Since its inception, USB Type-C has quickly gained market acceptance and developed rapidly due to its ease of use and customer needs. Abdullah Raouf, Senior Marketing Manager at Lattice Semiconductor, pointed out that "compared to Micro USB interfaces, the advantage of USB Type-C lies in faster (100W)&smarter (dynamically adjustable) charging; faster data rate - USB 3.1 (unidirectional 10Gbps)" ; Small size, front and back pluggable connectors; Flexible optional mode 'Alt Mode' for video transmission; Flexible supplier customization mode, suitable for identity recognition and security applications
However, with the adoption of USB Type-C, the interface specifications and pin definitions have changed, and many surrounding standards have naturally changed. For example, the high-definition audio and video standard interface of MHL mobile terminals integrated with USB clearly needs to be changed accordingly. In order to adapt to the new interface standards, the MHL Alliance has subsequently released the MHL Alternative Mode (MHL Alt Mode) standard. Abdullah Raouf explains that Alt Mode allows up to 10 redefined applications that require PD communication for configuration, supports USB 2.0, and can transfer USB 3.1 data depending on the configuration. "The currently standardized Alts include SuperMHL, Thunderbolt, and DisplayPort. The difference between these three standardized Alts is that SuperMHL can support 1, 2, or 4 channels, depending on the specific resolution of the video. However, Thunderbolt can only support 4 channels, and DisplayPort is similar to SuperMHL."