The trouble intrudes when we talk about power delivery, a separate part of the USB specification and incorporated into USB-C and Thunderbolt 3. Before USB-C, even though it was possible to carry laptop levels of power over a USB cable designed for that purpose, manufacturers generally avoided this—probably to avoid cable confusion. Anker If you’re looking for a high-quality USB-C cable that will give you excellent performance, it’s hard to beat Cable Matters 6-foot USB-C cable. The cable can do it all and do it all well (well, almost) from charging at up to 100 watts, transferring data from your USB 3.1 SSD, or running a monitor. The only area where it doesn’t excel is in Thunderbolt performance, which is limited to 20Gbps. That’s not a ding in our book because that’s the tradeoff of a 6-foot cable. To hit 40Gbps, you’d have to step down to a shorter cable. USB 2.0/3.0/3.1/3.2/4 Thunderbolt 3/4 — Currently, we have cables that could be compatible with USB 2.0, USB 3.0, and USB 3.1 with the version number defining function and speed. The USB 3.2 and USB 4 standards were also introduced within days of each other. USB 2.0 offers a theoretical transfer speed of up to 480Mbps. USB 3.0 and USB 3.1 Gen 1 ups that to 5Gbps, and USB 3.1 Gen 2 doubles the speed. Finally, Thunderbolt 3 and 4 are the fastest by far, with an impressive theoretical data transfer speed of 40Gbps. However, consider that factors like cable length (shorter the better for faster speeds) also play a role. Now that so many devices like notebooks including Chrome, Mac, and Windows, as well as phones, handheld gamer consoles, and more are using UBC-C for power, it makes sense to find a charger that can properly juice them up and even let you take it on the go using some of the best portable chargers and power banks. This is why the Anker 727 Charging Station gets the win on this list due to its substantial 100W Power Delivery, variety of ports, and charging options.

Apple’s power-cable identification guide for details about figuring out which cable is which. Apple This heavy-duty braided option is a good choice for taking advantage of the most modern charging standards Some USB-C cables feature a chip or e-Marker that contains information the device reads. This two meter cable’s e-Marker is incorrect. Due to MacBook charging identification, it is normal to see a plug symbol in the battery icon when charging a MacBook with a third-party wall charger. Charging will revert to normal automatically after around one minute.

Things to know

Low-wattage USB-C: Some cables with USB-C connectors at one end and a different kind of USB connector (like Type A or For charging speeds we recorded the maximum wattage at which the cable could charge an Asus ROG Strix 15 gaming laptop over its USB-C port using USB-Power Delivery with an Aukey 100 watt USB-PD charger as the source while the laptop was under load.USB-PD today is limited to 100 watts (with a 240-watt spec on the way). Any USB-C to USB-C cable should handle 3 ampsat 20 volts, or 60 watts.All of the USB-C to USB-C cables fell into the standard 60-watt or 100-watt camps. sells such a cable. These cables will always have the Thunderbolt lightning-bolt logo on each USB-C tipped cable end. In the end though, it’s what’s inside a cable that matters the most and the Apple USB-C cable has top-notch wiring materials that can deliver the most power to your laptop, phone, or tablet. Want to charge your laptop at 100 watts all day? That shouldn’t be a problem for the Apple USB-C Charge Cable.

You’d think you could tell whether a cable is USB-C 2.0 cable by looking at the wires in the connector but that’s not the case. Some cables use connectors with pins that aren’t hooked up to anything. USB-C is a broadly defined connection and cabling format, rather than a protocol for defining specific kinds of data that passes over it. Hardware devices—like the 2015 to 2018 12-inch MacBook and some non-Apple smartphones, tablets, and laptops—use USB-C to carry USB 2.0, 3.0, and 3.1, as well as ethernet networking and DisplayPort/HDMI video signals (and even DVI and VGA!) via adapters. When using both USB-C ports simultaneously, we recommend using the upper port for charging laptops. iPhone 14 / 14 Plus / 14 Pro / 14 Pro Max / 13 / 13 mini / 13 Pro / 13 Pro Max / iPhone 12 / 12 Pro / 12 Pro Max / 12 mini / SE 2020 / SE (2nd and 3rd Gen)We didn’t test the temperature of each cable’s housing, but we did test the cheapest cable by running it at 5 amps and 20 volts for an hour. The housing heated up by 50 degrees Fahrenheit, and the cable itself became relatively warm (see the thermal image below). Not ideal, but it did this without failure. We subjected other cables to two-hour loads without failure, as well. There are many 100W multi-port chargers out there, but if it doesn't have Power Delivery, just turn around and walk away. Just walk away! Without a Power Delivery USB-C port that can offer 87W or more — preferably 20V/5A 100W charging if your devices support it — then it's only useful for charging a bunch of smaller devices. That can be useful but if you need to render out a project while charging your PC as much as possible, you'll want full power. In the end, Apple’s USB-C Charge Cable won us over and is actually our recommended cable for those who want a big name on the box and intend to use it for mostly charging. When we say the box, we mean it, because Apple oddly doesn’t include any branding on the cable itself, which is a mistake because you just might mix it up with a lousy cable.

Enjoy unparalleled compatibility with the charger, designed to seamlessly work with over 1,000 devices including smartphones, tablets, laptops, earbuds, and more. Thunderbolt 3 is a data-transfer standard that can carry up to 40Gbps of information. It was built to work only with the USB-C connector style and specification. It can also carry all the kinds of traffic noted above for “plain” USB-C devices. Charge multiple devices at once with a total output of 100W, delivering rapid charging speeds to keep up with your busy lifestyle. Powered by Anker's most advanced GaN technology and features ActiveShield™ 2.0 for intelligent temperature monitoring to ensure a safer charging experience.

USB-IF Certified

Micro Type B) can’t pass a lot of power. They mostly manage USB 2.0 data (480 Mbps) plus no more than 15W (5 volts at 3 amps), which is enough to charge smartphones and tablets. These cables may have USB 3.0 SuperSpeed (SS + a USB logo) or similar branding or logos on one tip. Or not!(See figure above.) Obviously, as a charge cable it’s terrible for data transfer and can’t drive Thunderbolt devices nor your monitor, but as a charging cable it’s excellent. Physically, the cable is a flat design with a rubbery outer sheath. The strain relief where the cable connects to the housing is minimal, as well, which makes us question its durability over time. The unfortunate truth is that USB types are still a mess. And even understanding USB-C cables can get messy. USB-C cables from various OEMs and third-party manufacturers may look the same, but they’re vastly different. Not every cable is made equal, and some can be downright dangerous for your device. It’s gotten much better than what the situation was three or four years ago, but there are things you should look out for.

We then looked at how fast the cable would charge and transfer data, and whether it supported an alternate mode to run a monitor, using real-world hardware.

Up To 100W Power Delivery