It’s all physical shape improvements. They’re both serial with extra lanes for power or more tx.

Lightning has a bigger, more robust receptacle that can be relatively safely cleaned out with a toothpick. Usbc has a plastic tongue in the middle where all the (more delicate, thinner) connectors live and requires a thinner tool like a straight pin to clean out. It’s also a more delicate operation because of the plastic tongue in the middle.

Usbc also has all the contacts shrouded from access, which seems like a good idea, but when the v+ pin starts to corrode you can’t just scuff it up with a pocketknife to get your shit charging again. People complain a lot about pin blackening on lightning, but when that happens on usbc the cables just toast.

Oh, lighting cables break before the receptacle does. Everyone also complains about broken lightning cables but I get far more broken receptacles on laptops/phones/tablets than lightning. It should be the reverse, because apple ppl tend to try to get shit fixed that isn’t worth it way more often than everyone else.

Frankly the standard aspect doesn’t matter to me. Both ate available at any gas station, that’s as much of a standard as can exist.