USB Types, Ports and Devices Explained

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USB devices are very common amongst PC users. Whether you are running Windows, Linux or macOS, you will more than likely be connecting USB devices such as external hard drives, flash drives, printers, webcams, microphones and more to your computer. You may think that all USB types, ports and devices are the same, but there are actually many different USB standards and performance levels available with these devices and also the ports on your computer.

Whether you bought your computer from the store or have built your own computer, it’s a good idea to know about the specific USB types, ports and devices. In this article, we will be explaining the various USB standards so you will have a better idea of what type of performance to expect from your USB devices. For the most part, we use USB flash drives to install Windows and other operating systems on our computer.

USB 1.0 came out in January of 1996 but was not widely adopted because of its limitations and lack of support. USB 1.1 came out in August of 1998 and started the takeover of USB being used for computer peripherals. USB 2.0 was released in April of 2000 and USB 3.0 came out in November of 2008. We also have USB 4.0 that came out in September of 2019 but is not as widely used as USB 3 because it’s made for high performance devices and has had a slow adoption rate. Below you will see a listing of the various USB types, their speeds and their common uses.

USB 1.1 – 12 Mbps (Full Speed) – Keyboards, mice, older peripherals.

USB 2.0 – 480 Mbps (High Speed) – Flash drives, printers, scanners.

USB 3.0 – 5 Gbps (SuperSpeed) – External SSDs, modern storage devices.

USB 3.1 (Gen 2) – 10 Gbps (SuperSpeed+) – High-speed external storage, peripherals.

USB 3.2 – Up to 20 Gbps (SuperSpeed++) – External SSDs, high-performance devices.

USB 4  – Up to 40 Gbps – Laptops, displays, external GPUs.

There are also many USB cable and port types to be aware of when shopping for USB devices. As you can see in the graphic below, there are several types of USB connections you can have on your computer with the most common being USB type A. Many computers, especially laptops will now come with a USB type C connection which is commonly used with smartphones.

USB Types, Ports and Devices Explained

Here is a breakdown of the USB types and ports showing their speed and what types of devices they are commonly used with.

USB Type-A   

  • USB 1.1 – 12 Mbps (Full Speed) – Keyboards, mice, older peripherals.
  • USB 2.0 – 480 Mbps (High Speed) – Flash drives, general peripherals.
  • USB 3.0+ – 5-40 Gbps (SuperSpeed+) – External SSDs, hubs, modern peripherals.

USB Type-B   

  • USB 1.1 – 12 Mbps (Full Speed) – Printers, older devices.
  • USB 2.0 – 480 Mbps (High Speed) – Printers, scanners.
  • USB 3.0 – 5 Gbps (SuperSpeed) – External hard drives, high-speed devices.

USB Mini-B     

  • USB 1.1 – 12 Mbps (Full Speed) – Older cameras, portable devices.
  • USB 2.0 – 480 Mbps (High Speed) – MP3 players, digital cameras.

USB Micro-B 

  • USB 2.0 – 480 Mbps (High Speed) – Smartphones, tablets.
  • USB 3.0 – 5 Gbps (SuperSpeed) – External hard drives, faster devices.

USB Type-C   

  • USB 2.0 – 480 Mbps (High Speed) – Budget smartphones, basic peripherals.
  • USB 3.0/3.1 – 5-10 Gbps (SuperSpeed/+) – Modern devices, high-speed peripherals.
  • USB 3.2 – Up to 20 Gbps (SuperSpeed++) – Laptops, external SSDs, displays.
  • USB 4 – Up to 40 Gbps – High-end laptops, displays, external GPUs. This standard incorporates Thunderbolt compatibility for faster data and display transmission.

As you can see, there is quite a bit to the USB standard, and you should always try and match the devices you attach with the types of USB ports\connections on your computer to ensure the best performance for your devices.

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