Struggling With Only USB-C ports? The Syntech USB-C-to-USB Adapter Can Help
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The Problem: The vast majority of my devices connect via USB, but my new laptop only features USB-C ports.
The Solution: The Syntech USB-C-to-USB Adapters offer a way to easily convert any device from USB to USB-C without any noticeable loss of speed or responsiveness.
Technology is constantly evolving. It's always changing, in ways great and small, to make our devices, appliances, and make our lives more comfortable, convenient, and energy-efficient.
I totally get that. I rode the Carousel of Progress at Disney World — I get how this works. The candle becomes the gas lamp becomes the lightbulb becomes the smart bulb — and we're all the better for it in the end.
But there’s one big problem: When some innovation comes along that changes the technological landscape, all of the electronics you already own don’t just magically upgrade as they do on that aforementioned rotating theme park stage. There’s no scene in that show where one of the Disney robots exclaims, “Oh for God’s sake, now I gotta buy a whole new thing?!” ... but you can sure bet it’s a scene in my household a lot.
I love progress, but the transitional process is a pain. The worst part has been watching the slow obsolescence of the standard USB-A or the “classic” USB. Most of the devices I use every day rely on USB-A interface, which for a long while was so ubiquitous that most times, we just used the shorthand “USB” to describe it. Not just my bevy of thumb drives and external hard drives, but my microphone, ring light, and webcam are all designed to connect to my laptop via USB-A. However, the latest addition to my home-tech setup, the very MacBook on which this has been typed, features only USB-C ports.
And of course, USB-C has obvious benefits, from bi-directional power capabilities to more robust data rates. I concur with Wirecutter that USB-C is the way of the future — but I still found myself trying to avoid leaving all my current devices in the ash-heap of home tech history. I was equally wary of trusting some third party-produced adapter to really deliver.
After some research, I came across a set of two tiny USB-A to USB-C adapters from Syntech, a company based in Shenzhen, and my reservations were assuaged by two considerations: for one, the adapters had over 100,000 reviews on the site, over 80,000 of which were five-stars. Secondly, the set was on sale for only $9.99 (regularly $18.99), so even if it had a few kinks or even failed to work at all, I wasn't out too much.
Months later, I can say with confidence that these adapters absolutely deliver on whatever you need them to do. Streaming video through my webcam, recording podcasts with my audio setup, operating my wireless mouse, and even transferring data to and from external drives all worked seamlessly with my MacBook without sacrificing any speed or responsiveness in the process.
Being able to have two of these on hand so I can use multiple devices at once is great, especially at their price point, though depending on your laptop layout, you might not be able to use both once. That's because the one inarguable issue with these adapters is their size. While end to end, they're unobtrusively small, their width makes it so that two adapters can't be used side by side on most modern MacBooks due to the narrow space between the two USB-C ports on either side of the MacBook itself. While that's a design flaw more on the MacBook than the adapters, given the circumstances, it would be nice if the adapters' design were revised in the future to better accommodate this.
Even with that, though, these Syntech adapters are a great, quick, affordable fix to bring your old USB-A devices into the modern USB-C age. I've encountered no speed or responsiveness issues all these months later. Heck, I'm even using them as I write this. And while eventually, I will probably have to buy new versions of all my external devices to better meet the modern age as I continue to ride this real-world carousel of progress, these tiny adapters will certainly help tide me over until then.
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