USB c and Lightning connection

[parma]

Am I right in understanding that Lightning ports can be used as USB C ports but not the other way around? I'm thinking of getting the new Mac Mini M4 and it has 3 Lightning ports on the back that I'd like to use as USB C.

[BertKoor]

Afaik the Thunderbolt-5 ports at the back are USB-C compatible, while the USB-C ports on the front are just that: USB-C.

Main difference seems how much power a device can draw from it, hence the lightning icon.

[parma]

Ah, silly me - thunderbolt, not lightning! I was getting Apple's stupid proprietary technologies mixed up.

Thanks for confirming!