USB History

The concise introduction of modern-day USB technology came in 1996 with the introduction of USB 1.0, which was later followed by USB 2.0 in 1998.

The original purpose of USB was to replace older serial and parallel ports for peripherals such as keyboards, mice, and printers. The idea for USB to become a standardised port format or to be used for alternative purposes such as data storage had not yet proven to be a viable pathway.

However, the introduction of USB 2.0 in 2000 changed this, with USB speeds jumping from the original 1.5 Mbps to 480 Mbps. This drastic improvement suddenly made flash drives a practical solution, and their popularity as a means to store and transfer data skyrocketed.

Soon, USB 2.0 became the standard for external devices such as flash drives, cameras, and external hard drives.

The introduction of the USB 3.0 series further improved upon this by offering even faster speeds of up to 10 Gbps.

The development of USB Type-C after 2014 marked the biggest change to USB since its creation. The redesigned port structure enabled even faster speeds and introduced the first fully reversible USB connector.

USB Type-C became the basis for all subsequent USB developments such as USB 3.2 and USB4.

A key feature of USB4 is its ability to function as a charging interface, with a maximum charging voltage of 48 V, a maximum current of 5 A, and a total charging power of up to 100 W.