I have reached a critical mass with respect to how useful and cool USB-C can be. Here are a few of the devices/gadgets in my life that can all charge from the same cable:
- My ThinkPad T495s
- My work Macbook Air
- My Samsung Galexy S22+
- My wireless headphones
- My wireless mechanical keyboard
- My 8bitDo controllers
There are only a couple of devices in my life that require something else.
- My work iPhone requires a lightning cable. This is provided by my employer and there isn’t too much I can do about it.
- My wireless mouse requires micro-USB. I could absolutely by a wireless mouse that uses USB-C for charging, and I will likely do so when my current one stops working optimally for any of a number of reasons.
I vastly prefer USB-C for any electronic/gadget requiring 100W or less of power for charging. The critical mass of devices in my life that use USB-C for charging encouraged me to “invest” in a high quality GAN charger and USB-C–USB-C male-to-male cable that can support 100W. For laptops, 45-65W is almost always sufficient for charging and power delivery. USB-C even servedmy older X1 Carbon ThinkPad that I used for work perfectly.
It took a long time to get here, but I am so glad that we have settled on a decent standard for data transfer and power delivery for medium-sized devices. I will never return to the dark ages of proprietary barrel-jacks and every small-to-medium sized electronic/gadget that I but MUST support power-delivery and/or data transfer via USB-C. I refuse to give up the convenience of only needing 1 charging block and a couple of high-quality USB-C cables to charge many devices ranging from a tiny wireless mouse all the way to a “large” laptop.