SOCKS5 is the current version of the SOCKS proxy protocol, and it's built to be protocol-agnostic rather than web-specific.
What makes it different
Unlike HTTP proxies, which are built around understanding web requests specifically, SOCKS5 just forwards raw traffic without caring what protocol it belongs to. That means it works for web browsing, but also for email clients, FTP, torrent clients, and gaming traffic.
Authentication support
SOCKS5 supports username/password authentication natively as part of the protocol, which older SOCKS versions didn't, making it a reasonable choice when a provider needs to control who connects.
Common use cases
People reach for SOCKS5 specifically when they need to route non-browser traffic through a proxy — a torrent client, a custom application, or anything that isn't standard HTTP/HTTPS web traffic that an HTTP-only proxy wouldn't handle.