From charging hubs to PCs, household appliances and Raspberry Pi, Universal Serial Bus (USB) is truly ubiquitous. However, with over 10 different versions, a large number of connectors, and a variety of transfer rates and charging features, USB is also a broad set of standards that may be confused if you don’t know what you need.
If you look at the specification sheet for one of the best gaming laptops or the best gaming PCs, you may see it lists a USB4 port, a USB 3.2 Gen 2 port, and two USB 2 ports. But what does it all mean, and what can you expect from each one? We provide answers to help you understand what each type of USB can do.
USB version, version name and speed
If you use USB to transfer data, not just to charge, the most important thing is to know your connection speed. Because, in order to copy files to external SSD at speeds up to 10 Gbps, you need every link in the chain to support that speed: the host PC, the cable, and the drive itself.
It would be great if the maximum speed is written on each USB port and product, or at least on the specification sheet. In fact, this is what USB-IF (USB Implementer Forum) running USB is also what it wants. The organization recently introduced a new naming convention that lists each 5 Gbps or faster port as USB 5 Gbps, USB 10 Gbps, USB 20 Gbps, or USB 40 Gbps without the version number. Manufacturers of USB-IF certified USB products will get logos with USB speed numbers that they can use on their packaging.
However, most USB devices do not undergo the official authentication process. Even if something is certified, there is still a good chance you will see it advertised with a digital version number (such as USB 3.2) rather than speed. You may also see the listed USB products are Hi-Speed USB, SuperSpeed USB, SuperSpeed USB 10 Gbps, or SuperSpeed USB 20 Gbps. However, the SuperSpeed name has been deprecated, but it still appears on certain packaging and marketing materials. There are so many versions of
USB 3.x, however, it is important to know that USB 3, 3.1 and 3.2 are all the same 5 Gbps connections, which jumps to 10 Gbps when you see Gen 2 after the version, and 20 Gbps when you see Gen 2x2 in the name.
USB connector
You may see more than six common USB connectors on your device. Some of these connectors are more common on certain types of devices.
USB Type A
Dramatically traced back to the 1990s, the USB-A connector was the first and still the most widely used USB connector. It is rectangular, flat, and can only be plugged into the computer in one direction, which can be troublesome if you are plugging into ports that you cannot see. You will find USB Type-A ports on most peripherals and computers, except for some ultrabooks that are too thin to support. The USB Type-A connector may support USB 1.1, USB 2, or USB 3.x in the 5 or 10 Gbps category, but it depends entirely on what the device or cable supports. USB 3.x ports are sometimes blue, while those reaching 10 Gbps are sometimes red.
USB Type B
USB-B is mainly used for the largest peripheral devices, such as printers. It can also be found on a USB hub or monitor with built-in USB hub, although port B is always part of the wire that connects that hub /monitor to your PC.
Mini USB
Mini USB first appeared with the USB 2.0 specification at the turn of the century and is now a thing of the past and has been replaced by micro USB. You may still see mini USB on some older gaming controllers or digital cameras. Technically, both mini USB Type-A and mini USB Type-B are available, but you can only see mini USB Type-B in the wild.
Micro USB
Although USB-C is a newer, better connector with roughly the same size, you will still see micro USB on a large number of devices, from cheap Android tablets to Raspberry Pi, microcontroller , digital cameras, power bank and smart home devices. Technically, there are both micro USB Type-A and Type-B, but you will only see Type-B.
USB Type-Ch
Most new computers shipped today have at least one USB-C port (some have more). The plugs on these cables are oval, unlike any other USB connector, and it doesn't matter which direction you use to plug them in.
USB-C cables can transfer data, video, and power (up to 240 watts), but not every cable supports all of these features, so you need to check the specifications. Many new keyboards, mice, and almost all new smartphones and tablets come with onboard USB-C connectors.
USB Power Supply Standard
Almost all mobile devices are charged via USB, except for Apple's iPhone. You can also power any of the best ultrabooks or the best portable monitors via a USB connection. But not all USB ports and cables provide charging at the same power.
Some of the latest USB devices may actually have a flag on their packaging that says how much power they can output, but this is not common at the moment. Most modern phone chargers and all laptop chargers use some kind of USB PD, but not all USB-PD devices have the same maximum power, so be sure to check the charger and cable. For laptops, 60W is the most common minimum, while those above 100W are less common, as this is a newer standard.
USB Video
DisplayPort Alternative mode (Alt mode) is another way to simplify wiring of modern PCs (especially laptops). With DisplayPort Alternative Mode, the USB-C cable can transmit non-USB signals. In the case of DisplayPort Alt Mode, the computer can transmit DisplayPort signals over a USB-C cable.
Although this may not be a big problem for desktops, it is a great advantage for laptops. The USB-C port is physically smaller than HDMI or DisplayPort, so it is a boon for PC OEMs to transfer DisplayPort signals while keeping your laptop smaller.
Unfortunately, you can usually tell if it can transfer videos by just looking at the USB-C port of your laptop. You need to read the computer's instruction manual or specification sheet, or you can do the experiment.
