> the hardware detects which way it's plugged in and permutes the signals For USB3/4 signals, yes. But the hardware needed to interact with those signals is co

> the hardware detects which way it's plugged in and permutes the signals For USB3/4 signals, yes. But the hardware needed to interact with those signals is complex enough that making it also support swapping pins is a minor detail. The USB2 and power lines, on the other hand, are all present on both sides. This means that simple devices don't need to detect orientation; they can connect the duplicated pins together and everything works.