USB 3.2 will Absorb the USB 3.0 and 3.1 standards

USB 3.2 will Absorb the USB 3.0 and 3.1 standards

USB 3.2 will Absorb the USB 3.0 and 3.1 standards

At WDC 2019 the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), announced that the USB 3.2 standard will now be considered as generations of USB 3.2, adding ever more confusions into the world of USB. 

Ever wonder why USB 3.1 Gen 1 is just USB 3.0? That’s because USB-IF forced the change, creating confusing specs lists for pretty much every modern motherboard. Now, things will get even more confusing thanks to USB 3.2. 

In simple terms, USB 3.2, now called USB 3.2 Gen 2×2, utilised the reversibility of the USB 3.1 Type-C cables to deliver a 2x increase in data throughput by using both sides of the connection. This enabled USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 to support a 20Gbps data stream, but the downside is that the standard cannot be used with standard USB Type-C input/output designs. 

Now, the USB 3.2 Gen 1 name replaced both USB 3.0 and USB 3.1 Gen 1, while USB 3.2 Gen 2 replaces USB 3.1 Gen 2. These cables deliver 5Gbps and 10Gbps speeds respectively and will also be known under the SuperSpeed USB brand name. 

USB 3.2 Gen 1 will be called SuperSpeed USB, USB 3.2 Gen 2 will be known as SuperSpeed USB 10Gbps and USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 will be branded as SuperSpeed USB 20Gbps.   

USB 3.2 will Absorb the USB 3.0 and 3.1 standards  
Last year, Synopsys conducted the first USB 3.2 (now USB 3.2 Gen 2×2) demo to provide data transfer speeds of 1.6GB/s to a Windows 10 PC over a standard USB 3.1 cable. USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 offers the same transfer speeds as Thunderbolt 2 and provides half of the maximum transfer rate of Thunderbolt 3.

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