Identify Types Of USB Connectors And USB Cables
USB stands for Universal Serial Bus, common connectivity standard nowadays on most personal computers, smartphones, tablets, and other electronic devices. Most of these devices have at least one USB port and sometimes come packed with a USB cable. But have you noticed that there are so many types of USB ports and USB cables that come in many different shapes?
Numerous types of USB ports are being used on many kinds of devices for different purposes. Many people are unable to distinguish them and often buy the wrong USB cables. There are several types of USB cables that are relatively similar in appearance, and so it isn’t straightforward to distinguish without understanding them. For example, instead of buying a mini USB cable, they take a micro USB cable from the store.
It can be somewhat complicated to learn about the USB standard, USB connectors, and USB cables. However, you can use the information and images below to find out more.
A Summary Of USB Connectors: The Shape Of USB Connectors And Its Speed
| USB Connectors | USB 1.0 1996 | USB 2.0 2001 | USB 2.0 Revised | USB 3.0 2011 | USB 3.1 2014 | USB 3.2 2017 | USB4 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data Transfer Rate | 1.5 Mb/s (Low Speed) | 1.5 Mb/s (Low Speed) 12 Mb/s (Full Speed) 480 Mb/s | 5 Gb/s (SuperSpeed) | 10 Gb/s (SuperSpeed+) | 20 Gb/s (SuperSpeed+) | 40 Gb/s (SuperSpeed+ and Thunderbolt 3) | |
| 12 Mb/s (Full Speed) | |||||||
| USB Standard | Type A | Type A | Deprecated | ||||
Type B | Type B | Deprecated | |||||
| N/A | Type C (Zoomed In) | ||||||
| USB Mini | N/A | Mini A | Deprecated | ||||
Mini B | |||||||
| N/A | Mini AB | ||||||
| USB Micro | N/A | Micro A | Deprecated | ||||
Micro B | Micro B | Deprecated | |||||
Micro AB | Deprecated | ||||||
| USB Connectors | USB 1.0 1996 | USB 2.0 2001 | USB 2.0 Revised | USB 3.0 2011 | USB 3.1 2014 | USB 3.2 2017 | USB4 2019 |
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Released Versions
| Version Name | Release Date | Maximum Transfer Speed | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| USB 0.7 | November 11, 1994 | N/A | Pre-release Version |
| USB 0.8 | December 1994 | N/A | Pre-release Version |
| USB 0.9 | April 13, 1995 | Full Speed (12 Mb/s) | Pre-release Version |
| USB 0.99 | August 1995 | N/A | Pre-release Version |
| USB 1.0-RC | November 1995 | N/A | Release Candidate |
| USB 1.0 | January 15, 1996 | Full Speed (12 Mb/s), Low Speed (1.5 Mb/s) | |
| USB 1.1 | August 1998 | A revised version of USB 1.0. Backward compatibility with USB 1.0 | |
| USB 2.0 | April 2000 | High Speed (480 Mb/s) | Added support for power sources with USB connectors. Backward compatibility with USB 1.1 and 1.0 |
| USB 3.0 | November 2008 | SuperSpeed USB (5 Gb/s) | Backward compatibility with USB 2.0. Also referred to as USB 3.1 Gen 1 and USB 3.2 Gen 1 × 1 |
| USB 3.1 | July 2013 | SuperSpeed+ USB (10 Gb/s) | Includes new USB 3.1 Gen 2,[28] also named Gen 2 × 1 in later specifications |
| USB 3.2 | August 2017 | SuperSpeed+ USB (20 Gb/s, dual-lane) | Includes new Gen 1 × 2 and Gen 2 × 2 multi-link modes |
| USB4 | August 2019 | 40 Gb/s (two lanes) | Includes new Gen 3 × 1 and Gen 3 × 2 modes and introduces USB4 routing for tunnelling of USB3.x, DisplayPort 1.4a and PCI Express traffic and host to host transfers, based on the ThunderBolt 3 protocol |