USB generations
USB (Universal Serial Bus) ports provide a fast, easy and universal way to connect different devices and transfer data. They are cost-effective and widely available, making them an economical solution for connectivity in industry. Peripheral USB devices are usually easy to install and use.
They usually do not require complex driver installations and support what is known as "plug-and-play," making them easy to use in industry.
Standards for USB have evolved over the years to meet increasing demands for data transfer speed, performance and functionality.
In addition to the data rates, both the maximum current - from 0.1A to 3 A - and the maximum transferable power - from 0.5 W to 15 W - have been increased step by step.
With USB-PD (Power Delivery), a further increase to 100 W and 240 W, respectively, is possible.
Outlook:
With USB4, a further increase to 80 Gbit/s or even 120 Gbit/s is now imminent. This will enable the connection of multiple peripherals with high-speed USB, DisplayPort, PCI Express and host-to-host connections.
Since USB4 is based on the Thunderbolt 3 or Thunderbolt 4 specification, further convergence with Thunderbolt can be expected.
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The most common generations in comparison
