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It would be nice if we had some standardized iconography for the cables (xAmps, thunderbolt/non-thunderbolt, &c.). There are really only a few useful permutations of cables.

Devices are a bit more complicated, but I'm hoping that the Hub situation will sort itself out (early in the days of USB 1.1, I remember plenty of devices that wouldn't work with hubs, or only with certain hubs).

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There is standardized iconography[0][1]. It's enforced under trademark law by the USB Implementers Forum. In addition to the old "basic" (USB 1.0/1.1), "hi-speed" (USB 2.0), and "on the go" icons there's now "superspeed" (USB 3.0), "superspeed+" (USB 3.1), and icons for the power delivery spec. The new icons are just as inscrutable as the old ones, but they exist and the USB Implementers Forum requires correct labeling for all cables and devices.

The various proprietary extensions might be less consistent with labeling, but at least every Thunderbolt-compatible cable I've seen has a little lightning bolt icon in addition to the standard USB ones.

[0]: http://www.usb.org/developers/logo_license/Trademark_License...

[1]: http://www.usb.org/developers/logo_license/USB-IF_Logo_Usage...

The icons exist, but the fraction of type C plugs that have icons on them seems to be extremely low.

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