USB-C to USB-C Cable: Everything You Need to Know

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Are all USB-C to USB-C cable the same? No, not all USB-C cables are equal. USB-C stands for the shape and type of connector, which is the same for all USB-C cables but not all cables support the same kind of protocols and transfer speeds.

As more and more interfaces are uniformly stipulated to use the USB-C interface, other interfaces will gradually be replaced, such as: Micro, Type B, Thunderbolt, HDMI, DC.


So, what kinds of USB-C to USB-C cable are there?

1. USB-C to USB-C cable with only power supply: This kind of cable is used to connect the adapter to device, or computer to device, such as lamps, toys, measuring tools, etc. which without data requirements. But this does not mean that there are only VBUS and Ground wires inside the USB cable. There must be a CC wire here. The CC wire is responsible for communicating with the adapter charging protocol, otherwise the cable will not be able to charge normally.

This kind of cable has 3 core wires inside, VBUS wire, Ground wire, CC wire


2. Standard USB-C to USB-C cable: This is the most common mobile phone charging cable, the original mobile phone charging cable is this, can charge and small data transmission (480Mbps Max)

This kind of cable has 5 cores inside, VBUS wire, Ground wire, CC wire, USB 2.0 differential signal positive, USB 2.0 differential signal negative


3. USB 3.0 USB-C to USB-C cable: This is a non-standard USB C cable, the USB Association does not contain this specification, but some of our customers still require us to provide this specification for their hard drive products

4. Full-featured USB-C to USB-C cable: USB 3.1 GEN 2: This is a high-quality USB cable currently on the market, with a data transfer rate of up to 10Gbps (10Gbps=1280MB/s=20480Mbps), which is 43 times higher than that of USB 2.0 c to c cable, can copy a 3G movie in a few seconds. It is backward compatible with USB 2.0 C to C cable, and supports 4K Video/Audio playback

This kind of cable has 16 core wires inside, as follows

Starting from USB 3.1 GEN 2 USB-C to USB-C cable, the connector is only for Type-C, other connectors are no longer applicable, including Type-A, Type-B, Micro, Mini

For the full-featured GEN 2 USB-C to USB-C cable, the PIN point of its connector PCB board is very compact, it cannot be welded by hand, an expensive automatic welding machine must be used. This is why many USB cable factories cannot produce USB 3.1 GEN 2 USB-C to USB-C cable


5. USB 3.2 USB-C to USB-C cable: USB 3.2 can provide up to 20Gbps transfer speed, which is twice the USB 3.1 GEN 2 cable. At present, there are not many products that can use USB 3.2 cable on the market. It may be a transitional product between USB 3.1 and USB4.

6. USB4 USB-C to USB-C cable: USB4 can provide up to 20Gbps and 40Gbps two speeds, P-Shine has begun mass production of USB4 cables


7. Thunderbolt USB-C to USB-C cable: There are two kinds of Thunderbolt, Thunderbolt 3 and Thunderbolt 4, the same is the USB-C interface, but different devices use different data transmission protocols. Both USB4 and Thunderbolt 4 are based on the Thunderbolt 3 protocol, and Thunderbolt 4 is fully compatible with USB4. Simply put, USB4 is equivalent to the low-profile version of Thunderbolt 4. Although the interfaces look the same, they can be easily distinguished from the appearance. Thunderbolt 4 has a lightning logo, and USB4 has a speed logo.

Compared with Thunderbolt 3, Thunderbolt 4 has no changes in physical appearance and maximum speed. The same is the design of the USB-C interface and the maximum bandwidth of 40Gbps, but it has been optimized in some aspects, such as bandwidth allocation

Thunderbolt 4 has higher specifications, more functions, and stronger compatibility, but Thunderbolt 4 requires Intel's certification and authorization, there is an additional cost. Compared with Thunderbolt 4, USB4 has no excessive requirements and is more versatile. So in the future, Thunderbolt 4 and USB4 will definitely complement each other and co-exist.

The above different versions of USB C to C cable, although the data transmission speed are different, the current and power are the same, the maximum all can be 5A, 100W, but when the current exceeds 3A, USB-C Connector with E-Mark chip are required , or when the power supply core wire is thick enough, it also can reach 100W without E-Mark chip

P-Shine Electronic Tech Ltd is a professional manufacturer of USB-C to USB-C Cable. Any of the above specifications can be customized and mass-produced. If you have any requirements or need technical support, please do not hesitate to contact us!  


 

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