USB-C charging is our future, especially with the EU getting behind the standard as we found out last week. 

But USB-C has work to do: 

• One of the lasting problems of USB-C (which is also an issue for cables like HDMI, or the whole mess that is SD and microSD cards) is that USB-C cables can look the same, but act differently.
• Same connectors, different capabilities around fast charging at 60W or 240W, 2.0 or 3.2 speeds, Thunderbolt support or not… your average cable is likely to be a mix.

Now the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) with support from the myriad of companies involved, has cooked up “Certified USB Type-C Cable” Logos for certified cables and chargers.

• The logos are designed to “demystify the USB-C 2.1 and USB Power Delivery (USB-PD) 3.1 standards.”

Here are those logos:

• Look, it’s not great but it’s not bad. 
• The good is that the logos are clear enough. 
• The problem is that it requires seven logos and a table to explain what you’re getting and doesn’t explain why fast data and fast charging aren’t tied together. 
• For whatever reason, it’s also taken about eight years just to get to this point!
• The USB-IF decision was that the logos aren’t mandatory. You may still get a counterfeit junk cable when you’re just trying to buy something that works. Or more confusingly, a great cable that supports fast 40Gbps data transfers, but only offers slower charging. Or a 240W cable for fast-charging, that’ll be stuck with slow data transfer.
• Still, now more reputable brands will be able to help consumers, in theory, with the logos to determine speed and wattage of a charger, cable, or both.
• Jeff Ravencraft, USB-IF President and COO, said in a press release: “With our updated logos, consumers can easily identify the USB4 performance and USB Power Delivery capabilities of Certified USB-C Cables, which support an ever-expanding ecosystem of consumer electronics from laptops and smartphones to displays and chargers.”
• Which is fine, and all, but it’d be nice if the USB-IF didn’t make it so dang confusing to start off.

🔜 Fairphone 4 5G announced: A bright new offer from Fairphone, now with 5G, a 750G chipset, dual 48Mp cameras, and more ethical than ever — plus it might get Android 15. I’m speaking with Fairphone next week, just hit reply to this email if you have any questions! (Android Authority).

📸 Vivo X70 Pro Plus review: A premium flagship, but the experience isn’t quite there, though the gimbal stabilization on the camera system is a big talking point (Android Authority).

📈 Samsung might be pinning its hopes to the base Galaxy S22, with it accounting for at least half of the total S22 series production (Android Authority).

🆘 Pixel owners in an emergency can send for help faster with this app update (Android Authority).

🆕 Xiaomi’s next smartphone could pack a 4K display (Android Authority).

🎧 Sony’s latest true wireless earbuds are only $100 (Engadget).

🤔 Intel launches its next-generation neuromorphic Loihi 2 processor—so, what’s that again? (Ars Technica).

🍎 Apple’s fortress of secrecy is crumbling from the inside: some aren’t happy to endure the hierarchical, secretive nature of the company (The Verge).

⚽ Konami’s free-to-play eFootball is already the worst-rated Steam game in history (VGC).

🔋 Lordstown Motors will sell its factory to Foxconn for $230M, and Foxconn will let Lordstown Motors be a tenant at the former GM location, and Foxconn is also buying $50 million worth of Lordstown Motors shares (The Verge). Here’s a nice new video on how Foxconn came to be from TechAltar, too (YouTube).

🤝 Disney and Scarlett Johansson have settled their lawsuit, in private, probably for tens of millions (The Verge).

👖 One pair of jeans, 365 days: Why I’ve worn the same pair of pants for a year straight (they were washed during the 365 days, mind you) (CNET).

📚 Day One at the Every: An excerpt from Dave Eggers’ new novel (Wired).

📈 Silicon’s 300% surge throws another price shock at the world, as the base metal faces constraints (Bloomberg).

👂 “Does anyone else still constantly read the closed captions even though they can hear the sound perfectly fine?” (r/nostupidquestions).

10 upcoming book adaptations we absolutely can’t wait to see is the headline of a Mashable article that kindly really does help you get prepared for some big-time storylines coming to TV and movies, and that’s not including the likes of Dune or Wheel of Time.

The list isn’t exactly full of things I agree with but wow, there are a few sci-fi wonders:

• The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin, which is one of the great sci-fi stories and Game of Thrones’ David Benioff and D.B. Weiss are set to serve as showrunners and executive producers, with Derek Tsang confirmed to direct. (Just, um, don’t think about the final season of Game of Thrones at all.)
• Also coming to screen is The Time Traveller’s Wife (erm, again) on HBO.
• And, The Power by Naomi Alderman, a jolting tale about how women develop an electrical current within their bodies, which very quickly changes the male-female dynamic in the world, and made former President Barack Obama’s list of his favorite books in 2017, which is coming to Amazon Prime.
• I’ve saved a big one for last in this list of lists, because it’s Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien.
• One of the outstanding triologies of all time will see new detail that apparently Amazon is unearthing in this TV series.

All the best!

Tristan Rayner, Senior Editor.