The latest USB4 port on the laptop can leverage DisplayPort Alt Mode 2.0, which can run at 60 Hz at resolutions up to 8K and uses the HDR10 color. While USB4 itself can only transmit 40 Gbps of data, the port can send 80 Gbps of DisplayPort data, because it sends all data in one direction and therefore can take over all 8 channels.
You can also output videos from USB 3.x or even 2.0 Type-A ports, and more. Although there is no such thing as USB alt mode on Type-A, there are still many docking stations and portable monitors that use DisplayLink technology. Once the correct driver is installed, your computer will compress the video and send it to the dock via a standard USB signal.
USB Cable and Backward Compatibility One of the advantages of
USB is its backward compatibility. You can use the brand new USB 20 Gbps SSD and plug it into a 1999 USB 1.1 port and it will probably work. However, any connection is as fast as its slowest part. So if you connect a USB 40 Gbps drive to a USB 40 Gbps port on your computer, but the cable you are using can only support USB 5 Gbps, you will only get 5 Gbps.
When purchasing a USB cable, it is especially important to find the maximum rated speed. You can find many cables that use USB-C on both ends and provide 60 watts of charging power, but only transfer data at USB 2.0 speed (480 Mbps).
History of USB
It is hard to believe at this point, but Universal Serial Bus (USB) has been around for more than twenty years. The origins of USB date back to the mid-1990s, starting with the USB 1.0 specification introduced in 1996. Then came USB 1.1 in 1998, USB 2.0 in 2001, and USB 3.0 in 2008. Twenty years after USB 2.0 was released at the end of 2022, further increasing the speed of connecting peripherals.
USB 1.0/1.1 (1996 - 1998)
USB When it appeared, various ports on the back of the computer were competing for our attention. Not only are there multiple serial ports , but there is also a parallel port (for printers) and PS/2 connectors for mouse and keyboard. If you play games, your controller needs a gaming port and you will usually see a SCSI connector for external storage in a commercial environment.
USB was developed as a "universal" alternative to all of these ports, simplifying the way we connect devices by using universal connectors.
USB 1.0 debuted in 1996 with the Type-A connector we are familiar with, and it still exists today. USB 1.0 standard offers a “low speed” signal transmission rate of 1.5 Mbps or a “full speed” signal transmission rate of 12 Mbps. The first revised version of the new standard USB 1.1 was released in 1998.
USB 2.0 (2000)
With the introduction of the USB 2.0 standard in 2000, the adoption of USB really began to accelerate, which greatly increased the maximum signal rate to 480 Mbps and earned the nickname of "high speed".
We also saw the introduction of the USB On-The-Go specification with USB 2.0, which allows smartphones and tablets to host other USB devices with USB-based connectors. For example, you can plug a mouse, USB thumb drive, or digital camera into the USB port of a Samsung tablet or Google Pixel phone.
USB 3.0 / 3.1 / 3.2 (2008 / 2013 / 2017)
In 2008, USB-IF launched USB 3.0, which runs at 5 Gbps, with an approximately 10x increase in throughput compared to previous USB 2.0. Even today, this is the highest speed most devices support. In fact, most peripherals only require USB 2.0 speed.
However, after USB-IF launched USB 3.1 in 2013, it increased the speed by another level in 2013, and the signal speed doubled to 10 GBps again. The original 5 Gbps speed was renamed to USB 3.1, while the USB 3.1 Gen 2 refers to a 10 Gbps speed.
USB-C was launched in 2014, but the connectors cross versions because you can have a USB-C port that runs only at 2.0 speeds, or a USB-C port that runs at 20 or even 40 Gbps.
With the launch of USB 3.2 in 2017, we're seeing another 10 GBps layer and a faster 20 Gbps layer, both with dual-channel capabilities. It was at this time that USB-IF decided to focus all 3.x specifications under USB 3.2, so USB 3.2 (no Gen or Gen 1) is 5 Gbps, USB 3.2 Gen 2 is 10 Gbps, and USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 is 20 Gbps. It is called Gen 2x2 because it uses two 10 Gbps channels.
USB4
USB4 was announced in 2019 as the next evolution of the USB standard and is only available with USB-C connectors (rather than traditional USB-A connectors). It can run at 20 or 40 Gbps, the latter equivalent to Thunderbolt 3 or Thunderbolt 4, as USB4 is compatible with Thunderboltml2.
uses two groups of four bidirectional channels to transmit data.
Added DisplayPort Alt Mode 2.0, supporting 60 Hz 8K resolution and HDR10 colors.DisplayPort 2.0 can use rates up to 80 Gbps, as all eight data channels can be used to send directions in one direction to the monitor.
USB4 version 2.0 was first released in the summer of 2022. Like the previous generation leap, USB4 2.0 has doubled its bandwidth again, this time from 40 Gbps to 80 Gbps. That's even twice as fast as the Thunderbolt 4 with a cap of 40 Gbps.
These 80 Gbps speeds are achieved using existing 40 Gbps passive cables or new active USB Type-C cables that are explicitly rated for higher speeds. USB 3.2 data tunneling is now capable of exceeding 20 Gbps, and USB4 version 2.0 also complies with the latest PCIe and DisplayPort standards. Given that backward compatibility has always been a hallmark of USB interfaces, USB4 version 2.0 is compatible with all previous versions except Thunderbolt 3 that date back to USB 2.0.
