The next step was USB 3.0, which gave a capacity of 5 Gbps and therefore represented an order of magnitude in power, allowing the use of external hard drives. Since then, they have increased by doubling the bandwidth several times in a row, allowing for example to have enough speed to transmit the video via a USB cable. All these progressive developments have led to the appearance of different types of USB connectors.
The types of USB connectors that exist
Next, we will describe the differences between the different types of USB connectors that can be found in different devices on the market, as well as in PC motherboards.
USB type A and type B
The first type of USB port appeared on the market and therefore the oldest, for versions 1.0 and 2.9 these had a white line, but from version 3.0 the blue color was adopted to differentiate them from previous generations. If you look at the pictures above these lines, you can see that the port has 4 lines, one of them is its power, then we have another for grounding and two data ports.
Considering the fact that the USB is a serial port and not in parallel, this means that it transmits 1 bit for each clock signal, so as there are two communication channels we can easily deduce that a pin transmits data in one direction and the other in the opposite direction. So you can transmit and receive data simultaneously with the device. USB Type B, on the other hand, has a square shape and has been used for devices such as printers and scanners. Apart from its different shape, the specifications are the same as Type A, so it also uses a 4-pin connector with the exact same configuration.
From version 3.0 of the standard, these two types of USB port have changed the configuration by adding additional pins to the back of the same. By adding two of them for data transfer, SSTX- and SSTX + and two more for data reception, SSRX- and SSRX +, thus increasing the amount of data transmitted per clock cycle. These additional ports are what increase the bandwidth ten times over the second generation of the standard.
Mini-USB and Micro-USB, types for small devices
The boom in cell phones, personal digital assistants, MP3 players and the first digital cameras that began in the late 1990s and early 2000s created a clear need. A smaller type of USB connector than previously used was required.
The first of these connectors was the Mini-USB, which adds an extra pin to the four already used in the rest of the types. The new pin has to do with OTG or On the Go mode, which serves to mark that the device is subordinate to another in terms of power supply.
Years later and due to the need to have a power and data port for smartphones, each time smaller and thinner, another type of USB connector was created, which we know as Micro-USB. Which is nothing more than an even smaller version of the USB port, which is used in a lot of phones and tablets, but due to its inability to provide a fast enough charge, it is gradually being moved.
There is a third type of Micro-USB cable, called Type B, which, as its blue color indicates, is used for devices with USB 3.0 transfer speed and above, although due to its different shape, it is not backward compatible with the connectors. Earlier micro-USB. As you might have deduced, it adds the extra pins that were also added to Type A and Type B connectors, but in the end this type of USB port was totally deprecated.
USB-C, the one that will replace the other types
Nos encontramos ante el más avanzado de todos y el que acaba reemplazando con el tiempo al resto de tipos, sin ir más lejos en el estándar USB 4.0 es el conector estándar y por su tamaño y forma acabará por reemplazar a los otros tipos de puertos con the weather. This is due to the fact that it has the appropriate measures for it and because it solves the problem of fast charging in the case of Micro-USB. USB Type C first appeared with the third generation of the standard and therefore does not have versions 2.0 and earlier.
If we look at the breakdown of the USB Type C pins, we will see that they are actually two USB Type A connectors in one. We need to start the data transmission pins TX1-, TX1 +, TX2 + and TX2- which obviously transmit data one way and their counterparts RX1-, RX1 +, RX2 + and RX2- which will be used to receive data. So it really works as if it were 4 USB ports in one unit with their corresponding ground and power pins. Although these are not the only data pins, as we have the D- and D + pins which transmit at the same speed as the USB 2.0 standard and are used when the rest of the communication pins are available.
The reason is that USB Type-C can also be used to transmit video in DisplayPort Alternate or Alt DP mode. Wherein the TX and RX lines of the cable are used to output video, leaving only the D and D + pins for data transmission in said transfer mode. Which makes it an ideal connector for plugging in a virtual reality headset.
The future of USB connector types
Although the most important novelty is its ability to power devices that require high power. If the USB 3.2 Type A port can deliver 15 W, its Type C counterpart can deliver up to 100 W and it is expected that with the fourth generation of the standard 240 W. More than enough to replace the standard is expected. power ports for laptops and a lot of devices we use at home, like the television we have in the living room.
It is more than possible that in the future we will no longer see monitors connected directly to power, but are powered by the same USB Type-C port from which they receive data. The reverse can also happen and we end up with video game consoles without a built-in power supply and which send the video signal at the same time as the television is the one that powers them.
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