Confusing USB names and numbers are being simplified

The USB standard often gets a bad rap due to its overly confusing labels and markings, but it could be easier soon. The USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) has announced a series of new brand guidelines that shouldin theory, they make things easier to read.

In accordance with newly announced guidelines, USB-IF is shedding most of its previous branding, continuing as the culmination of an effort that began last year. For one thing, the “SuperSpeed” name, which was first used by USB 3.0 when it was released, no longer exists. And neither is USB 3, USB 3.2, or even USB4, for that matter. Instead, the consumer-facing name will simply be “USB” and the exact speed.

Instead of referring to USB ports or devices by a version number, the USB-IF changes to a name that reflects the actual specifications, rather than having a confusing version number. In this way, SuperSpeed ​​USB 5Gbps and SuperSpeed ​​USB 10Gbps are now just USB 5Gbps and USB 10Gbps, while the USB4 branding is changing to USB 20Gbps and USB 40Gbps, based on actual transfer speeds. If a cable supports a specific charging wattage, they will need to list that as well.

Basically, if a USB port supports 40Gbps data transfer and 240W charging speeds, it will be marketed as “USB 40Gbps 240W”. That’s… Still pretty bad, but probably better than the previous USB system (USB4 version 2.0, anyone?), since at least the consumer knows what specs they’re getting.

Expect to start seeing this new scheme in the coming months on new hardware devices. This is very unlikely to serve as a final solution to USB branding issues, and has a strong chance of making things worse, but to be honest, there’s probably no way to fix it properly right now.

Source: The Edge