As a condensed half true and a bit hyperbole summary:
Usb-c is first and foremost just a connector definition. So getting a usb-c cable is basically saying you will have a cable with this plug and a specific wire configuration. But you can omit wires if you don’t need them and still have a USB c cable. So from the phyisical definition this means your cable can have a plug that connects into a socket and is not wired internally at all. You can still call this a USB cable. That is why apple usb-c cables are often unable to transfer data, for example. This is done for downward compatibility with the USB standard.
The USB standard defines the functional properties of a USB cable. Depending on which version, which can be any number between 1.0 and 3.2 or thunderbolt, you have different lower and upper bounds that are possible. Except with USB 1.0 to 3.0 you don’t have lower bounds, you can omit parts of the specification completely and you can still call it a USB 2 or whatever cable. This means just because you have a USB c cable it does not give you any information about it’s capabilities. Except if it is thunderbolt or USB 3.2 because these have minimum requirements.
Because the functional and constructional definition is so wide ranged the standard does not give you any meaningful information. Which means it’s basically useless.
Well … Sigh in short because it is meaningless.
As a condensed half true and a bit hyperbole summary: Usb-c is first and foremost just a connector definition. So getting a usb-c cable is basically saying you will have a cable with this plug and a specific wire configuration. But you can omit wires if you don’t need them and still have a USB c cable. So from the phyisical definition this means your cable can have a plug that connects into a socket and is not wired internally at all. You can still call this a USB cable. That is why apple usb-c cables are often unable to transfer data, for example. This is done for downward compatibility with the USB standard.
The USB standard defines the functional properties of a USB cable. Depending on which version, which can be any number between 1.0 and 3.2 or thunderbolt, you have different lower and upper bounds that are possible. Except with USB 1.0 to 3.0 you don’t have lower bounds, you can omit parts of the specification completely and you can still call it a USB 2 or whatever cable. This means just because you have a USB c cable it does not give you any information about it’s capabilities. Except if it is thunderbolt or USB 3.2 because these have minimum requirements.
Because the functional and constructional definition is so wide ranged the standard does not give you any meaningful information. Which means it’s basically useless.
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