USB SuperSpeed 3.0 is today’s star in our new product category. Although USB 3.0 was developed back in 2008, it’s still not as widely used as its forefather, and not everyone has heard of the newer technology. What’s the difference between 2.0 and 3.0? When it comes down to buying a USB cable, is a Super Speed 3.0 cable a good investment?
The all-around answer is yes.
While most of the world is still using the 2.0 standard, there are a great many products that are currently out on the shelves that have 3.0 capabilities. Most new computers sold on the market today feature USB 3.0 ports. Same goes for newer external hard drives, cameras, cell phones and other accessories. USB 3.0 will come in the same alphabetical styles as always: USB type A is a standard connection, USB type B is a printer connector and USB type C is a micro connector.
When looking at the specification for these cables, you can see the differences and improvements that were made with USB 3.0. Physically the two cables are similar; the pin-out design of the USB 3.0 is similar to the 2.0, as only four pins were added to the 3.0 design. The 3.0 has a blue block that was added to the inside of the connector so that it can be differentiated from other USB speeds. The USB 3.0 type-A standard cables are backwards compatible with devices that have 2.0 ports, so you don’t have to worry about upgrading all of your gadgets.
Speed is one of the most important factors that differentiate the two types of cable.
USB 3.0 is much faster than its predecessor, as the power output jumped from 500 mA to 900 mA with the new technology. USB 3.0 is also bi-directional, meaning that information can transfer in both directions at the same time. The 3.0 now comes with a higher bandwidth and transfer speeds from 2.0’s 400MBps now to 3.0’s 4Gbps, which will minimize the amount of time you are waiting around. USB 3.0 is ten times faster than 2.0. That means movies will download much quicker, and transferring info will be lightning fast.
Make your cables work for you! In the end USB 3.0 will allow you to increase your productivity while saving you time, and you can’t ask for much more than that.