This being said, the backwards compatibility of the next generation will look fearsome.

It could have been backwards compatible and reversable—two micro usb ports next to each other, rotated 180 degrees.

That seems like a great idea, but then new cases would have to be accounted for. For example, what happens when someone plugs two micro usb cables into the one micro usb3 connector? Dealing with that would add complexity and therefore expense and size.