This collection of differently shaped connectors for different-size devices is coming to a close. USB Type-C is a new connector standard that’s very small. It’s about a third the size of an old USB Type-A plug. This is a single connector standard that every device should be able to use. You’ll just need a single cable, whether you’re connecting an external hard drive to your laptop or charging your smartphone from a USB charger. That one tiny connector can be small and fit into a mobile device, or be the powerful port you use to connect all the peripherals to your laptop. The cable itself has USB Type-C connectors at both ends — it’s all one connector.

Yes, this is many awesome things at once. Not only is it reversible, it’s a single USB connector shape all devices should adopt. No more messes of different USB cables with different connector shapes for all the various devices you want, and no more massive ports taking up an unnecessary amount of room on ever-thinner devices.

USB Type-C ports can support a variety of different protocols using “alternate modes,” which allows you to have adapters that can output HDMI, VGA, DisplayPort, or other types of connections from that single USB port, for example. Apple’s USB-C Digital Multiport Adapter looks like a good example of this in action, offering an adapter that allows you to connect an HDMI or VGA output, larger USB Type-A connector, and smaller USB Type-C connector via a single port. The mess of USB, HDMI, DisplayPort, VGA, and power ports on typical laptops can be streamlined into a single type of port.