I like being able to plug the same-shaped cable into more devices. I like the guessing game around what that cable can actually do considerably less. A USB-C connector does not, by itself, tell me that a cable will charge a laptop at the rate I want, move data quickly or carry the display connection I expected.
The USB-IF’s Power Delivery guidance treats charging capability as something with its own specification and certification. That is the useful distinction: connector shape and supported capability are separate things. The port, cable and connected equipment need to support the particular job, rather than simply look compatible.
For me, clear labelling beats a bag full of identical black cables. If a cable has a specific purpose, I want a visible rating or a label I can recognise later. “Premium” and “fast” are not especially useful descriptions when the question is whether it will do a particular task. A plain specification is more helpful than packaging that makes the cable sound like a lifestyle purchase.
USB-C has made the physical part simpler, and that is welcome. I just wish the useful details were as easy to recognise as the connector. Standardising the hole gets us halfway there; telling people what they can actually expect finishes the job.
