Many Apple fans lamented the company’s inclusion of just a single USB Type-C connector on its new MacBook, revealed yesterday. But now that such a desirable piece of hardware supports the new format, we’ll finally see peripheral makers embracing USB Type-C with open arms. SanDisk was one of the first, but LaCie has just announced that its Porsche Design Mobile Drive will now also come with a magically reversible Type-C port.
If you’re unfamiliar with USB Type-C, it’s the next generation of the ubiquitous connector that’s now reversible so it can never be accidentally plugged in upside-down. It also now carries enough power so it can be used to charge a full-on laptop, but is still small enough to be incorporated into smartphones and tablets. It could very well be the single cable that finally does everything, especially now that Apple and other laptop makers have officially started to support it.
Although there’s no gold option, LaCie’s Porsche Design Mobile Drive will look right at home sitting next to your new MacBook with its solid aluminium enclosure. It boasts USB 3.0 transfer speeds of up to 100MB/s, and comes in a slim 500GB version, or slightly thicker one and two terabyte options. It also includes a USB Type-C cable because there’s a good chance few users actually have a reason to own one yet. However, you will need an adaptor, which doesn’t seem to be included, to use this drive with existing USB ports. That’s the cost of buying technology on the bleeding edge. [LaCie]