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Comment by scelerat | Hacker News Reader

> Nothing can fix the stupidity of USB-C cables, though

What is the stupidity of USB-C cables? Honestly don't know, simply not up on USB or cable technology

In short there is no way of knowing by looking at a USB-C cable or socket what it supports because there is a myriad of standards all using the same connector - USB Power Delivery, USB 2.0, 3.0, 3.1, 4.0, Thunderbolt 3, Thunderbolt 4, DisplayPort over USB

You have to usually measure to know what does the cable support and what speeds and or voltages are possible.

Not only that, but it is not possible to make a do-everything USB-C cable.

Can you elaborate? What two features can't be combined? Wouldn't a cable with the new "80 Gbps 240W" logo do everything? https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/vkQLWTdsaQ6Cw7S6wRsWHD-970...

Zeus-X Pro 5ft/1.5m Universal... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B093YVRHMB?

- USB A and USB C on one end

- micro USB A, Lightning and USB C on the other end

- 100W charging

- 10Gbps transfer

- supports video over USB C

These have replaced all of my Lightning cables and most of my USB C cables.

I'd want to see a signal analyzer result at 10Gbps before I trust that speed claim on their 5 foot and 2 meter options.

But even if that's true, that means it can't run at Gen 3 speeds (or Gen 4, which has the same cable requirements).

Unlike every other connector, with USB C the male end is in the phone and the cable is female. Since the male end has a thin piece that inserts into the cable, it both invites lint to get stuck the port and makes it somewhat risky to clean out, as snapping that thin piece requires replacing the port (and maybe the whole phone depending on how it's made).

Compare to lightning, which AFAIK is indestructible, and lint can easily be cleaned out of the phone port with a toothpick.

I'm sure people more knowledgeable than me will have other facts as well.

Did anyone ever snapped that "thin piece"? It is not that thin, and in fact, I never managed to break even the much thinner micro-USB tongue.

I have broken USB sockets, and seen broken sockets, but every time, it was either wear or the connector being torn off a PCB (they are not always mounted properly). The only times I have seen a broken tongue was with USB-A connectors (the big ones), probably from a plug being forcefully inserted the wrong way. Micro-USB doesn't have this problem because of the shape of the connector prevents it and USB-C is reversible.

USB-C is only a connector spec, and the actual USB protocol it supports could be one of many different versions and options. Or it can be Thunderbolt 3 or 4!

Mostly it's a mess of unknowns as to weather the cable you buy will actually do perform well. With USB-C cables it's all fine print and advertising. This article is from 4 years ago and gets updated each year. https://www.androidauthority.com/state-of-usb-c-870996/

There’s an oft-repeated complaint that they are too versatile

The port is too versatile for the cables.

We replaced trying to figure out which plug fits in which of the many ports we have, with trying to figure out which identical-looking cable will do what we want when we plug it into the single kind of port.

This is arguably still an improvement at least for some people, but does suck.

They are opaque. For a given use case you need to know which USB-C cable you need, and they all look just alike, but can have varying capabilities. You can't even make a do-everything cable, either.

All these are existing variations of cables with a USB-C tip: Quest link cable, thunderbolt cable, charge only, data only no video, video but not 120hz, etc. It's not like you'll have fewer cables to manage if one device changes its port to USB - C.

The biggest change will be in people's backpacks and suitcase. Now they'll have one cable instead of two(or two instead of three if they carry an apple watch). All your other devices still need their own dedicated cable. I'll still carry two cables though because sometimes I want to charge two devices simultaneously.

If you mean cables that have a USB-C tip at one end, that's true, but I could cite thousands of distinct cables that have a USB-A tip at one end.

Also "charge only" cables violate the spec, and thunderbolt-only cables violate the spec.

When the cable is USB-C at both ends, there are different speeds and that's pretty much the only thing you need to care about. Occasionally you need to check whether it's a 60 watt cable or something higher, but not often.

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