What your USB-C port isn't telling you

USB Type C is supposed to be a universal standard, but it’s just universally confusing. A USB Type C port can run at either 5Gbps or 10Gbps and still be labeled USB 3.1 by the laptop maker. USB Type C even technically supports USB 2.0 speeds at a pathetic 480Mbps. So when you see a USB Type C port, the only assumption you can make is that its transfer speeds can vary from as low as 480Mbps to as high as 10Gbps.

To muddy things even further, Intel’s Thunderbolt 3 technology uses the same USB Type C port for transfers over PCIe. It'll also support USB 3.1's 10Gbps.

There’s a longer discussion to be had about Thunderbolt 3 and video-out support over USB Type C, but that’s for another day. I did, however, write about Power Delivery and not-so-universal charging on USB C (hint, it’s a bit of a mess).

Not all USB Type C ports are created equal.