The AP33771C and AP33772S USB Type-C^® PD 3.1 extended power range (EPR) sink controllers are deserving of the Power Management IC Product of the Year award for several compelling reasons, primarily due to their advanced features, robust protection, ease of use, cost-effectiveness, and significant impact on standardizing power delivery.

Ease of Design and Use
These controllers simplify product design and manufacturing. They feature built-in, production-ready, and tested firmware that is USB PD compliant, simplifying application development by reducing the need for custom firmware programming. This includes moisture detection between the DP and DN pins and automatic cable voltage drop compensation. They also support the insertion orientation of the USB Type-C^® attachment and provide LED light indication for system status.

The AP33771C offers simple resistor settings for voltage and current selection, making it easy to use without a microcontroller (MCU). It allows designers to set up to eight different output voltages and eight different output currents using just two external resistors, supporting multiple power profiles in different systems without programming. For designs with an MCU, the AP33772S offers flexibility through an I2C interface, providing access to multiple power profiles and allowing the configuration of various protection features.