180 degree turn in the USB standard: they change the names so that people do not go crazy

Technology companies are very good at what they do, but they are undoubtedly a disaster at naming standards. USB 3.2 Gen 2×2, what the hell is that? Everything will change with the new names of USB cables and connectors, whose logo will show the speed and loading capacity.

Standards try to harmonize things, but in the end almost all of them end up becoming gibberish. A good example is the USB standard. Nowadays you can find USB 3.2 Gen 2 connectors on your PC or mobile phone. But how is it different from USB 4.0 or USB Type C? From the name, it’s impossible to tell.

All this is going to change with the new nomenclature that the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) has presented at CES 2025.

This is what future USB cables and connectors will be called

It must be clarified that The current name of the USB standard will not change. The new versions will follow the USB 4.0, 4.1, USB 5, etc. numbering. But this is going to become a technical nomenclature, for manuals or programming.

At the user level, the new nomenclature forgets about number sequences, and chooses to show the maximum speed of the cable or connectormeasured in Gbps (Gigabits per second) and loading capacitymeasured in W (watts).

So, for example, if a cable has the logo USB 80Gbps 60Wmeans it can transmit data at 80 Gbps, and charge a mobile at 60 W. As you can see in this table, there will be many different logos:

You can see USB cables that transmit from 5 to 80 Gbps, and charge from 60 to 240 W, in all possible combinations, according to the different USB standards.

The colored logos are the ones that will be used on boxes and packaging, and the black logos will be printed on the cable itself.

With this system, the user can easily choose the type of cable they need. AND It is very easy to compare between the different cables or connectorswithout the need for complex numbering.

Until now we had a nomenclature as absurd as this: USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps), Gen 2 (10 Gbps), and Gen 2×2 (20 Gbps). In the end, what matters to the user is not whether a cable is Gen1 or Gen2, but the speed at which it operates.

According to comment PC Worldthe main computer manufacturers will begin to introduce these logos in the coming months. The first will be Dell.

The new nomenclature of USB cables and connectors will save a lot of headaches and erroneous purchases from users. Good news for everyone.

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Tags: USB, Computers, Facebook, Hardware