They're way better than what came before (like PS/2 plugs, those connectors with the dumb screws (DB9 and such), etc.). Edit: I can't post a reply to the comme

They're way better than what came before (like PS/2 plugs, those connectors with the dumb screws (DB9 and such), etc.). Edit: I can't post a reply to the comment below me because HN thinks I am posting "too fast", so here's an update to more thoughts I had on this: It's also age because USB-A is like 20 years old or more. Back then you didn't plug and unplug USB stuff as often, but today we use it as a charging port more or less, so it's use-case was different when it was designed. Look at USB-C which is for today's "plug and unplug often" use case, it's fucking awesome for that. USB-A was more of a "this is mechanically better than DB9 or whatever" connector than a "this thing is intended to be transitioned at least 20 times per day" connector.