you might have seen this type of charger
on some of your newer devices
it's a USBC cable USBC is great it can
transfer data power video audio and it's
not limited to one manufacturer like
apple's lightning cables finally a
universal connector has arrived but wait
a minute how come this USBC cable cost
so much more than that one and why does
this cable transfer data and power
slower than that one
how can two cables that look identical
be so different even though it's been
around for a few years there's still a
lot of confusion surrounding USB see it
was supposed to be a universal connector
bridging together phones computers power
supplies and accessories but there's one
big issue holding it back the USBC name
refers to the physical shape of the
connector not the protocol even though
two cables can have the same physical
connector what's happening on the inside
can be very different the protocol or
specification determines what the cable
can transfer and how fast it can send it
a USBC cable can be limited to either
USB 3.1 3.0 or 2.0 speeds some USB C
cables are USB 3.1 gen2 cables this
means they could transfer an HD movie in
about five seconds around 10 gigabits
per second but you can also have a USBC
cable that is as slow as the ancient USB
2.0 spec transferring that same HD movie
would take almost two minutes at a speed
of 480 megabits per second using the
USBC cable that charges your Android
phone probably won't be as fast as the
one that came with your new external
hard drive to make things more confusing
some USB C cables can be used with a
second monitor while others aren't
capable of sending a video signal at all
you could easily end up stranded if you
mix up two different cables and things
can get even more complicated when
you're using adapters to change from USB
C to another connect
like the headphone jack now all adaptors
are created equal a headphone adapter
that came with one phone isn't
guaranteed to work with a phone from a
different company okay so your data
might transfer slower or you might mix
up two different cables but what's the
harm
well USB C cables are also responsible
for transferring power the stakes are
much higher when you're relying on a
cable to send the correct amount of
electricity to your device many smart
phones and laptops can charge over USB C
but the amount of power that these
cables can deliver isn't necessarily the
same in some cases a laptop can require
almost twice as much power as a smart
phone the consequences of using the
wrong cable can be much worse than a
slower charge if you happen to connect a
USBC device to your laptop that draws
more power than the port can deliver
there's a chance that port could stop
working entirely and 2016 a Google
engineer tested several off-brand USBC
cables from Amazon one cable even caused
his pixel book to stop working since
then he has continued to review dozens
of cables from Amazon and continues to
find cables that do not perform as
advertised but why would companies like
Google and Apple support a connector
that can cause so much damage USB C
cables are supposed to have safeguards
put in place to prevent damage if
they're used on a device that doesn't
support their maximum power draw the
cables are supposed to keep the device
safe but sometimes manufacturers will
cut corners
to reduce costs the cables that aren't
compliant with USBC standards can
seriously harm your device this might
make USBC seem like an evil cable that's
just waiting to destroy your device but
the horror stories you hear only happen
with cables that don't include the
safety mechanisms so what can you do to
prevent yourself from using the wrong
cable always buy from trusted brands
fully read descriptions and reviews and
make sure other people are using the
cable for what you need
you can also label your cables to avoid
mixing up to that look the same finally
try to only use the cable that came with
that device in order to avoid any nasty
surprises even with the risks USB C is
still a really good thing for
it can handle a variety of uses and
doesn't come with a proprietary premium
but it's important to know what your
cables should and shouldn't be used for
so you don't harm your device and also
it's reversible