Know your USB

Standard USB Type-A Connector.

USB is the universal standard of plug and play devices. For data transfer, storage or just for charging; most of your modern hardware and gadgets have at least one of these ports be it USB-A, Micro USB or even a Type-C.

But what do we mean when we say different types of USB?

Over the years, USB or Universal Serial Bus has taken many forms as it got better. Ajay Bhatt and his team developed USB in 1996 with USB v1.0 even though the development began two years earlier with pre-release versions coming out during that time. The USB as an invention was important as it was universal and made things simpler. Even Apple adopted it with their iMac G3.

But now we are in 2020, and many confusing naming decisions later came the newest standard: USB 3.2 Gen 2. You read that right. Must be some technical complications but now we have theoretical bandwidth of 20 Gigabits per second! (Not Gigabytes, mind you.)

But of course research and development keeps going on and we will see the USB-4 standard which will exclusively use the Type-C connector and reach up to 40 Gb/s.

Now that you understand the standard let’s get to something familiar: the connectors.

A wonderful USB connector guide by Reddit user luke_in_the_sky

• USB Type-A is the most commonly used connector. From PCs to TVs, you see them everywhere.
• USB Type-B is the square-shaped connector used by printers and scanners. Type-B 3.0 brings better bandwidth an the distinctive blue shade.
• USB Type-C is the modern standard with 10 Gbps speeds and potential of 100 Watts power supply!
• USB Type Mini-A (and there was a Mini-AB) was officially discontinued for use due to technical complications.
• USB Type Mini-B is the current mini connector in use for older camcorders and mobile phones.
• USB Type Micro-A is used as universal charging solution for mobile devices.
• USB Type Micro-B is another universal charging solution for mobile devices. Manufacturers choose between Micro-A and Micro-B as per their convenience. Type Micro-B 3.0 remains in use for other USB SuperSpeed applications.

I hope you have enough knowledge to identify the cables that keep your digital life in motion. Stay tuned to Hacker Charles blog and our YouTube channel for more awesome content.