The catch is that not all USB-A to USB-C adapters are built the same.
A USB 3.0 adapter is a whole different story because it supports up to 5Gbps in data transfer, while a USB 3.2 Gen 2 adapter supports speeds up to 10Gbps.
If it's an old device with a USB 2.0, buying a newer generation adapter won't increase the transfer speed.
3 sentences from our version of the report,
chosen to cover it. Nothing here is written; every line is in the article below.
How
Summarized version
A USB 2.0 adapter will top out at 480Mbps for data and delivers just 5V/0.5A of power — about 2.5W, although when used with wall chargers.
The report’s most important sentence, shortened and in plain words. How
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The one thing this headline claims is in the report.
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The article, shortened and in plain language
And why that one cable takes forever to charge your phone.
You've been buying USB-C to USB-C cables in bulk because they're so much faster for charging, but your laptop only has one C-port and you're left scrambling for a USB-A to USB-C cable around the house so you can charge your headphones, for instance.
The catch is that not all USB-A to USB-C adapters are built the same. Two adapters can look nearly identical while performing differently, depending on the USB specification they support, the power they can deliver and the quality of the components inside.
A USB 2.0 adapter will top out at 480Mbps for data and delivers just 5V/0.5A of power — about 2.5W, although when used with wall chargers, they can supply up to 7.5W. That's not much, but it's also not meant to be.
A USB 3.0 adapter is a whole different story because it supports up to 5Gbps in data transfer, while a USB 3.2 Gen 2 adapter supports speeds up to 10Gbps. When it comes to charging, a laptop's USB-A port caps output around 7.5W, but plugging the adapter into a USB-A wall charger can push that number up to 12W-15W.
If it's an old device with a USB 2.0, buying a newer generation adapter won't increase the transfer speed.
While a basic USB 2.0 adapter is fine for low-power devices, you should opt for USB 3.0 if you're plugging in something like an external drive or flash drive.
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