This free Mac app reveals the truth about your mystery USB-C cables
A new free Mac application called WhatCable allows users to analyze the data capabilities and power delivery specifications of their USB-C cables. The app leverages existing macOS system data to identify connection bottlenecks.
Why it matters
As USB-C becomes the universal standard, tools that help consumers verify cable performance are increasingly valuable for hardware maintenance.
Nearly three years ago, I showed you an awesome $8 cable tester that quickly tells you if your USB-C cable is likely fast, slow, powerful, or weak. Sadly, that gadget got discontinued, and I’ve never found anything as intuitive or inexpensive since. But if you’ve got a Mac with Apple Silicon chips, you can simply download an even more impressive tester for free.
It’s called WhatCable, and it works by reading the data your Mac already collects about attached USB devices, data that Apple doesn’t normally pass along to you. Just click a little widget that lives in the menu bar atop your Mac, and you can see every USB-C cable and device attached to your computer.
Here’s how creator Darryl Morley explained it to me:
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