Hah, I had the exact same reaction.

So many words spent on HN articles complaining about USB-C or praising Lightning... fast forward a few years to now and I legitimately just pack one cable in my bag and charge any device I happen to bring with me.

USB-C is great for charging, which is a huge win per se. Previous versions didn't have the amperage for laptops, and Lightning existed for control reasons. USB-C is not great for everything else.