DisplayPort
A cable and connector specification designed primarily for cables that connect computers to external displays. It is a relatively flexible standard that supports high-resolution monitors with advanced features. It can also carry audio and USB signals over the same cable. DisplayPort replaced older standards such as DVI and VGA.
There is a standard, full-size DisplayPort connector, as well as a smaller "Mini DisplayPort" connector that is found on some laptops. The connector for Mini DisplayPort is the same as that for Thunderbolt (a very high-speed local data connection), and the two technologies can operate simultaneously over the same cable.
Both sizes of the DisplayPort connector are too large to include in a phone. However, some high-end phones can output video signals to an external display using the DisplayPort specification, via the phone's USB-C connector. This uses a special feature of USB-C called Alternate Mode, which allows USB-C to carry signals for other specifications.
See: USB-C
See: Alternate Mode
Last updated May 26, 2021 by Rich Brome
Editor in Chief Rich became fascinated with cell phones in 1999, creating mobile web sites for phones with tiny black-and-white displays and obsessing over new phone models. Realizing a need for better info about phones, he started Phone Scoop in 2001, and has been helming the site ever since. Rich has spent two decades researching and covering every detail of the phone industry, traveling the world to tour factories, interview CEOs, and get every last spec and photo Phone Scoop readers have come to expect. As an industry veteran, Rich is a respected voice on phone technology of the past, present, and future.
