USB-C was supposed to make things easy. But standardizing the connector didn't solve the problem of what the hardware was good for, not least the cables. And now they all look the same, making it a game of cable drawer roulette just to find the Good cable that will run enough power and data. Enter WhatCable, a simple MacOS app that tell you what any given cable is good for and what you plugged it into is doing with it.
USB-C hides a lot under one connector. Anything from a USB 2.0 charge-only cable to a 240W / 40 Gbps Thunderbolt 4 cable, all looking identical in your drawer. macOS already exposes the relevant info via IOKit; WhatCable surfaces it as a friendly menu bar popover.
A possible problem seems to be that cables lie about what they can do. WhatCable has a "report" button so you can snitch on vendors and products that so mislead the user.
WhatCable trusts the e-marker. The cable speed, current rating, and vendor are read straight from the chip in the cable's plug. Counterfeit or mis-flashed cables can advertise capabilities they don't actually deliver, and there's no way for software to verify what's inside the jacket. If a cable claims 240W / 40 Gbps but performs poorly, the chip is lying, not WhatCable.
The app was made by Darryl Morley, who writes that it was inspired by every time someone has asked "is this cable any good?"
Previously:
• Review: generic USB-C power-through adapter
• Two guitar to USB adaptors
• USB dock reads Super Nintendo cartridges
