure mode of 60 watts through micro-USB though - I expect dramatic smoke and flame :-)
Could the "some reason" be that the USB plug is not a mag-safe plug? I for one would definitely not welcome going back to a different type of power connector.
The original USB spec had a maximum current of 0.5A, which manufacturers like Apple quickly exceeded when it suited them. The spec was then adjusted to follow practice.
The same can and will happen with the microUSB spec.
I quite like Apple's new connector - particularly the new bi-directional insertion. However, I've never had an issue with MicroUSB, inserting or removing. Care to elaborate? I've used them on at least 20 devices, if not more.
I can elaborate -- the microusb plug is nearly identical on top & bottom, yet can only inserted in one orientation. That means if you're not looking at the plug, you won't be able to insert it. You don't have an issue with microusb because you always look when you plug something in.
When was the last time you looked at your headphone jack when you plug it in? It's probably second nature and you always get it right on the first try. Most microusb plugs have different "sheaths" so you can't remember the "feel" of the plug and insert it without looking at it.
The regular usb plugs are the worst offenders, they look identical on top & bottom. The only way to tell if it's the right orientation or not is to attempt to plug it in. If it doesn't go in, you flip the plug over and try again. It's a minor hassle, but it's something that could have been designed better.
Ever microUSB cable I have differs significantly top and bottom:
- The top has the USB symbol that is embossed enough to feel it without looking.
- The top of the metal sheath has "hooks" or other indendations that are both plainly visible and can be felt with a finger tip.
- The top of the metal sheet has sharper corners, while the rounded bottom corner are easy to both feel and see.
This is across probably half a dozen different brands of microUSB cables - I have sets of cables permanently in charges in 4 rooms at home, at work and a few cables in my bag.
Every cable is different for me. My Evo4G cable has no marking on either side, my jawbone usb cable has an embossed jawbone logo on the top, the kindle cable has no marking whatsoever, my Nexus S cable has nothing on either side, my monoprice microusb cable is also blank, and my external hard drive usb cable has the logo on the bottom.
They're all different for me, so YMMV. I still stand by my argument that bi-directional insertion cables are still easier to use than usb. I don't have to "feel" any part of the cable when I plug in my audio jack.
Anyone you talk to will have attempted to plug in a microusb the wrong way at least once, and had to flip the cable to retry. I've yet to talk to anyone who plugged in their audio cable improperly -- there's just no way to improperly do it! That's the difference between good design and bad design. These are basic elements of design that reduces the user's need to think when using the device. For example, a door with a pushbar means that one should push the door to open -- a user would not examine the door frame to decide if they should pull on the pushbar or not; it's obvious!
That's great but all the devices that I have with micro USB have a different definition of top and bottom. For example, on my Kindle the "top" side is the same side as the screen while on the Nexus 7 the "bottom" side is the same side as the screen. To top it all off the male plugs seem to be a touch different also. The Kindle plug fits fine in the Nexus 7, but for some reason the Nexus plug doesn't really fit snug into the Kindle.
I despise micro USB and feel sorry for my brethren in the EU. It's great there's a universal charging standard, but it sucks that they chose the crappy micro USB format.
> "The regular usb plugs are the worst offenders, they look identical on top & bottom."
If you go by the spec all USB plugs should have the USB 'trident' logo on the top side of the plug. The overwhelming majority do - not that this will help you, because whilst it sorts out the problem of the plug orientation the socket still remains an unknown.
The logo being on top doesn't help either. The usb ports on the side of my monitor are vertical. I can never remember if the I should be plugging in something with the logo facing me, or away from me.
My basic argument is that cable connector design hasn't changed in 30 years. Back when people used 9-pin serial cables, they still dealt with this problem the same way. There's room for innovation here, but nobody is taking a bite.
Most of the manufacturers emboss the USB logo so it can be felt in the dark.
Even better is how Logitech did it, with a huge bumb on the top. I'm seriously tempted to order a bunch of these[1] and throw out all of my other microUSB cables.
Either most of my chargers lie, or 2A isn't the problem he claims for microUSB.
I'm inclined to think the latter, as if I put my display on top brightness and play any games that uses my phones GPU, I get warnings that my charger delivers less current than needed to charge if I "only" use my 1A rated chargers.
The Nook Tablet's included micro-USB charger is 2.0A, and the Nexus 7 also includes a 2.0A charger. Both also charge (slower) on standard lower amperage micro-USB chargers.
USB 2 has a maximum current of 1.5A while communicating and 5.0A when not. Micro-USB has a maximum current (per spec) of 1.0-1.8A, and the usual rating for most connectors is 1.0A. The result? By switching to Micro-USB, your iDevice will now take significantly longer to charge. (However, keep in mind the iPhone charge adapter is 1.0A, whereas the iPad adapters are 2.1A).
So in exchange for a standardized connector, we would have devices that take twice as long to charge. Honestly, that's not a tradeoff 99% people would want to make.