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So looks like the cheaper cables do not have such a chip. Just search on Amazon for ‘USB-C e-mark’. I’m not an electronics guy, so I’m no authority for that question. But for my understanding this chip is preventing your device from over current. If that would also help to prevent your iPad getting fried by your power bank I cannot say for sure but for me it sounds like that. @Telefunky, do you have a deeper understanding of this?
Yes, as @uncledave said the apple jack contains a little audio interface. All USB-C gear that has got an audio jack does contain one. USB is a purely digital interface, no analog at all. That means it just transmits digital signals. To use a headphone you need a DAC – digital audio converter. The iPads with a headphone jack have the DAC on board that is quite decent. Anyway, when using the Apple USB dongle then you could plug the little USB DAC into its USB-A port and also power your iPad.
This one I mentioned above from Sharkoon is just $30. I can really recommend. These guys here measured it.
https://www.igorslab.de/en/sharkoon-gaming-dac-pro-s-in-test-surprise-guenstige-usb-soundloesung-with-real-head-hoererverstaerker-as-secret-tip-for-connoisseur/2/
USB-C Power Delivery is the whole thing about being able to charge a device over the same connection used for data transfer. Remember, your hub has a USB-C port that's for power only, and it implements PD to the iPad. Some hubs/docks don't have these features and don't implement PD.
I believe that a key feature of that circuit in the PD connector is negotiating "fast charging", which supplies power at higher than 5 volts, so you can charge the iPad faster. Your Apple USB-C charger does this. This https://goalzero.com.au/blog/what-the-tech-usb-c-and-power-delivery-explained/ is a decent explanation, and Wikipedia https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB-C has (too much) info.
You guys are the best. Thanks!.
I was reading about the DAC thingy... apparently the little Apple jack dongle is actually pretty good. I have one, but you can’t charge while listening.
While I was at it, I read that the DAC in my Satechi is shit.
That’s why I linked this Sharkoon : https://en.sharkoon.com/product/28283#gallery if it’s got the same DAC quality, the added charging port is super useful.
Edit: checked the specifications, they’re not the same.
It’s an aspect for both, cables and power banks. USB-C power delivery (PD) was a new feature when USB-C came out. Previous USB standards were only able to deliver something like 5 W. It was by far not enough to charge a laptop. So that’s why they came up with PD Because the vision was to have a single port for everything including charging. There are power banks that can do USB-C PD. I own one that delivers enough to even run my MacBook. But the cables also have an influence on the PD capabilities. Also USB-C hubs usually have PD capabilities and there are a lot of differences between different hubs. My first USB-C hub I bought could not deliver enough watts to successfully charge my MacBook. The laptop showed that it’s charging but actually the battery was drained. Then I researched the whole topic and then I found out that PD is not equal PD - it totally depends on how they implemented it. So if you buy any USB-C hub, cable, charger or powerbank you must check how much watt it can deliver. For the iPad that’s maybe not so much of a problem but for a laptop it is. The 16 inch MacBook Pro needs more than 90 watt or it cannot charge. If your cable does not deliver that then you have bad luck. The iPad Pro wall charger delivers 18 watts.
Anyway, for the protection of your iPad I think it’s important that there’s anything in the chain that protects it from over currents or voltages. I’m not sure if this cable I found could do that. I will also do further research as I plan to buy the new iPad Pro in April.
If this would not already be enough, they also all differ in the capabilities regarding data transfer protocols and transfers speeds. The whole USB-C topic is really a science for itself.
Actually, I also bought that USB-C Sharkoon DAC, too. Long story... the USB-C device is great when just using the powered iPad and maybe some Bluetooth controller. But what to do when you want to connect a USB hub to connect cabled USB devices? The USB-C port of the Sharkoon is PD only. So that’s why I bought the USB-A model as well, so I have something for my power bank powered mobile setup that includes cabled devices.
Anyway, the USB-C device works really nicely with the iPad Pro. It sits firmly on the iPad and the audio quality is good. You can select the sample rate in AUM and it just works. The only thing you cannot do is using the integrated EQ, but I guess we all won‘t care. The EQ is available in MacOs and also Windows I assume.