What is (Universal Serial Bus) USB?
A USB (Universal Serial Bus) port is a standard interface for connecting devices to a computer or other host device. USB cables are used to connect devices to the USB port. USB connectors are the physical components of the cable that connect to the device and the USB port. There are several types of USB connectors, including Type-A, Type-B, Mini-B, and Micro-B, each with a different shape and intended use. Type-A connectors are typically found on host devices such as computers, while Type-B connectors are typically found on devices such as printers. Mini-B and Micro-B connectors are smaller versions of Type-B and are used in portable devices such as smartphones and cameras. USB cables can also have different speeds, such as USB 2.0 and USB 3.0, which have different data transfer rates.
The USB ports is used to connect different types of peripherals devices such as keyboards, mice, cameras, printers, scanners, external hard drives, flash drives. Now a day’s desktop and laptops will have several USB ports. Main reason of the development of the USB was to make connecting devices to a computer and by making connected devices easier to configure and provide fast transfer rates.
The USB ports is also plug and play so devices can be connected or disconnected without turning off the computer or the device. This mean USB also self-configures itself which eliminates the need for any wide-ranging configuration to connecting to a computer. Certain smaller devices can be powered by the USB port without the need for additional power cables.
The first USB 1.0 version was released in 1996 starting with USB 1.0 with later versions released throughout the years. USB 1.0 had a transfer speed of 1.5 megabits per second. Then two years later in 1998, USB 1.1 was released, and this had a transfer speed of 12 megabits per second. Then in the year 2000 USB 2.0 was released, which is also known as high speed USB. This had a significant speed upgrade from USB 1.1 with speeds of 480 megabits per second.
Then after 8 year in 2008 USB 3.0 was released and this was known as super speed USB. USB 3.0 increase data speeds of 5 gigabits per second. The high-speed increase was meant for transferring large amounts of data, such as backing up to external hard drives.
Now subsequent releases of USB 3.0 were advanced released such as USB 3.1 which was released in 2013 and this is also known as super speed plus USB 3.1 had a transfer rate of 10 gigabits per second which is double of USB 3.0. Then soon after USB 3.2 was released which had a transfer rate of 20 gigabits per second.
In 2019 USB 4.0 was declared and this has a transfer rate of 40 gigabits per second.
USB Ports and Connectors and Types:
In addition to the different speeds of USB there is also different types of USB cables, connectors, and ports. USB cables will typically have two different connectors on each end of a cable. They will have either type a type B or type C, with the type A connector on one end and B and C type connectors on the other end. Now the type A connector is the host connector.
This is a standard rectangular plug that you would plug into a computer and computers will have several type A USB ports. And even though this is the oldest connector type, it is still being used today.
Now on the other end of the USB cable you might find different types of connectors, such as the type B connector. The type B connector is a square design with beveled corners on top. Now this is also an older connector but it’s still being used today. This type of connector is what you would plug into most printers today. And another version of a type B connector is the mini B. And just like its name says it’s smaller than a type B connector. The mini-B is used on smaller devices, such as older smartphones and digital cameras. But it’s being phased out in favor of even smaller connectors.
The micro B is approximately the same width as the mini B but it’s about half the thickness, which enables it to plug into even smaller and thinner devices. It’s made to connect to modern smart mobile phones, modern digital cameras, MP3 players, and so on. The micro B came out in the year 2007 and its intent was to replace the mini B. There is also the USB 3.0 type B connector. The type B 3.0 has nine pins, compared to four pins in the previous versions.
The type B 3.0 connectors will not suitable into devices that are made for USB 1 and 2.0 because of its larger size. There is also the USB 3.0 micro B, and this connector is just as thin as the 2.0 version but it’s wider. It’s basically a USB 2.0 micro B connector but with five additional pins that are stacked on the side of the connector, which doubles the width of a 2.0 micro B. This connector is used to carry data and supply power to devices such as modern external hard drives.
In 2014 USB C was with the USB 3.1 standard. Now this is a thin connector with rounded edges, and it has 24 pins and it easily plugs into a port because it doesn’t have an up and down alignment. Today the USB C can be found on modern smartphones, external hard drives, tablets, and modern desktop and laptop computers. In fact, it’s even used to charge larger devices such as modern laptops.