USB-IF tries, once again, to get out of the confusion of USB-C

In just a few short years, the USB-C port has gone from childhood to ubiquity. With a few exceptions, this is the primary charging, data, and display port for almost all modern phones, tablets, and laptops. The European Union has even proposed to make it mandatory in all devices.

The problem is that the USB-C connector has always been linked but separated from other specifications of the USB protocol. USB-C cables can use 2.0 or 3.2 speeds, they can support multiple charging powers, they may or may not have Thunderbolt support, and even Thunderbolt cables can be “active” or “passive”. The connector is the same, but the capabilities are not.

The group behind USB-IF has always taken a hands-off approach to this problem, choosing to solve it not with top-down mandates but with optional certification and logos. Today, the group announced a new batch of logos (PDF) intended to demystify the USB-C 2.1 and USB Power Delivery (USB-PD) 3.1 standards announced earlier this year. Among other tweaks, the new logos take into account support for USB 4, as well as an increase in maximum USB-PD charging power, from the old maximum of 100W to a new maximum of 240W. .

The new logos represent both speed and charge rate, and different versions can be used on the packaging of the devices as well as on the cables and ports themselves. As usual, since the use of these logos is not mandatory, you can expect their adoption to be hit or miss. But buying USB-IF certified and labeled accessories from reputable sellers is probably still the easiest way to avoid fakes and end up with cables and chargers that do what they say they do.

List image by Andrew Cunningham