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this post was submitted on 28 May 2026
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The point is that it is unclear which USB C can do what.
I mean, it's not 20 of them like the picture suggests - it's like 2 or 3 depending on what yoou have. And I have laptop chargers everywhere, and a good powerbank, so I'm covered. And I also have a GaN universal hub with several plugs, so I can plug in US or EU and have a lot of watts coming onnthe other side. So I feel like the chargers war is over and now we can just use stuff.
What's the solution here though? I am 100% unwilling to go back to non-compatible and separate chargers for electronics where not completely necessary. It's awesome taking only my laptop charger with me and being able to charge all devices optimally with it.
I think the complaint is more about the ports on computers, and the answer is for manufacturers to label the ports and for users to read them.
That last part is admittedly hard for a lot of people (myself includes at times).
The issue is, that's not even enough! For example, the Dell 120 W laptop charger only supports 5V/1A or 20V/6A output, so phones will mostly charge at 5W because they dont support 20V input. Then there's all the different charging protocols... Oh boy.
I'm not sure how your example is "not even enough"? If the charger is labeled as only having a 5v/1A and a 20V/6A profile, then where is the problem?
The problem is that the average consumer will have no idea what those numbers mean. If it was as simple as "this charger can output up to X watt", labeling would probably be fine, but as soon as it gets more complicated than that, you're beyond what most of the population is able and/or willing to deal with
Well, I'm all for universally easy things and a consumer not being stressed, but if we really got to the "I don't get basic numbers" territory, then go learn some school physics, and maybe that Volts is the pressure in the pipe, Amps is how fast the water flows through it, and Watts is just pressure times flow rate - it's that simple. Go and fucking learn what is what, there's enough information in my comment alone.
Yep! In this case, you may go "Oh, 120W is more than my phone's 20W charging speed, so it'll be fine," only to find out that because it's only available at a voltage higher than the phone supports it'll be a very slow charger. I don't think most consumers want or care to look at what charging profiles their phones and chargers support.
there are too many standards.
for most part, rather than all that mess, maybe just stamp the cable/port with max wattage and max speed. So rather than worry about what standard am I using, I just know what I have and what goes where.
Right now, it looks like it's mostly usb-c everything (with "the more watts, the better", and the apple stuff being generally compliant becaus of the legislation pressure, but really not because their stuff is (intentionally) not completely working the same way. There's also a minority of "just shitty chargers and cables", but I'm speaking of brand-name space
https://xkcd.com/927/
It’s the USB Implementers Forum’s job to standardize these things, and they’ve just been doing a bad job. The naming scheme is a mess and the requirements are so loose, manufacturers just kinda hit whatever specs they want.
They need to set specific comprehensive list of technical requirements for each class of USB-C cable and port, reduce the number of classes (no more than 3-5), and make the naming scheme and logo design of those classes very clear and obvious to the less informed.
At least thunderbolt you usually get an icon plus number. Though most devices don’t label the ports.
All the other USB standards are confusing as shit.
There’s supposed to be specfic icons the manufacturers can print next to the port. It’s not perfect, but at least it’s easy to know at a glance eg. whether it can double as a displayport or not and whether it can double as an input charging port or not.
It also doesn't actually matter at all. You just plug it in and it works. How well it works really doesn't matter in 99% of cases.
And as time goes on the absolute minimum you will come across only goes up and never doesn't work.
So unless your casing the absolute newest feature set where you absolute need say thunderbolt 4 not 3 or 2. Then it doesn't matter.
For wattage you can just read the brick. Its required by law to have that information right on it. For the cable if it doesn't work go but a new cable and retire your old one. Iv had two replace my main USB c to c cable once ever because it wouldn't handle the wattage i needed it to.
Its just a seriously non fucking problem for 99.99% of people.
The minimum feature and watt spec of every cheap piece of shit is well past the point normal people care.
Half the cables I have will charge a phone, but will not pass data. There's no visual clue, so when I want to use a usb mic for example, I have to try cables until I find one that works.
Wattage is not the issue.
All mine are either labelled such that they are differentiated clearly from other on-device ports, identical to all others, or they are the only port on the device. While i could complain about the specific symbols and lack of standardization there, I have one singular device i care about fast charging with. So it's rather moot once i identify the high power port.
More USBC plz. Looking forward to the 230V standard.
And why exactly would that matter? Your devices automatically negotiate to the most effective alternative. If you want to streamline it, you read the manual? FWIW I've never had a device with completely unlabeled ports...
Cable only charging, only this, only that speed.
Device A only this, only that.
Device B see A.
No 5 kOhm resistors on the CC pins? Not even 5V charging works for C->C. I love USB C, absolutely do not get me wrong, but holy fuck this willy nilly bullshit destroys it. Just make USB3, then 4 years later etc. with very specific things it must be able to do and mark all devices and be done with it.
Sure but to be fair the vast majority of devices charges fine with the baseline 5V/1A, even if a bit slower.
Exception is larger devices like laptops but I can’t say it’s a huge problem as their larger chargers are distinct enough
"a bit slower" can mean multiple hours even for a regular smartphone, or a full day for something like a powerbank. That can easily catch you out if you expect the device to fast-charge as usual. It works, but it's far from ideal
I'm having some cheap devices with USB C plugs to charge, that stubbornly refuse to get charged with "better" cables. Only the real cheap ones work.
Probably because some pins must not be used or something, but it really sucks needing a separate cable around just for those devices
I get, that not every cable or device can support fast charging, but the other way round should at least work
Except that C to C only works when the receiving device has at least the required 5 kOhm resistors on the CC pins. Otherwise nada. But guess what? Lots of shit does not, so only charges from USB A.
Chargers are also required by law to label their wattage and amps on the device.
Your cable might not do the highest wattage but your laptop will tell you if the cable isn't enough when you plug it in... And why don't you have the cable that came with it then? Its just a non problem.