Amazon finally bans non-compliant USB Type C cables that could potentially fry your devices
Like most things, there are growing pains associated with any new tech and while early adopters are used to a vast number of things, something like a seemingly innocuous cable completely destroying your hardware shouldn’t be one of them. When USB Type C was first touted as the new industry standard for our electronics, many were excited at the prospect of what it could offer. But like a wet blanket, that excitement quickly snuffed out as numerous faulty cables started hitting online retailers like Amazon, putting all of our USB Type C devices at risk.
Thankfully, Googler Benson Leung proved to be the hero we all deserved, testing out numerous cables with a reckless abandon and leaving reviews to help anyone looking to avoid purchasing faulty cables that could potentially fry — as in completely destroy — our precious electronics. Like Russian roulette, after months of testing, Leung’s $1,500 Chromebook Pixel would eventually fall victim to just such a cable, a bitter warning to early adopters everywhere. This wasn’t a good look for Amazon who was selling many of these products that could potentially blow up your devices and after all this time, they’re finally doing something about it.
Last night, Amazon finally banned USB Type C cable that are “not compliant with standard specifications issued by ‘USB Implementers Forum Inc.'” These non-compliant Type C cables now join Amazon’s illustrious — and growing — list of banned products, everything from cellphone jammers to laser pointers. It’s all we really asked. And while there’s still no guarantee that the cables you find on Amazon wont short out your device, the world is now just a tiny bit safer now that Amazon has finally stepped in and done something about it.
[Amazon]