Identification of USB-C cables is a significant problem right now, I agree.
I wrote about this back in 2019 when the USB-C spec had its last major change.
There are 8 distinct kinds of (passive) cables now with USB-C plugs on both ends. Even more if you start counting active cables.
Lots of manufacturers and OEMs seem to have given up putting any identifying logo at all on the cable to help tell them apart, even if they do a good job of building the cable, and get the cable certified and everything. I get no-label cables (good ones) bundled with expensive monitors and docking stations even!
This causes significant confusion for the user. I’ve heard again and again (even from engineering managers on my team who have worked on USB for years) that they sometimes confuse a USB 2.0 cable that’s mainly used for charging a laptop for one that can drive a display.
There is hope, however. While the number of USB-C cables has ballooned, each and every one of the new kinds of cables are digitally marked with an identification chip called the Electronic Marker.
While the user can’t necessarily tell all the specifics of a cable by looking at it and handling it, a computer or a phone should be able to tell exactly what the manufacturer claimed the cable is in its ID chip.
I’m working on an initiative right now to present that data in a user-facing way, so that hopefully soon you’ll be able to just plug a cable into a computer or phone and it will tell you what the cable is, and what it can and cannot do.
Cable Matters does a good job. I grabbed one of their top of the line USB4/Thunderbolt 4 cables from this thread, and it’s a spec compliant cable. Best USB-C cable to buy for both data and charging - #4 by PHolder