Be brave and get rid of these obsolete USB cables right now

• You don’t need these cables anymore
• I hope we’re on a good path forward

USB cables have come in all types of shapes and sizes over the years. Annoyingly, I’ve had to use several different kinds over the years whether it’s Micro-USB, Mini-USB, and now USB-C. The latter cable format has been a welcome addition since everything feels like it’s finally getting onto a unified platform. I don’t need a different cable to charge my Kindle and phone anymore. In some ways, it’s a bittersweet moment because some of these cables that once meant so much to me don’t mean as much anymore.

For so many years, I had to learnIt the difference between Micro-USB and Mini-USB and explain to friends and family why they don’t do the same things. It’s obvious that the arrival of the USB-C connector has been a net positive, and it’s lessened our need to have several different cables. I’m down to very little that uses something other than a USB-C cable, and that’s something I wish happened a long time ago. In a few more years, I don’t think I’ll be using anything other than USB-C. It’s almost time for me to finally ditch all my old cables lying around, and it might be time for you too.

You don’t need these cables anymore

The end of an era

When I think back a decade ago, it’s interesting to see how many different cables I needed. As a gamer, what’s most interesting to me is just looking at what cables I need to charge my PlayStation controllers. A PS3 controller needs a Mini-USB cable, a PS4 controller needs a Micro-USB cable, and a PS5 controller needs a USB-C cable. It’s funny to look at this, especially since I currently have all three of these consoles plugged in at the moment. This is one of the edges that HDMI has, because I can use the same HDMI 2.1 cable across all three of these consoles and get the same performance. That’s the same type of future I hope USB-C blazes.

If it weren’t for these PlayStation controllers and my old Kindle that uses a Micro-USB charger, I wouldn’t have a single use for any of these cables in my house. I have boxes in my closet filled with them, and I just don’t know what to do with everything. It’s nice for when I pull out some old piece of technology that needs one of these cables, but those days are becoming rarer with each passing day. Mini-USB was already a weird one when it was current because I feel like it was just a niche cable the day it came out. For most of my needs, it was Micro-USB.

The PS3 is 20 years old now, and aside from a few holdouts, I imagine most people don’t have one of these plugged in anymore. For that reason, I think it’s safe to get rid of all of your Mini-USB cables. Micro-USB is still hanging on, and as I mentioned earlier, I need one of these cables to charge my Kindle and PS4 controller. The newest iteration of both of these devices uses USB-C, so the Micro format is also dying out. Many people have already moved on completely, and I envy those people.

I recently set up a game room of sorts in my spare bedroom, and it was shocking to find out that my PS4 controller didn’t use USB-C, although that makes sense considering that the console is more than a decade old. I think it’s been taken for granted how unified everything has become in the past few years. l love that I’m finally able to retire some of these cables that only serve one purpose. It makes everything easier for me to know that the cable I pick up will work for all of my devices instead of having to squint at a port and find out the difference between Micro and Mini-USB.

I hope we’re on a good path forward

The stage is set

After the jumbled mess of cables, it’s something of a miracle to be as unified as we are now. I love the path we’re on, and it feels a lot like what HDMI accomplished decades ago — although there are some worrying signs. Ever since HDMI came out, we’ve been on the same port the whole time. My PS3 HDMI cable works with my modern 4K display. No, that 1.4 cable doesn’t have the same performance as the 2.1 does, but it works. I can’t say the same thing about my old Mini-USB cables, which are essentially e-waste now.

I don’t know if USB-C is going to be the endgame, but I hope it is. The convenience offered is hard to understate, and I know I’m not alone in that regard. I have so many devices to keep track of, and the single cable to rule them all is a big deal for me. Technology is always changing, so I know I shouldn’t get used to things staying the way they are. I’m just going to keep my fingers crossed and hope that it does.