As disappointingly non-standard as USB-C products have proven to be, at least they are much better than this.
Edit: Just happened upon this illustrative paragraph on pcmag.com
The cable is the final obstacle. Thunderbolt 3 and 4 cables are always good for up to 100 watts, but for USB-C docks, a special USB-C cable is required for more than 60 watts. To make things easier, you’ll want to be sure that the dock bundles a compatible charging cable, and if not, you’ll want to shop for a USB-C charging-specific cable capable of handling the wattage you need. Important note: Not all third-party USB-C charging cables rated for up to 100 watts support USB 3 speeds! Many (indeed, plenty) are USB 2.0-capable only. For example, the Apple USB-C Charge Cable (1 m) only supports up to 60 watts, while the Apple USB-C Charge Cable (2 m) supports up to 100 watts. Shop carefully.
I visited my friend the other day and my phone was low, so I took the playstation controller off charge and plugged in my Android phone instead. A while later, her iPhone was low battery, so we charged her phone instead, with the same wire. It’s not much, but it made me happy.
This is because 100W charging requires carrying more amps than the 10W we used to push through USB cables. In a perfect world, every USB C-to-C cable would do 100W, but those require more copper and many consumers don’t want to pay the 30 to 50 bucks for a short charging cable. Some companies cheap out on the power lines, lowering their charging speed, others cheap out and only connect the bare minimum of data lines, because that’s like half the connectors to put in a cable like that.
Because of mistakes in charging circuitry and badly configured cables, laptops have been damaged and fires have been started while sending 100W or more over the thin as fuck cables that used to suit our devices.
This ordeal could’ve been solved by altering the standard to refuse cheap cables, but that would keep USB C cables out of reach for many people, especially at the beginning.
Luckily, even the shitty cables that used to charge at 10W now support charging twice as fast. Every basic USB C-to-C cable does at least 60W if it’s compliant.
Your 100W Thunderbolt cable may still not be equivalent to the cable that came with your device, though, as the standard has been extended to allow up to 240W charging. Obviously, you can’t just send 240W down a cable designed for only 100W, so check how much power you need before buying a cable; I’ve seen laptops where 100W will barely charge the battery while in use.
As disappointingly non-standard as USB-C products have proven to be, at least they are much better than this.
Edit: Just happened upon this illustrative paragraph on pcmag.com
At least we finally have standardization between Androids and iPhones
I visited my friend the other day and my phone was low, so I took the playstation controller off charge and plugged in my Android phone instead. A while later, her iPhone was low battery, so we charged her phone instead, with the same wire. It’s not much, but it made me happy.
Some charging is better than no charging, eh?
This is because 100W charging requires carrying more amps than the 10W we used to push through USB cables. In a perfect world, every USB C-to-C cable would do 100W, but those require more copper and many consumers don’t want to pay the 30 to 50 bucks for a short charging cable. Some companies cheap out on the power lines, lowering their charging speed, others cheap out and only connect the bare minimum of data lines, because that’s like half the connectors to put in a cable like that.
Because of mistakes in charging circuitry and badly configured cables, laptops have been damaged and fires have been started while sending 100W or more over the thin as fuck cables that used to suit our devices.
This ordeal could’ve been solved by altering the standard to refuse cheap cables, but that would keep USB C cables out of reach for many people, especially at the beginning.
Luckily, even the shitty cables that used to charge at 10W now support charging twice as fast. Every basic USB C-to-C cable does at least 60W if it’s compliant.
Your 100W Thunderbolt cable may still not be equivalent to the cable that came with your device, though, as the standard has been extended to allow up to 240W charging. Obviously, you can’t just send 240W down a cable designed for only 100W, so check how much power you need before buying a cable; I’ve seen laptops where 100W will barely charge the battery while in use.