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It was worse 3-4 years ago, pretty much every device today uses micro USB B connectors. There used to be mini-USB A & B, for a total of 3 small size connectors, plus the full size A & B. I'm not sure what definition of 'universal' yields 5 physically incompatible connectors, but I'll take 1 to rule them all any day.

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Have you ever seen a mini-USB A connector out there in the real world? Or "Micro-A"?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mini_usb_AB.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:A_Micro-A_USB_port.jpeg

I for sure haven't.

I have. four years ago, I bought a bluetooth car adapter that you could clip in the driver's visor (can't remember the model, but it was not a popular one) from BestBuy that had the weird one Mini USB A in the first photo.

It was a PITA to charge it, and I lost the cable.

Everybody agrees that the mini plug was a mistake. For better or for worse, the USB IF would like to pretend like it never happened.

Which is too bad because it is the connector used on almost all sport GPSs, many bicycle head and tail lights, as well as many generations of Canon still cameras, not to mention most non-Apple MP3 players. For better or worse, mini B plugs are in practice the most common connector on things which are not cell phones.

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