The first 240W USB-C cable just broke cover
The first 240W USB-C cable just broke cover
It's been almost a year since we told you how the next-gen USB-C cable will nearly double the amount of power at up to 240W, giving you the proprietary power brick you need but the best gaming laptop. Enough to dig. Now, we're seeing the first signs of life: the first USB-C 2.1 cable has broken cover with up to 240W of power and up to 40Gbps of data. They're from a Dutch manufacturer called Club3D (via Tom's Hardware) that doesn't sell cables on their website, and they don't even seem to be in stock at retailers yet.
Not that you definitely want to buy one right now! There aren't any gadgets designed to use 240W USB-C power yet, nor are there any 240W USB-C chargers, so until the chicken-and-egg problem is solved, these cables will give you just about anything. Will let you do Will not introduce new ,
But that's not the only caveat you should be aware of. As we feared last September when the USB Implementers Forum released its USB-C 2.1 branding guidelines, it seems that manufacturers are still free to mix and match what you'll actually get from a cable.
The Club3D not only has a one-meter cable with 8K/60 video, 40Gbps data, and the holy grail of 240W power, but it also has a two-meter cable with only half the data rate. And - get this - there's a third two-meter cable that only carries 480Mbps of data. (He's stuck at USB 2.0 speeds for some reason.)
Thankfully, it looks like these cables will be clearly marked to let you know exactly what capacity they hold - thanks to the USB-IF label! Hopefully other cable makers will follow suit. And it's good to know that a 240W cable can be at least six and a half feet long, though hopefully we'll see even longer. While 240W may sound like a lot of watts, a typical home AC outlet can put out thousands.
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