What are the Different Types of USB Cables?

USB type A or ‘Standard A’ cables are one of the most common connection cables and the connectors on these cable types are large and rectangular. Their ports can be found on a variety of products, such as computers, power banks and game consoles. USB type A connection cables are male and will connect to a type A port.

USB type A cables have been around for many years, first developed in 1996, and becoming more widely used in 1998 and onwards. Like many types of technology, USB Type A connectors have different editions, including USB 1.0, USB 1.1, USB 2, and USB 3. However, USB type A cables are backwards compatible. If you have a USB 3 cable, it will still work in a USB 2 or 1 port. USB 3 cables have faster speeds and have 9 pins on the inside of the connector, rather than four.

USB 3 Type A adapter cables are also sometimes blue on the inside, though this is not always the case. USB 2 and lower cables are more commonly black on the inside, though this is also not guaranteed. They will also have four pins on the inside of the connector. As mentioned before, a USB 3 cable will still work in a USB 2 port despite the number of pins, however, the speed of a USB 3 adapter will not be fully utilised in a USB 2 port.

A USB type C cable type is more modern than a USB type A. The connector is much smaller than a USB type A cable, and has a similar rectangular shape, though the sides are more rounded than type A connectors.

The type C connection cable is the same on both sides, which means it can be plugged into a port either way round. Its narrow and small shape means that it is ideal for use with phones and smaller electronic devices. Modern computers and game consoles are starting to make use of this adapter cable, replacing the older types.

Type C USB adapter cables are also more powerful than their predecessors and have faster speeds. They can be used for charging and transferring data, images, video, and audio. Even so, the ports they are plugged into can affect the speeds at which they work.

Like type A USB cables, type C cables have different editions of ports that they can plug into, including a USB 3.1 and USB 3.2 port. A type C cable will work in either port, but the 3.2 port will allow the cable to work at much faster speeds.

A USB 3 cable is a USB adapter with more modern technology and can quickly transfer charge and data. Released in 2008, there are now many variations of this type of USB cable. 3.0 has a speed of up to 5gbps or approximately 5000mbps. This is a huge technological advancement compared to a USB 2 cable, which could only carry approximately 480mbps.

Because of its speed, this USB is sometimes referred to as a ‘super speed USB’. Furthermore, there are now newer additions to this USB cable which can transfer data at faster speeds. A 3.1 and 3.2 USB cable (also known as Gen 1 and Gen 2 cables) can have speeds of approximately 10gbps and 20gbps respectively. USB 3 adapter cables are found amongst most cable types. For most modern applications, USB is the fastest and most reliable connector - you’ll see it across the latest smartphones and laptops.