The design for the USB-C connector was initially developed in 2012 by Intel, HP Inc., Microsoft, and the USB Implementers Forum.

They are only applicable with Full-Featured USB-C Fabrics (connectors, cables, hubs, host, and peripheral device) at all connections.

The USB-C standard simplifies usage by specifying cables having identical plugs on both ends, which can be inserted without concern about orientation.

According to the specifications, "Determination of this host-to-device relationship is accomplished through a Configuration Channel (CC) that is connected through the cable.

"[8] The USB-C standard attempts to eliminate the need to have different cables for other communication technologies, such as Thunderbolt, PCIe, HDMI, DisplayPort, Wi-Fi and more.

Conversely, Full-Featured cables need to have all wires populated and in general support Alt modes and are further distinguished by their speed rating.

So technically it could be used to establish a USB3 Gen 1x2 connection with nominally 10 Gbit/s between two "SuperSpeed USB 20 Gbps" capable hosts.

The USB Implementers Forum certifies valid cables so they can be marked accordingly with the official logos and users can distinguish them from non-compliant products.

[13] Previous logos and names also referenced specific USB protocols like SuperSpeed for the USB3 family of connections or USB4 directly.

Every normal USB-C cable must support at least 3 amps of current and up to 20 volts for up to 60 watts of power according to the USB PD specification.

[14] It also can include further vendor-defined messages (VDM) that detail support for Alt modes or vendor specific functionality outside of the USB standards.

A Standard-A receptacle (for connecting a legacy device (such as a flash drive—not a cable) to a modern host, and supporting up to USB 3.1).

The audio adapter may optionally include a USB-C charge-through port to allow 500 mA device charging.

An Alternate Mode dedicates some of the physical wires in a USB-C cable for direct device-to-host transmission using non-USB data protocols, such as DisplayPort or Thunderbolt.

The USB Implementers Forum is working with its Alternate Mode partners to make sure that ports are properly labelled with respective logos.

[59] The USB SuperSpeed protocol is similar to DisplayPort and PCIe/Thunderbolt, in using packetized data transmitted over differential LVDS lanes with embedded clock using comparable bit rates, so these Alternate Modes are easier to implement in the chipset.

Hence, the source (host) does not require any connection management circuitry, but it lacks the same physical connector so therefore USB-C is not backward compatible.

[66] The external device test system (DTS) signals to the target system (TS) to enter debug accessory mode via CC1 and CC2 both being pulled down with an Rd resistor value or pulled up as Rp resistor value from the test plug (Rp and Rd defined in Type-C specification).

In this mode, all digital circuits are disconnected from the connector, and the 14 bold pins can be used to expose debug related signals (e.g. JTAG interface).

USB IF requires for certification that security and privacy consideration and precaution has been taken and that the user has actually requested that debug test mode be performed.

Nevertheless, the MIC and AGND pins must have automatic swap capability, for two reasons: firstly, the USB-C plug may be inserted either side; secondly, there is no agreement, which TRRS rings shall be GND and MIC, so devices equipped with a headphone jack with microphone input must be able to perform this swap anyway.

[67] This mode also allows concurrent charging of a device exposing the analog audio interface (through VBUS and GND), however only at 5 V and 500 mA, as CC pins are unavailable for any negotiation.

[77][78][79] An increasing number of motherboards, notebooks, tablet computers, smartphones, hard disk drives, USB hubs and other devices released from 2014 onwards include the USB-C receptacles.

It is also used on USB-C docks designed to connect a device to a power source, external display, USB hub, and optional extra (such as a network port) with a single cable.

There are primarily two types of USB-C audio adapters: active, e.g. those with digital-to-analog converters (DACs), and passive, without electronics.

[94] On the other hand, when a passive adapter is used, digital-to-analog conversion is done on the host device and analog audio is sent through the USB-C port.

In 2016, Benson Leung, an engineer at Google, pointed out that Quick Charge 2.0 and 3.0 technologies developed by Qualcomm are not compatible with the USB-C standard.

[95] Qualcomm responded that it is possible to make fast-charge solutions fit the voltage demands of USB-C and that there are no reports of problems; however, it did not address the standard compliance issue at that time.

[102] To comply with these regulations, Apple Inc. replaced its proprietary Lightning connector with USB-C beginning with the iPhone 15 and AirPods Pro second generation, released in 2023.

[103][failed verification] A first modified iPhone having USB-C connector was the result of a hack by Ken Pillonel.