4 ms·

Everybody who is frenetically celebrating this as the end of the manufacturer-specific power brick, does simply not know that USB-C is not USB-C. There is no si

Everybody who is frenetically celebrating this as the end of the manufacturer-specific power brick, does simply not know that USB-C is not USB-C. There is no single USB-C. USB-C is a bunch of specifications that may can be combined or may not. USB-C is only the physical connector. USB-C PD (Power delivery) does support many different modes. There are at least 11 different modes with at least 4 of them are optional. I haven't read the latest version of the specification, but I would bet that there are optionally also some implementation-specific options aka manufacturer-specific. All that combined with the many different cable definitions for the different use cases, makes it for the average consumer a nightmare.

plonk 4y ago
I've never seen a USB-C cable that didn't charge all my devices with all my chargers. OK, maybe one that came with an HP screen and was clearly labeled as "data only". I think this will make cables interchangeable in most cases. Fast charging and fast transfers are nice to have but rarely vital.
- PinguTS 4y ago
  You haven't brought any of those cheap Chinese cables, haven't you? I have such cables, which can't be really used for charging as well as for fast data transfer. They are good for my development hardware kits, I have. Because those kits don't have any high power requirements. But I cannot use them to power my notebook.
  - rbanffy 4y ago
    > You haven't brought any of those cheap Chinese cables, haven't you? Do you expect them to follow standards while being impossibly cheap to pay for the licensing of said standards?
    - PinguTS 4y ago
      What you expect will average Joe buy at Amazon? What will be the key of comparing one cable with another?
      - rbanffy 4y ago
        Why would Amazon be selling non-compliant cables? Wouldn't that kind of be against the law?
        microtonal 4y ago
        Well, with Amazon's co-mingling, you can't be sure that even brand cables are authentic.
        rbanffy 4y ago
        That's not a problem a standard can solve.
  - plonk 4y ago
    I buy best-selling cable packs costing a few euros per unit on Amazon. They charge and connect anything I own that has a USB-C plug.
    - microtonal 4y ago
      But they may be very suboptimal. Most likely, they are not Thunderbolt or USB4 capable. Also, there is no guarantee that they can supply higher wattages.
      - plonk 4y ago
        I don't think this matters as much as some on HN think. People look for an iPhone charger, not for a USB4.0 Gen2 40W fast-charging cable and assorted wall plug that will transfer their movie collection in 2 minutes and charge to 100% in 5.
schleck8 4y ago
> makes it for the average consumer a nightmare. No, it doesn't. Almost all my devices (macbook, camera, speaker, phone, headphones...) use usb c pd and I am using the same three cables interchangeably for all of them, no issues. If Apple choses to intentionally break this compatibility it's a user hostile company.
- PinguTS 4y ago
  If everything is so cool, so why is this Google engineer reviewing USB-C cables? https://www.theverge.com/2015/11/5/9674462/usb-type-c-google-engineer-third-party-cables https://www.theverge.com/2015/11/5/9674462/usb-type-c-google...
  - hocuspocus 4y ago
    We aren't in 2015 anymore.
  - schleck8 4y ago
    Because this was in 2015 and the cables were bad? There is many low quality lightning ripoffs on Alibaba too
  - privacyking 4y ago
    That same engineer also said the following All passive USB-C cables support PD 2.0 or 3.0, all charging features. The only things a cable needs to need to support PD are: Vbus wire Gnd wire CC wire Therefore, all USB cables, even the lowest end USB 2.0 cable support USB PD. You don't need an identifier chip to support basic USB PD charging. Literally it's just the CC wire that goes end to end that enables USB PD charging from one end to the other. USB PD is supposed to be backward and forward compatible, and a USB 2.0 cable can't actually differentiate itself as a USB PD 2.0 or PD 3.0 cable, since chances are it doesn't actually have an identifier chip. Your basic cable (which the Anker is) should work all the way up to 60W with PPS. PPS also doesn't matter. A USB 2.0 C-to-C cable is supposed to support PPS. ----- In other words as long as you have any proper usb c cable (spec compliant) and a usb c Pd charger with sufficient power output, everything will work.

plonk 4y ago

I've never seen a USB-C cable that didn't charge all my devices with all my chargers. OK, maybe one that came with an HP screen and was clearly labeled as "data only". I think this will make cables interchangeable in most cases. Fast charging and fast transfers are nice to have but rarely vital.

PinguTS 4y ago
You haven't brought any of those cheap Chinese cables, haven't you? I have such cables, which can't be really used for charging as well as for fast data transfer. They are good for my development hardware kits, I have. Because those kits don't have any high power requirements. But I cannot use them to power my notebook.
- rbanffy 4y ago
  > You haven't brought any of those cheap Chinese cables, haven't you? Do you expect them to follow standards while being impossibly cheap to pay for the licensing of said standards?
  - PinguTS 4y ago
    What you expect will average Joe buy at Amazon? What will be the key of comparing one cable with another?
    - rbanffy 4y ago
      Why would Amazon be selling non-compliant cables? Wouldn't that kind of be against the law?
      - microtonal 4y ago
        Well, with Amazon's co-mingling, you can't be sure that even brand cables are authentic.
        rbanffy 4y ago
        That's not a problem a standard can solve.
- plonk 4y ago
  I buy best-selling cable packs costing a few euros per unit on Amazon. They charge and connect anything I own that has a USB-C plug.
  - microtonal 4y ago
    But they may be very suboptimal. Most likely, they are not Thunderbolt or USB4 capable. Also, there is no guarantee that they can supply higher wattages.
    - plonk 4y ago
      I don't think this matters as much as some on HN think. People look for an iPhone charger, not for a USB4.0 Gen2 40W fast-charging cable and assorted wall plug that will transfer their movie collection in 2 minutes and charge to 100% in 5.

schleck8 4y ago

> makes it for the average consumer a nightmare. No, it doesn't. Almost all my devices (macbook, camera, speaker, phone, headphones...) use usb c pd and I am using the same three cables interchangeably for all of them, no issues. If Apple choses to intentionally break this compatibility it's a user hostile company.

PinguTS 4y ago
If everything is so cool, so why is this Google engineer reviewing USB-C cables? https://www.theverge.com/2015/11/5/9674462/usb-type-c-google-engineer-third-party-cables https://www.theverge.com/2015/11/5/9674462/usb-type-c-google...
- hocuspocus 4y ago
  We aren't in 2015 anymore.
- schleck8 4y ago
  Because this was in 2015 and the cables were bad? There is many low quality lightning ripoffs on Alibaba too
- privacyking 4y ago
  That same engineer also said the following All passive USB-C cables support PD 2.0 or 3.0, all charging features. The only things a cable needs to need to support PD are: Vbus wire Gnd wire CC wire Therefore, all USB cables, even the lowest end USB 2.0 cable support USB PD. You don't need an identifier chip to support basic USB PD charging. Literally it's just the CC wire that goes end to end that enables USB PD charging from one end to the other. USB PD is supposed to be backward and forward compatible, and a USB 2.0 cable can't actually differentiate itself as a USB PD 2.0 or PD 3.0 cable, since chances are it doesn't actually have an identifier chip. Your basic cable (which the Anker is) should work all the way up to 60W with PPS. PPS also doesn't matter. A USB 2.0 C-to-C cable is supposed to support PPS. ----- In other words as long as you have any proper usb c cable (spec compliant) and a usb c Pd charger with sufficient power output, everything will work.