I can see this question has been broached before but I want to clarify if anything has changed with the MBP 16", which is a 96w device.
Does this have any special additional standards / features that are required in the usb-c to usb-c cable?
I wanted to get a second backup cable. I am a big fan of Anker so I was thinking I would get theirs over the official cable. However, both Anker and Apple seem to be coy about fully supporting the MBP 2019 16".
For example, on the official Anker website the product listing doesn't mention the MBP 16" outright, and seems like it doesn't fully support it:
And even the official Apple store listing stops short of declaring support:
It's about six months since the MBP 16" came out.
Is everyone just behind updating their listings, or is it some special tech in there that is going to need a faster rated cable of some kind?
Update - Apple's Recommendation
It seems that Apple has a page which says you do in fact need the correct usb-c cable to get the 100w charging:
For the best charging experience, you should use the USB-C charge cable that comes with your Mac notebook. If you use a higher wattage USB-C cable, your Mac will still charge normally. USB-C cables rated for 29W or 30W will work with any USB-C power adapter, but won't provide enough power when connected to a power adapter that is more than 61W, such as the 96W USB-C Power Adapter.
Update 2 - Thunderbolt 3
It also seems that USB-C is only a physical form and if you start looking at active thunderbolt 3 cables then they speak of being able to make use of the full 100w charging.
Anker have a product which says:
High-Speed Charging: Supports rapid charging currents of up to 100W, with a compatible charger.
And the offical app store sells a 2m Belkin branded one which says:
Take advantage of up to 100W power delivery
But as yet I have not found anybody discussing this, and if there is a real improvement, for charging, between a usb-c 3.1 cable vs an active thunderbolt 3 cable.
The price is certainly much higher, but is that just because it supports 40gb/s transfer instead of 10gb/s, and the high speed 100w charge is the same as a usb-c cable or is it really an improvement?