@glennf I think this will be the start of a new wired connectivity Golden Age, as we finally have all major consumer electronics on the same connector system.
I was lamenting not being able to get pictures I'd taken from my Sony mirrorless camera to my iPhone easily because the camera and the phone had different connectors, and I didn't have the right lightning to SD card dongle. Now, with USB-C on both sides, I can just directly connect.
I'm honestly hopeful on that front too, because I understand the standards well enough to know that the devices' Operating Systems should have enough information to guide the user to the right cable and products to use.
If you plug in a cable to your phone, your phone should tell you what that cable can do based on its identifier information. The same if you plug into a docking station or some other USB device.
@castirony @glennf I've actually built features in an operating system that tell the user that the cable they're using isn't compatible with the mode their dock or monitor needs to operate.
Yeah, the standards have built a system that hides so much of the details from the user that confusion can and will happen, but software can and will be built to help the user figure this all out.
Glenn Fleishman
Benson Leung
Joel Bernstein