- Usb c charging cable for macbook air full#
- Usb c charging cable for macbook air Pc#
- Usb c charging cable for macbook air windows#
The first, and simplest, approach is to stick to reputable brands you can trust to adhere to the standards.
Usb c charging cable for macbook air full#
So, how do you ensure you’re buying a cable which is safe, supports data, and offers the full transfer speeds on offer? There are three methods you can use. A compliant cable has a resistor to limit the current draw.īut the data and speed problems apply equally to MacBooks with USB-C ports. That can damage both the device you’re charging and your MacBook. USB-C devices can draw significantly more power, so if you use a USB-A port to charge a USB-C device, then a non-compliant cable can draw more power than the port is designed to handle.
Those were designed with a maximum current draw as part of the spec.
That latter problem is specific to older MacBooks, with a USB-A port. And yet others can draw too much power, which can not only damage any device you’re charging it with, but could even damage the USB port in your MacBook. Some non-compliant cables simply won’t offer the full data speeds they promise. More worryingly, many cables being sold as USB-C don’t fully conform to that standard – and that can be seriously bad news … In practice, there are different versions of the standard. Active cables can maintain this speed over distance, but they will also be more expensive.In theory, all USB-C cables should be the same: that’s the whole point of having a standard. Passive cables are typically shorter and cheaper, and unable to maintain the top 40Gbps transfer speeds over longer distances (you’ll get 40Gbps from a 0.5m Thunderbolt 3 cable, but only 20Gbps from a 1m cable). That said, the length and type of the Thunderbolt cable can affect performance.
Usb c charging cable for macbook air windows#
(Thunderbolt 3 can also deliver 40Gbps, but misses some other features of the more recent standard on Windows laptops.) However, although each can handle up to 40Gbps data transfer, theoretically Thunderbolt 4 will always hit this maximum speed, while USB 4 will operate between 20- and 40Gbps. If your device supports one it will support the other. With the latest USB 4 and Thunderbolt 4 protocols, the two standards are brought much closer together, each based on the same underlying protocols, and thus they will work interchangeably. What’s the difference between USB-C and Thunderbolt? But there is more you should take into account before purchasing simply the cheapest cable you can find. To some extent, your choice of USB-C cable is going to come down to whether you need both ends to be USB-C, or if the device you want to hook up has a USB-A, Micro-USB, Lightning or Thunderbolt port. USB-C and Thunderbolt cable buying advice It’s cheaper than Apple’s Thunderbolt 3 cable, but should you be bothered by appearances know that it is available only in black. It also lacks the nylon braided housing of some of the more durable cables here, though it does come with a two-year warranty from the manufacturer. Note that it does not support Qualcomm Quick Charge, however, so this cable may not be your best option for fast-charging a smartphone.Īs with many Thunderbolt 3 cables it is reasonably short, just 0.8m (2.6ft), which helps it to maintain performance. When it comes to charging, Plugable specifies Power Delivery support of up to 100W. You’ll get lower bandwidth with a USB-C 3.1 port, but still up to 10Gbps.
When paired with a Thunderbolt 3 port you can expect theoretical data-transfer speeds of up to 40Gbps, which makes this cable well suited to carrying 4K+ video. It offers the fastest data-transfer speeds, can carry enough charge to power any laptop, and it has an appealingly low price.
Usb c charging cable for macbook air Pc#
This Thunderbolt 3 cable from Plugable is the best all-rounder here when used with a compatible storage device or Windows or Mac PC or laptop.