That was their purpose. It was either that or put the teeth in the female port, on your expensive device and impossible to replace when (not if) they broke down

That was their purpose. It was either that or put the teeth in the female port, on your expensive device and impossible to replace when (not if) they broke down. Put them on the cheap and easily replacable cable was a wise design decision. http://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/18552/why-was-mini-usb-deprecated-in-favor-of-micro-usb http://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/18552/why-was... Having no info on the mechanical properties of the Type C connector, I'm curious (and a bit skeptical) about how that'll live on.