How We Verify Port Data

Every port on a Cablebabe device page comes from the manufacturer’s own spec page, checked against at least one independent source before it goes live. When the sources disagree and nothing settles it, we hold the device back or mark the detail unconfirmed. We don’t guess, and we don’t round up.

The research is AI-assisted and runs to a fixed written checklist. This page is that checklist in plain English.

Last reviewed: 10 September 2026

What’s in a port record?

One row per kind of port, six facts per row. They’re the six columns of the ports table on every device page.

• Connector. Picked from a fixed list of 119 connector types (September 2026), split by version wherever the version changes what a cable can do. A USB-C port running USB 2.0 and one running Thunderbolt 4 are separate entries: same plug, an 83× speed gap.
• Quantity. How many of that exact port the device has.
• Power (PD). The USB Power Delivery wattage recorded for that port. It doesn’t say which way the power flows: a laptop’s USB-C port takes it in, a monitor’s pushes it out to the laptop.
• Capabilities. Three flags: DP Alt Mode (video out of a USB-C port), Thunderbolt, and DP++ (a DisplayPort output that drives HDMI through a cheap passive adapter).
• Label. What the manufacturer calls the port, such as “HDMI 4 (eARC)” or “USB-C 1”.
• Notes. Anything the other fields can’t hold, like “Rear panel” or “Supports passthrough”.

Around the ports, each record holds the manufacturer, release year, model number and a link to the official product page. That link is the “Source” on the device page. 911 of our 935 devices have one.

What doesn’t a port record tell you?

Direction. A record stores the connector, not whether it’s an input or an output. HDMI on a TV is an input; HDMI on a PlayStation 5 is an output. Same row, opposite jobs, so check the label, which often says “HDMI OUT”.

It also doesn’t borrow the connector’s ceiling. An HDMI 2.1 connector can carry 48 Gbps, but that’s what the connector allows, not what a given device does with it. Device-specific limits go in the port notes or the device notes.

Where does the data come from?

1. The manufacturer’s official product or spec page. It wins by default.
2. At least one independent source. Usually a measured review: RTINGS for TVs, Notebookcheck for laptops, DPReview for cameras.
3. The fixed connector list. Port names come only from that list, so the same port is called the same thing on every page, and the Cable Finder can match it to a cable.

What happens when sources disagree?

• The manufacturer beats a review, unless it’s vague. “USB-C” with no speed isn’t a spec, so two independent sources have to agree on the tier.
• We don’t round up. A USB-C port gets the speed a source confirms, not the one the price tag suggests. Budget tablets are the usual trap.
• Unsettled means held back. If a port can’t be confirmed, the device waits for manual review instead of going live with a guess. When a single detail stays open after that, the notes say “unconfirmed” rather than pick a side.
• A family page only merges identical ports. The Sony X90L page covers three screen sizes because all three have exactly the same ports. Six phone and tablet ranges still get one page per model, because their models charge at different wattages.

What do we leave out on purpose?

Ports you can’t buy a cable for:

• Game cartridge and game-card slots.
• Proprietary DC power inlets that only fit the maker’s own power brick. The device notes mention them instead.
• Internal expansion bays and docking edges.

They’d only clutter the Cable Finder, which exists to match ports to cables you can actually buy.

How do we catch our own mistakes?

We audit the whole catalogue against the live database, not against our research files, because a port only counts once it’s actually on the page. Two recent fixes:

• July 2026: seven MacBook records turned out to be missing their MagSafe 3 power port. All seven are fixed.
• September 2026: we rebuilt the “Compatible cables” list on every device page. It used to match cables by connector family, which could put a Lightning cable on a phone with no Lightning port. Now a cable only appears if one of its ends fits a port the device actually has.

The “Last updated” date on a device page is the last time its record changed. It doesn’t claim someone re-checked every port that day.

Found a mistake? Tell us

Send us the device page, the port, what’s wrong and a link to your source, ideally the manufacturer’s spec page. We check it against that page, and if you’re right, we fix the record.

dashboard [at] cablebabe [dot] com

Pedantic corrections are welcome. That’s kind of our thing.

Common questions

Does “same ports” mean two devices are interchangeable?

No. It means both records list the same connectors, the same counts, the same capability flags and the same charging wattage. Picture quality, speed and everything else outside the port list can still differ.

Why does a port show “—” under Power (PD)?

No USB Power Delivery wattage is recorded for that port. Either it doesn’t carry USB PD, or no source we trust states a figure. We leave the cell empty rather than fill it with the connector’s theoretical maximum.

Is an HDMI port on a device page an input or an output?

The record doesn’t say. It stores the connector, not the direction. On a TV or monitor, HDMI is nearly always an input; on a console, laptop or streaming stick, it’s an output. The port label often settles it, for example “HDMI OUT”.