A smart plug with USB ports can let you automate lots of gadgets around your house. Here are five clever uses for the USB ports on your smart plugs.

At first glance, USB-C looks as if it's going to simplify things: one port that you can plug anything into, because USB-C can support anything from normal USB power and data connections to MHL, ...

Sound Control Technologies recently unveiled the USB-PDC Power Delivery Combiner, a compact single-cable solution built for modern BYOD/BYOM meeting spaces. The USB-PDC delivers up to 90 watts of USB ...

The Universal Serial Bus (USB) started out as a data interface, but it didn’t take long before progressing to powering devices. Initially, its maximum output was only 2.5 W; now, it can deliver up to ...

USB ports have quietly turned into the default power outlet for phones, laptops, headphones, and even monitors, but the wattage behind that familiar rectangle is far from uniform. Depending on the ...

As new USB standards catch on, choices for cables' data rates and power levels will be less confusing, the USB industry group predicts. Stephen Shankland worked at CNET from 1998 to 2024 and wrote ...

USB-IF establishes new Certified USB Type-C® Cable Logos to display cable power capabilities in watts, clearly indicating support for 60W or 240W as defined by the USB Power Delivery 3.1 Specification ...