With various standards and charging technologies at work, it is much more difficult than it should be to determine what a cable can do. There are a few things to know during shopping.
USB standards: The Universal Serial Bus (USB) standard dates from 1996, but has experienced many new standards, revisions and types of connectors over the years that have followed. Instead of crossing them all here, we try to emphasize what matters.
Connectors: Although the USB-C fortunately becomes a standard type of connection, you want cables with connectors that correspond to your existing devices. Today, this could still mean USB-A, Lightning or even Microusb. Remember that the capacities of any cable are limited to its oldest type of connection.
Data: The data transfer speed is still in megabits per second (MBPS) or Gigabits per second (GBPS). You will know the speed of which a cable should be capable of the standard:
- USB 2.0 supports 480 Mbps
- USB 3.0 supports 5 Gbps
- USB 3.1 supports 10 Gbps
- USB 3.2 Gen 1 supports 5 Gbit / Gbit / s
- USB 3.2 Gen 2 supports 10 Gbps
- USB 3.2 Gen 3 supports 20 Gbit / Gbps
- USB 4.0 supports 40 Gbps
Power: Although cable manufacturers always list the maximum load rate, your device will determine the amount of energy to draw, so it is important to know which standards it supports and combine your cable with the right power adapter. The load rate of a cable is measured in watts (W). Sometimes manufacturers lighten the specifications on the cable in tiny impressions. If there is no W listed, you can calculate it by multiplying the voltage (V) and the current (A), assuming that they are listed.
Basic USB-C cables are passive and can only carry 60 watts. Cables that can transport 100 watts or more, sometimes described as active, must contain electronic marker chips that identify the cable and its capacities.
The food standard (PD) is as close as we have a common standard. Some manufacturers, such as OnePlus, Oppo and Xiaomi, still have owner load standards. Then there is the Qualcomm fast charge standard (QC), which was the most popular for phones for many years, although Quick Charge 4+ supports PD. Even PD has a variant called programmable power supply (PPS), which is part of the PD 3.0 USB standard. PPS allows real -time adjustments to maximize efficiency and load phones like Samsung Galaxy S22 range At 45 watts instead of the usual 18. The latest addition to the PD is an extended power range (EPR), which allows USB-C cables to transport up to 240 Watts (they were limited to 100 Watts).
Thunderbolt was a owner interface developed by Intel and Apple, but it is now open for free use of rights (always certified by Intel). With Thunderbolt 3, the standard has adopted the USB-C connector and is capable of data transfer speeds up to 40 Gbit / s and can provide 100 watts of power using the PD standard. Thunderbolt 4 provides various improvements mainly linked to the video signal (support for two 4K screens or an 8K screen). It also supports the USB 4 standard and is behind compatible with previous standards.
Cable certification: There are some types of cable certification. When a cable is certified, this generally means that it has been tested independently and complies with specific standards. It gives you, as a buyer, the peace of mind that your cable works as the manufacturer claims. Certification can be expensive, so many cable manufacturers avoid it, but that does not necessarily mean that their cables are of poor quality. THE USB IMPRESSORS Forum (USB-IF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the progression of USB technology. Led by members like Apple, Google, HP, Microsoft and Intel, it establishes specifications and offers certification. If a cable is certified by USB-IF, it has been tested to ensure that it complies with its standards. Apple has its own certification designed for iPhone (MFI) for Lightning cables. Intel certifies Thunderbolt cables. Certified cables generally have the relevant logo on the connector. (For example, Thunderbolt cables have a flash.)
