Patriot announces USB Type-C flash drives for New Retina MacBook, Windows laptops and Chromebook Pixel devices

Yesterday, April 28th 2015, memory manufacturer Patriot has officially announced development of USB Type-C flash memory, targeting users of the new 12 inch Apple MacBook Retina, as well as existing and upcoming Windows and Chromebook systems offering integration for the new USB Type-C connector.

Apple has officially started the trend with its new 12 inch MacBook Retina, featuring a single USB Type-C port as the only connector available for external devices, as well its power supply. The choice of replacing all typical connectors with USB Type-C, while initially met with criticism, is now building momentum for a whole new range of devices underway to reaching all types of consumers.

Patriot’s timing is most appropriate as several new products will be released all through the end of the year. The release of Microsoft Windows 10 will be the great motivator, with a large number of new devices rushing to be ready for the back-to-school shopping season, and many of these devices are expected to integrate USB Type-C connectors, among some of the newest innovations we can expect.

Patriot’s new drive will be one of the first to adopt the new standard, after another hardware manufacturer, LaCie, had released its own external storage device compatible with the USB Type-C connector, back in early March. While LaCie’s solution targets mass data backup users, whose requirements exceed 500GB, Patriot’s new device will target casual users, with a more typical key-chain form factor, and capacity between 32GB and 64GB.

Patriot’s product manager Meng J. Choo official comment takes into account how “ ... many MacBook users rely heavily on external storage options,” and furthers explains that ” ...we wanted to be at the forefront with a product that will cater to these consumers.”

For a manufacturer like Patriot, with a focus that spans across different audiences, from basic consumers to system builders, USB Type-C’s features, such as dual-sided connector, faster speed and universal compatibility across all systems, mean potentially lower manufacturing costs and the ability to cater to a much wider and less fragmented audience.

There is still no mention of pricing for the new devices on Patriot’s press release, but it wouldn’t be a long shot to expect prices to be aligned to current offerings of similar flash drives, as the new standard gains popularity.