At 10, USB-C still hasn’t lived up to its full potential

Slightly under 10 years ago, when I reviewed a new Apple MacBook, I devoted a surprising percentage of my wordage to its port. Yes, port—it had only one. The sleek, minimalist laptop was one of the first devices in the world to sport USB-C, a new type of wired connectivity that carried both power and data over a cable with a slim, reversible connector.

USB-C held the potential to replace pretty much all the other ports then in use on phones, tablets, laptops, cameras, headphones, and other gadgets. At the time, they included USB in its familiar, full-size form (officially known as USB-A), multiple variants of Micro-USB and Mini-USB, myriad proprietary power jacks, and on and on. If Apple could be convinced to phase out Lightning—which USB-C, with its reversible connector, resembled—the new standard really would be the standard.

I was giddy over the prospect of having only one type of cable in my life. That didn’t happen overnight, or even within a few years. But today, I own only one device I use on anything like an everyday basis that requires me to make special provisions for its cable: my Apple Watch Ultra 2, which uses a magnetic charging puck. (Full disclosure: I occasionally haul out my old Nintendo 3DS handheld, which charges via a proprietary cable.)

No doubt: USB-C has been a huge advance for my productivity—not just over previous forms of USB, but also even earlier technologies whose connectors look comically oversized and clunky in retrospect and sometimes even needed to be screwed into place. Just ending the days when I had to examine a cable closely to determine if I was holding it right side up for insertion—Micro-USB, you were the worst!—has been a joy.

Last week, I even bought a tiny USB-C cable and put it on my keychain, so I’m never without it when I want to transfer photos from my camera to my phone. In principle, I could always move them over via Wi-Fi, but USB-C remains much, much faster and more reliable.

Still, the technology hasn’t accomplished everything it’s theoretically capable of doing. For one thing, the version that arrived in 2015 turned out not to be the last wired connectivity standard anyone would ever need. There are now multiple flavors of USB-C, all sharing the same connector but varying considerably in capabilities.

Over at Wirecutter, you’ll find Fast Company contributor Jared Newman’s comprehensive review of USB-C cables. Along with providing buying recommendations, it steps through the details on USB 2.0, USB-C 3.1 Gen 2, and USB4 as well as Apple’s Thunderbolt, which isn’t USB-C at all but uses the same connector. Distinguishing between all these variants matters if you care about data-transfer speeds. If you’ve got power-hungry devices and want them to charge quickly, you also need to pay attention to the wattage of the cable and the power brick you plug it into.

For an even deeper dive into USB-C’s mysteries, I recommend this 2021 TidBits article by Glenn Fleishman, another Fast Company contributor. Its title—“USBefuddled: Untangling the Rat’s Nest of USB-C Standards and Cables”—cleverly conveys just how complicated the topic is.

Before I revisited Jared and Glenn’s stories while writing this newsletter, I was more or less happy plugging any USB-C cable I had handy into whatever device I needed to hook up for charging or data transfer. Now I’m obsessed with the possibility that I’m slowing down stuff by using inadequate cabling. (USB4 cables and some USB-C 3.1 Gen 2 ones have specs printed on the connectors to indicate what they can do, but none of my cables seem to bear this essential information.)

There’s another way in which USB-C has underperformed its potential. In theory, its universal adoption should make for a more sustainable tech ecosystem since it reduces the need to have on hand a zillion cables with different connectors. The European Commission certainly sees the technology as more Earth-friendly: As Apple admitted, to satisfy EU regulations, the company had to ditch Lightning for USB-C starting with 2023’s iPhone 15.

Apple could assume, but doesn’t, that everyone who buys a new iPhone already has a sufficient collection of USB-C cables; the company still includes one in every box. It does the same with AirPods Pro and iPads. Many other makers of USB-C devices also throw in a cable—even bargain-basement items like an $8 UV light I recently purchased.

The bottom line is that I’ve ended up with way more USB-C cables than I need, many of questionable quality. Having failed to figure out how to donate them to an organization that might put them to better use, I periodically drop off the crummier-looking ones—and those that have failed altogether—at a local recycling center. That’s better than dumping them in the trash, but it doesn’t seem great.

I do envision a day when I don’t own a humongous quantity of USB-C cables. At home, a half-dozen good ones might satisfy my needs; maybe slightly more if I keep some at the office and stow a couple in my suitcase. My brilliant new game plan is to only buy USB4 cables henceforth, regardless of whether I need them in any particular plugging-in context: They’re more expensive, but also a hedge against obsolescence.

For now, my cable clutter abides. I still have an orange toolbox stuffed with so many cables, its lid has snapped off. They include a few USB-C ones but also earlier types with a multitude of connectors, just in case I need them to connect something like an old iPhone or hard drive. Tangled and random, this thicket of obsolete technology sits in my garage, embarrassing me every time I walk by. May the day come when I can wave it goodbye—or at least winnow it down to fit in a shoebox.

You’ve been reading Plugged In, Fast Company’s weekly tech newsletter from me, global technology editor Harry McCracken. If a friend or colleague forwarded this edition to you—or if you’re reading it on FastCompany.com—you can check out previous issues and sign up to get it yourself every Wednesday morning. I love hearing from you: Ping me at hmccracken@fastcompany.com with your feedback and ideas for future newsletters. I’m also on Bluesky, Mastodon, and Threads.

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