The USB-C standard is becoming more and more universal, true to its name. It is used for a wide variety of scenarios, from the old data transfer to doubling as an audio connector. Charging speeds using USB-C cables can now go up to 100W thanks to the Power Delivery standard. An update to the standard will see this get pushed up to 240W.
This will come as a new sub-specification of the Power Delivery standard, known as Extended Power Range. This can be found as part of Revision 2.1 of the connector specifications. It’s a very small part of a 415-page document, which was published recently.
Naturally, the introduction of Extended Power Range will mean that newer USB-C cables will be able to more safely achieve higher charging speeds. It will take awhile before we see these in the market though. Android Central predicts that these new cables will start showing up at the end of the year, or early 2022.
Naturally, a device will have to be able to support 240W charging to be able to make use of the new standard. Some gaming laptops may be able to make full use of it, while others may deem 240W to still be insufficient.
(Source: USB-IF via Android Central)
