Microsoft’s Surface USB-C dongle will launch later this year

Microsoft first revealed a Surface USB-C dongle nearly a year ago, promising a release before the end of 2017. The software giant has missed that release schedule, and it’s now promising the adaptor will launch by the end of 2018. A Microsoft spokesperson says the USB-C Surface dongle is “on the roadmap for later this year,” in a statement to The Verge.

The dongle will plug into the new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop devices, and provide USB-C support for accessories. It slots into the Surface Connector on existing devices. “If you want to charge a device with a Type-C charger, you can. If you want to put data back and forth with a Type-C peripheral, you can,” said Surface chief Panos Panay last year. Panay also joked that the Surface USB-C connector is a dongle for “people who love dongles.”

It’s not clear why Microsoft has delayed the USB-C dongle, but the company has now started supporting the new connector on the Surface Book 2. It’s the only Surface device that natively supports USB-C, and it’s likely that future refreshes of the Surface Pro and Surface Laptop will now be updated with USB-C support. Microsoft has approached USB-C support cautiously, with Panay previously explaining the company hasn’t wanted to take away ports that matter to people in the past in favor of USB-C.

Update, 8:30AM ET: Article updated with a leaked image of the adaptor.