Now I have to buy an USB-C to USB-A adaptor to plug USB-C stuff into my already standing devices. Honestly, no idea why didn't they make it connector-compatible. Wasn't that the entire point of the "U" in "USB"?
They did make USB-A cables that had a universal (up and down) connector near the end. Got one with my JBL Flip. There is a middle piece that moves to one side or the other depending on how you plug it in.
Nah, the point of the “U” in “USB” is so that devices communicate in a standardized way through a standardized bus. The port itself doesn’t need to be universal—after all, USB-C is I believe the first time that the host port and the device port are the same, previously there was always an A for host and B for device, even with mini-USB and micro-USB.
What are those benefits? The only potential one I have direct experience with (besides speed) is that the connector is reversible, but even that's small-time and a flat out objective downgrade compared to the circular connectors of the 90s, which could be plugged in regardless of orientation.
IIUC USB-C puts less mechanical stress on the port and more on the cable connector, so instead of the port breaking the cable should break.
Circular connectors wouldn't be backwards-compatible either, and would be much harder to manufacture at the size of USB-C. I actually can't think of circular connectors with more than 2 data channels that can be plugged in in any rotation - do you have an example? All the ones I can think of (PS/2, XLR) have a set orientation.