It took about seven years from the time companies started working on the first Universal Serial Bus cable (USB 1.0) to introduce the second unique installment, which featured a complete overhaul of the USB input/output protocol. Known simply as the USB 2.0, not USB2 or USB 2, this new protocol allowed for much faster speeds than the original cables.

Developers wanted to broaden the range of external peripherals that could be used on a computer when they created the newer USB standard. Even under the USB 1.1, hard drives could easily hit a bottleneck
inhibiting transmission speeds with the older cables.

The Full-Speed/High-Speed specifications on the USB 2.0 requires four wires in total. Two are used for data transfer and two for the power source, and they feature a braided outer shield.

The USB 2.0 is ideal for multimedia and storage applications due to the additional bandwidth it can provide when compared to the original USB cable. It also has a data transmission speed up to 40 times faster than USB 1.1. In practice, the actual throughput for USB 2.0 cables is typically up to 35 – 40 MB/sec.

In an effort to make the transition and utilization of the USB 2.0 model easier for both consumers and manufacturers, they made the USB 2.0 forward and backward compatible with the first USB devices and any
cables/connectors that were made for the original as well.

Regardless of your technological uses, chances are you’ll need a USB 2.0 at some point or another. Even if you buy something like an all-in-one HP multimedia PC with the works, you’ll still need something USB. That’s because virtually every conceivable peripheral has USB 2.0 version. From surround sound gaming headsets to USB video cards, and even external hard drives, the vast majority of consumer tech products would be impossible to use without these handy little cables.