Why can't anyone make a USB-C hub that gives you more USB-C ports, just like all the USB-A hubs.
I cant an answer, but i can acknowledge how silly the situation is.
Ans: cost and complexity.
First, what do you mean by a USB-C port?
- USB 2 (all you "need" for USB-C but not very exciting)?
- USB 3.1g1 (5Gbps only or 10Gbps)?
- USB 3.2 (coming soon - or maybe not, because USB 4)
- TB3?
- DisplayPort alt-mode? Support 4k@60Hz (at the expense of USB 3 speeds) or not?
- Charging? 15W, 60W, 100W?
- All of the above?
Even just the USB 2/3.1g1 functionality is more complex than a USB-A port because of the reversibility and sending the right port capability signals. The rest add even more cost and complexity. Without them, a USB-C port has no real functional benefit over a USB-A port aside from being a slightly nicer connector. Plus, always remember, that on a non-TB3 dock/hub
all the ports are still sharing a *single* USB 3.1 stream. If you have high-speed SSDs, other high-bandwidth devices or low-latency ones (like audio interfaces) you still want to connect them to a top-level port if possible.
Then you have to look at demand: if you've gone all-USB-C bully for you, but the bulk of the demand is almost certainly for legacy ports, especially if you look outside of the Apple ecosystem. There's a vast number of USB-A devices and cables still out there, typical PCs only have 1, if any, USB-C/TB3 ports and several USB-As (often including USB-As with 3.1g2 support). Consequently, most USB-C peripheral
not aimed exclusively at the Mac market come with both USB-C and USB-C-to-A cables or an adapter.
Note that the "demand" relevant here is the demand,
from manufacturers for the chipsets, circuit boards and re-skinnable OEM products needed to (cheaply) make hubs and docks. Satechi, OWC and the other sellers of Mac-oriented peripherals don't typically have the capacity or budget to make these things out of sand (...its fun to browse through Amazon and try and spot how many USB devices have all of the sockets in the exact-same place, or are even the exact same box with a different logo). So you
have to look at the demand across the PC/Android market to see what is viable.
Just because USB-C isn't going away because of the huge industry backing, doesn't mean it isn't a bad idea. Unless you're making a phone or tablet with seriously limited space for connectors, merging multiple unrelated functions like display, data and power into a single connector just adds unnecessary complexity... and even in phones I suspect USB-C will have a fairly short run before they become fully sealed, wireless units.
