[Gigachad]

Its cost, compatibility, and age. A full thunderbolt cable is very expensive to make and it’s quite thick so completely pointless for a phone charger. And then you just have cables that are quite old, maybe old stock being sold and it all mostly has to work together.

USB-C isn’t uniquely bad here. HDMI also has this issue where depending on the cable you use, you’ll be able to achieve certain resolutions and refresh rates. The hdmi spec is seemingly never printed on the cable so you’ll have to plug it in to find out.

Cheap cables are also often missing the shielding which makes them work dismally at higher resolutions.

[Waterluvian]

I had an infuriating time with HDMI in that way. Wondering why I only get 4K@30hz. Never suspecting the brand name cable branded “hi speed” on the sleeve.