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In an ongoing effort to make the USB brand more consumer-friendly, the USB Implementers Forum, the organization that oversees the standard, has a new set of logos. We think they are the best yet.
Over the years, the USB brand has been less than ideal. Early USB cables and branding were easy to understand because there was a very limited selection. Back then, one USB cable was just as good as another as long as the connectors (USB-A or USB-B) matched your device.
Around the change from USB 2.0 to USB 3.0, things got a bit confusing with branding like “SuperSpeed” and the little USB icon being merged with the initials SS. If you weren’t aware, decoding USB logos during the USB 3.0, USB 3.1, and USB 3.2 era was pretty confusing. Without prior knowledge, who could really tell you what SS-squiggly-circuit-thing on top of its head means?
Even the SuperSpeed ​​logo revisions in 2020, while an improvement, still left a lot of room for improvement. If you didn’t know what SS-squiggly-circuit-thing-thing means, it’s not like you inherently know what SS-squiggly-circuit-thing-20 means, after all.
A further revision of the USB logos in 2021 removed SuperSpeed ​​and other consumer-confusing markings and introduced easier-to-understand speed and power capacity designations directly on the port and cable logos.
In the fall of 2022, the USB Implementers Forum announced a new revision to simplify USB logos. You’ll be seeing it a lot in the years to come, so now is the perfect time to show off the big update to the logos from the old ones.
For host products and devices (such as laptops and portable hard drives), you will see the following “Certified USB” logos with simple, clear speed designations such as “40 Gbps” with a clear cable logo.
Manufacturers have the option of printing these logos on devices in addition to the box, so you might see them clearly indicated on a laptop’s USB ports, for example, but that’s not required. You won’t necessarily see them physically printed on your devices.
For USB cables, USB-C cables will have updated cable logo and packaging, indicating both the cable’s speed capability and wattage capacity for charging. So instead of having to figure out what some initials and scribble mean, you can simply read “Certified USB 80Gbps 60W” right on the logo, which you’ll find both on the box and on the cable itself.
The logo must be printed on at least one of the USB cable connectors, although it will often be printed on both. This should solve the problem of having a big stack of USB cables and not being sure what data transfer and charging speeds they offer.
Please note that all of these changes only apply to USB-C cables. Organization won’t change a thing about those traditional USB-A cables. Although those classic cables will continue and it is fully focused on USB-C in the future.
Overall, it’s a huge improvement even compared to the situation that started in early 2022, and certainly compared to the SuperSpeed ​​logo era.
Having written more than a few words over the years about USB logo confusion, we’re glad to see updated packaging, port, and cable logos. The new designs are a breakthrough in both ease of purchase and ease of use.
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