[DNSB]

USB-C is unlikely to the be all and end all of connectors. And yet, the EU in it's infinitely limiting bureaucratic vision has ensured that any future replacements for USB-C connectors will be unlikely to find a way into the EU market. One idea that seems to have disappeared was a optical data cable with 4 copper connections for V+/gnd and negotiation +/- communication. Out of the box, it was claimed to be capable of supporting up to 1TB data though the maximum power was limited to 50W (??? going off memory).

As for not needing multiple cables? Currently, I have 4 different cable families with USB-C connectors covering USB-C, Thunderbolt 3, 4 & 5. Then I have several USB-C cables with different power level support. A couple of my older cables do not support USB-PD (no e-marker chip) and seem to be limited to 20W so charging rather slow for many devices whereas 1 cable I have supports up to 240W (48V at 5A). That cable is notable for it's sheer size. One reference I looked at suggests 24AWG for the 4 V+/gnd pairs while the other 16 wires in the cable can be lighter gauge so that kinds of explains the size. Not sure what the power handling capability of the Thunderbolt cables is since they are stubby and came with specific devices. The Thunderbolt 5 cable was from a friend of mine's screwup. They didn't realize the 4TB external SSD they purchased already had a fixed cable. Comparing to the PCIe 4 connected SSD's in my desktop, it had a diskmark of 4,800 read/3,800 write MB/s while my internal Samsung 990 SSDs came up with 7000/5000 MB/s. It was nice to find the TB5 ports on my computer actually worked at that speed since I'd only used them for TB3/4 devices previously.