Industry Expert Blogs

During IDF 2016 there was a lot of buzz around USB Type-C. Two of the hot topics were USB Type-C for audio and the announcement by the USB-IF to offer certification for Type-C chargers. Also, Synopsys demonstrated our USB-IF Certified 3.1 Gen 2 (10 Gb/s) host and device solution. Below is a picture of a video shoot from the show, we will publish the videos we shot in a couple of weeks.

So lets first talk about USB Type-C and the 3.5mm audio jack. There has been some recent press on the possibility that USB Type-C will replace the 3.5mm audio jack completely. My own opinion is that this is the right time to make the switch. There are a couple of reason but one is that most products are pushing to get slimmer and slimmer, smaller and smaller and they just can’t tolerate multiple connectors. Using a slim, small Type-C for power, audio, display and more just makes perfect sense. Added to this the new USB Audio Standard, which is not public yet but Synopsys has access to, forces improved power management lowering power consumption when using USB for Audio making it a net zero vs. the classic 3.5mm audio jack solution. The bonus to product developers is that when using USB Type-C for audio the component count thus bill of material will be reduced. This either means cheaper products or larger margins. We are seeing and servicing many new design starts in this area as the race to deliver products leveraging audio across USB Type-C heats up. What do you think about audio moving to USB Type-C? Post a comment below and voice your opinion.

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