Saeed Wazir is a South Africa-based journalist with over 15 years of IT experience and a love for reading and writing. He joined Pocket-Lint after writing tech articles for Dot Esports and Screen Rant and now covers the latest in TV, streaming, laptops, tablets, and PCs. When he's not looking for the latest gadgets, he's relaxing on the beach or exploring open-world games.
USB-C arrived with huge expectations as the new universal connector for all devices, but things haven't panned out as expected and it still has flaws. The connector itself is practical due to its reversible nature, yet other factors, like the ever-changing standards and inconsistent speeds make things more complicated than they should be.
That's why you never seem to know what speeds any of your cables truly offer and if they can reach their maximum capabilities on any given port. USB-C still isn't the standard across all devices and most of us now need to carry hubs or docking stations to solve our connectivity issues. That's why I hate these five things about USB-C, which should've been resolved by now.
It's still not universal
It's taking forever to get to some devices
USB-C has been around for ten years now and while it's made massive inroads, it's still not the default connector on many devices. That's one of the reasons why we now have to waste time and money on USB hubs or docks to connect our mice, external drives, and other hardware to our laptops.
TVs are probably the biggest culprits of not moving with the times and still clinging to old USB-A 2.0 ports. The lack of USB-C on TVs affects buying decisions and users need to get an SSD with older connectors to ensure compatibility. They'll also need to get an adapter to connect that SSD to their USB-C-only laptop. Some devices, like Amazon's Fire Sticks, still stick to the outdated Micro-USB standard, which limits their capabilities and isn't appreciated by anyone.
Laptops were also slow to move to USB-C charging. Instead, we've been forced to lug around heavy proprietary charging bricks when a universal charger should suffice. However, this is changing now that the EU has mandated USB-C charging on all laptops as of this year.
Confusing naming standards
Ever-changing conventions
So USB-C is the connector type and not the standard. This is why our USB-C cables and devices all have different capabilities, with some supporting faster speeds than others and varying power delivery features. Within the USB-C ecosystem you'll experience standards, like USB 2.0, USB 3.2 Gen 1, USB 3.2 Gen 2, Thunderbolt 3 and 4, and others which make life more complicated than it needs to be for everyday consumers.
USB-C naming conventions often change despite being the same thing.
To make things even more confusing, USB-C naming conventions often change despite being the same thing. For example, USB 3.1 Gen2 was renamed to USB 3.2 Gen 2, and is now commonly referred to as SuperSpeed USB 10Gbps. The worst thing about this is that you never know what standard most devices support and finding compatible accessories can be a lottery.
Fragility
They don't make them like they used to
I think the increased fragility of USB-C is one of the side effects of its smaller size meant to work on phones and slimline laptops. The solder points are a known weak spot and phone connectors often break from shock if you drop them with the charger plugged in.
I go through USB-C cables faster than any previous types.
The smaller connector often feels vague and looser than USB-A's tight fit and is more prone to damage, from my experience. It might just be me, but I find that I go through USB-C cables faster than any previous types and they either lose their speed over time or stop working all together. I try to stick to quality brands, but still have a drawer full of half working cables with dodgy connectors.
Varying charging speeds
Inconsistency across devices
It would be amazing if all new phones offered the same fast charging speeds, and we could use a single USB-C charging brick to top all of them up. Unfortunately, this still isn't the case and most phones use proprietary protocols with varying speeds that often work faster with some chargers and slower with others.
For example, current flagship phones, like the iPhone Pro Max and Samsung Galaxy S offer maximum wired charging speeds of 53W and 60W respectively. Other phones, like the Xiaomi Poco F8 Ultra, support 100W charging, while the Honor Magic8 Pro goes up to 120W. Using the different phone's charging brick on a different brand will probably work, but will default to the safest speed.
Unpredictable compatibility
Who knows how it will work?
Every USB-C accessory should work the same with every USB port, but that's not the case. For example, many USB-C ports are identical and don't have markings, yet some support DisplayPort video output and some don't. It becomes hard to tell what will work and what won't with your laptop and most of us hate having to go through user manuals which might not be accurate.
It becomes hard to tell what will work and what won't with your laptop.
The same goes for accessories, like docks and USB Hubs. They all have different specs, and you can expect varying functionality depending on which port and which laptop it's plugged into. This is because they are limited by the laptop's USB-C controller, which might have high or low power delivery specs and won't support some features. It would be great if brands didn't cheapen out on slow ports and everyone stepped onto the same page with the fastest speeds.