It looks like the Xbox Series X may not even have any USB-C ports, which is bizarre.
When USB ports were first invented, they were great. Finally, a single plug that would allow a computer to integrate all the various peripheral devices without needing to worry about a billion different hardware formats. It was glorious, and a wonderful trend for the PC hardware market in general.
Flash forward a few years, and the original USB ports are now considered a joke. It doesn’t matter what end you decide to insert into the port, it’s always wrong. Every. Single. Time. You have to flip the dongle at least four times before the PC port finally accepts it, and it’s easily the most annoying feature of PCs today.
USB-C fixes that. Finally, a USB dongle where orientation doesn’t matter. Like a cat, if it fits, it sits.
USB-C is also faster and better than USB-A in every way, but that’s not nearly as important as the ease of insertion. And the Xbox Series X might not have them.
According to a new report from Thurott (whuch quotes multiple Microsoft insiders), the Xbox Series X will have the following ports: 2 USB-A SuperSpeed ports, an ethernet port, one HDMI port, an optical audio jack, and a power connection port. There’s also another USB-A port on the front, but that’s it. Not a single USB-C port to be found.
This is more than a little bizarre. USB-C is most definitely where the industry is trending due to its superior speed and user-friendliness, and the Xbox Series X bills itself as the fastest, most advanced game console the world has ever seen. How can the XSX call itself advanced if it uses a last-gen port? And, on top of that, what happens when every other hardware manufacturer switches to USB-C and leaves the XSX behind?
According to Game Rant, Xbox head Phill Spencer has denied Thurott’s report that the Xbox Series X won’t have USB-C, but he didn’t say just what ports the XSX will have either. We’ll just have to wait and see what Microsoft produces later on this year.
Source: Game Rant, Thurott.com