cross-posted from: https://discuss.tchncs.de/post/22828099
USB was supposed to rule them all but it’s now a mess of standards sharing the same connector. Different speeds, voltage, charging protocols, alt modes, even the number of pins used is variable… For those asking, the thing is available on Kickstarter
From what I know, the chip in the cable is for active cables to get lengths of 2 meters plus, but comes at the cost of USB speeds when used for non-Thunderbolt applications. Shorter passive cables generally can hit 40gbps for TB and 20 gbps for USB.