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SB-C is billed as the one-stop solution for all our future cable needs, but feature compatibility is a major problem

USB-C is billed as the solution for all our future cable needs, unifying power, and data delivery with display and audio connectivity. Ushering in an age of the one-size-fits-all cable. Despite the USB-C connector supplied as default in modern smartphones, the standard has, unfortunately, failed to live up to its promises

USB Power Delivery has become an almost universal charging standard in both the smartphone and laptop markets. Even phones that rely on proprietary fast charging technology have mostly embraced the technology. Meaning you can now charge most gadgets somewhat quickly with USB-C to USB-C plugs and cables. Unfortunately, as we’ll see throughout the article, USB-C charging implementations are still often far from comprehendible for most consumers. Particularly with the addition of USB PD PSS.

In the laptop space, USB-C ports are increasingly more numerous than older USB-A sockets. Although the capabilities (such as charging, display, and audio) of these UBS-C ports still vary widely from laptop to laptop. Overall things are better

USB-C’s complexity has undoubtedly been its undoing. Although the idea of one cable to support everything sounds very useful, the reality has quickly become a convoluted combination of proprietary versus on-spec products, differing cable qualities and capabilities, and opaque feature support. The result is a standard that looks simple to use but quickly leads to consumer frustration as there is no clear indication as to why certain cables and features don’t work across devices.

Fortunately, high-end laptops are increasingly embracing the full potential of the USB-C specification. Smartphones have by and large embraced a shared charging standard, but the situation is still far from being straightforward in most instances