The way I understand it: Bytes are just bytes, until you provide an encoding. Then they can be can be converted to a string, if validly encoded. Taking an array of characters and just treating it or casting it as a string is usually a bad idea.
The thing I think Rust maybe goofed, or at least made a little complicated, is their weird distinction between a String and a str (and a &str). As a newbie learning the language, I have no idea which one to use, and usually just pick one, try to compile, then if it fails, pick the other one. I'm sure there was a great reason to have two types for the same thing, that I will understand when I know the language better.
The thing I think Rust maybe goofed, or at least made a little complicated, is their weird distinction between a String and a str (and a &str). As a newbie learning the language, I have no idea which one to use, and usually just pick one, try to compile, then if it fails, pick the other one. I'm sure there was a great reason to have two types for the same thing, that I will understand when I know the language better.