Survey shows people are still using tons of micro-USB devices

Micro-USB ports are very much still a part of our lives, even though USB-C has been around for several years now. To think most devices would have switched to the latter would be wrong, or so proves a poll we recently conducted on Android Authority. We got some interesting results as to which devices people use with micro-USB ports on them. There are some device categories that are clearly behind in adopting USB-C ports. Read on for the results.

Are you still using any devices with micro-USB ports?

Results

Our poll about micro-USB devices gathered over 11,450 votes. We asked people about the micro-USB devices that they are still using, and the accessories space dominated the results. It’s still very common to find micro-USB ports on devices like power banks, headphones, Bluetooth speakers, gaming controllers, etc. 46% of the respondents said that they own an accessory with a micro-USB port.

Meanwhile, some folks are also hanging onto phones with a micro-USB port. 13% of the poll takers said that they are using a smartphone with the age-old standard, which is surprising given most major OEMs have widely adopted USB-C ports across budget, mid-range, and premium handsets.

Elsewhere, 12% of the respondents said that they own and use an e-reader or tablet with a micro-USB port, while 17% said that they have at least two or more of all the micro-USB devices mentioned in the poll.

Only 13% of our readers voted to say they are not using any micro-USB devices whatsoever.

Your comments

fearlessferret: That moment when you remember that tens of millions of PS4s are still in use and those require MicroUSB. Pretending that MicroUSB is incredibly niche in 2022 is too funny. The comments and the poll itself really prove my point quite dramatically. My theory is that a lot of people who think micro-USB is old news are only thinking about smartphones and forgot about other devices.

Chris53: My MX Master 2s mouse, small keyboard for TV and bicycle lights.Everything else uses USB-C or proprietary ports

RichSPK: Headphones, mouse, several rechargeable bike lights.

DarkAngelBaM: micro-USB? I still have devices that are using Mini USB. (Use PS3 Controller for PC, Arduinos, shoot the Mega2560 using a USB Type-B.

Zagreus: Mouse, Mirrorless camera, Kindle, Xbox controller, Raspberry Pi (3B and Zero W). Generally, it’s stuff that doesn’t need an upgrade very often

ttguy: My brand new Nextbase dashcam uses, wait for it…mini USB! But to be fair, it stays connected to its magnetic windshield dock and only the microSD card is used to transfer files to a PC in the event of a crunch.

Reon: I have waited with buying stuff until a USB C version was available. Now we don’t have anything other than USB C in our house.

Shawn: The last device I bought that had microUSB is my motorcycle helmet. The Bluetooth add-ons are custom for the helmet so not much choice. Other than that, just some random stuff like Xbox One controller, old Alexa speaker. Micro-USB definitely seems like it stuck around longer than say miniUSB. USB wasn’t as common back in the days of miniUSB but then again, so many companies dragged their feet moving from microUSB to USB-C.

Billy Jo: On micro-USB, we still have two Bluetooth keyboards, two mechanical keyboards, two Kindles, two power banks, a mouse, a pair of earbuds (their case), half a dozen game controllers, and a few sundries like a cat toy and lamp. I think we’ve phased out all mini-USB except for an HDD enclosure.

Mace Moneta: There’s are likely tens of billions of micro USB devices still in use. It will take a decade for them to age out.

Vinícius Passarella Quennehen: IMO mini-USB is far superior to micro-USB, in terms of durability and ease of use. I still have some devices that use it, like an iPod clone and my ps3 controller as an example, the rest is only USB-C, all the devices that I had that used micro-USB I have had problems with the port. Still, micro-USB will still be around for at least 5 or more years. I really think USB-C is a great default for the future if we can improve it without changing the form factor. Still, if you still have micro-USB devices and they didn’t fail yet, there’s no reason to upgrade it only for the port, apart for the luxury of carrying only one cable around.

Ronson Wagner: I’ve got several devices that still use micro USB. My hearing aid charging case, my Samsung Gear S3 Frontier charger, my Kindle Keyboard, my Xbox Elite controller, and my oldest power bank. This isn’t including a couple old phones I use on occasion or devices that I have that I barely ever use.

Robert Pearson: Both my canon cameras (EOS M, Sl3 aka 250d), Battery chargers for cameras, luckily Neewer started making them with both microUSB and USBC which is super nice for my EOS M, just not my Sl3 yet. Anker power bank has both, Zoom H1n when using USB audio, probably a few other things I’m not thinking of.

John Oliver Abella: I have 2 extra smartphones lying around, 2 Bluetooth headphones, and one powerbank and it’s charging port is micro USB. Some newly released gadgets still use micro USB because it’s cheaper than Type-C

disqus_dSnKYymumi: My Sony XB950’s and a power bank that I have still use micro. Until that headset and power bank either breaks beyond repair or the batteries fail, I’m going to keep using them.

roaduardo: I’ve worked to try and reduce the number of devices I have that still need Micro USB because USB-C makes everything easier. The one device that still has me using Micro USB are my Razer BlackShark V2 Pro headset. I’ve got two, one for backup. I love them and it’s difficult for me to move away from them unless Razer updates this series with USB-C charging.

Kent Seaton: I still have quite a few devices that use micro, even some that still use mini. A couple of the micro devices were purchased just this year and it wasn’t because they were what I was wanting, but that they were the only option out there. I think USB-A and USB-B should be ditched in favor of USB-C across the board.