Thanks to the USB-IF, buying the right cable for a specific situation should get easier
You might have an easier time shopping for USB Type-C cables for high-power devices soon. The USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) has just announced a new power-rating logo that you might someday see winking at you from a future USB cable, explaining that those bundled wires are rated for either 60W or 240W of power.
In case you missed it and 240W sounds incredible, the USB-If recently rolled out a new version of the Power Delivery spec that allows for that level of wattage, so look forward to hardware that can take advantage of that. But, that level of power also introduces even bigger risks. If you’re just charging a phone, things like wire gauge and quality probably don’t matter too much at 5 or 9V up to a couple amps, but Power Deliver can push things up to five amps at ranges up to 48V now. In situations like that, you don’t want a measly little cable.
Enter: The USB-IF’s new power-rating logos. A single glance will tell you that a cable is good for either 60W or 240W as defined by the spec., that way you don’t have to worry about whether a cable can handle the amps you plan to push through it or not, or be left guessing and researching whether a cable is “e-marked” for a certain configuration.
The USB-IF doesn’t have imagery yet for what the 60W logo will look like, but the company did send us the graphics (above) that show what logos will look like for 240W on both product packaging and cables — including new Certified USB4 logos, also announced today.
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