We often mention USB data charger cable in our daily life, but what do we mean?  How many different interfaces does USB have?  Sinodec Industrial Co, ltd. Provides all USB data cables, and of course USB to DC charging cable can also be produced.

USB-A and USB-C are the two most common USB interfaces. The transfer speeds of the two are different, and the USB-C speed is faster. The interface forms are also different. The USC-C does not need to distinguish between positive and negative ports. 

 The USB-C interface is called USB Type-C, which is more advanced than USB2.0 / USB3.0.

USB-A and USB-C are the two most common USB interfaces, and understanding the differences between them is important to understand the actual functionality of all devices and peripherals.

What is USB-A?

USB "Type A" connection refers to the physical design of the USB port.  Each USB connection consists of the port of the host device, the connection cable, and the receiver device.  USB-a is a traditional USB host port design and is one of the easiest devices to identify.

It is a horizontal port and the "bottom" section is dedicated to the pin connector.  This produces the infamous single-sided USB connection only when the cable is plugged in the right way, no matter how many times you try.

Interestingly, there is no USB-B host port.  The USB-B design is a receive port on a device connected to the host.  Type B connections are also easy to identify because they are square in design and almost resemble the shape of a small house.  If you look at the a-type cable, you will see an a-type connection at one end and a b-type connection at the other end.

Note that there are also some subsets in this design, such as USB Mini A and USB Micro A, which have different port designs, but these are not important for our current discussion.

What is USB-C and how is it different?

USB-C is a newer port design officially announced in 2014, although it took several years to reach a wide range of consumer devices, as we see today.  USB-c is a brand new USB port, an old USB-a port that solves many problems.  The main features of USB-C include:

A thinner design that can adapt to a port, regardless of its orientation flipped, designed to replace A, B, mini and micro together

A 100-watt, 20-volt connection that is more powerful than the old port and can easily power larger devices

Potentially higher transfer speeds than USB-A

Supports power transfer so that it can charge the device at both ends (with the correct cable) and charge larger devices

Support for higher quality video transfers, including the ability to transfer 4K video to the screen

Supports alternative modes, allowing a large number of different adapters for specific connections (such as HDMI or VG) or older types of USB connections

Potential compatibility with Thunderbolt 3, meaning a USB-C port can be used as a Thunderbolt 3 port with additional hardware

So, USB-C is a better connection?

USB 3.0 or 3.1 refers to the specific data protocol of the USB connection: not the physical port, but the type of data that the port can handle.  USB 3.0 brings a significant change that requires modifications to the USB-A design to get more features and faster speeds.  With the right data standards (see below), USB-C is faster and more flexible than USB-A.  Over time, you can expect USB-C connections to replace all old USB-A connections and similar ports.  However, this can take years.

Currently, USB-A and USB-C appear in many computers together, mainly due to compatibility issues.  People still use old-fashioned smartphones, beloved controllers, receivers, TVs, keyboards, and peripherals that require USB-A / B connectivity.

Most people don't really want to buy an adapter to make USB-C backward compatible with everything they have.  As the use of these older devices diminishes, USB-C will become the preferred port that everyone knows to look for-and we've seen this happen in some areas.

Where does USB 3.1 fit this?

USB 3.1 is generally divided into USB 3.1 Gen 1 and USB 3.1 Gen 2 and offers many data improvements supported by USB-c, including speeds up to 10Gbps and new charging features.

What's even more confusing is that both USB-a and USB-c ports can support various standards, from usb2.0 to usb3.1 Gen 2.  To make matters worse, not everyone uses the same name for these protocols, so usb3.1 1st generation is sometimes called usb3.0.  The good news is that while USB-c ports may require an adapter, USB 3.1 is backward compatible with all other USB connections.  If possible, you also need to make sure your USB cable and device support 3.1 data capabilities.

Did you feel headache? Let's simplify it, remember the following:

USB-a and USB-c can have multiple data standards, up to USB 3.1, which determines their data capabilities

USB 3.1 is backward compatible with other standards, although adapters may be required, which makes it a good standard

Only USB-c connection can take full advantage of USB 3.1 Gen 2

Cables and devices must also support the USB data standard-if you get a USB 3.1 interface, your cable and the devices you connect must also support 3.1 to take full advantage of it

Ready: The USB 3.2 standard is already well on their way and several different breeds that will make things even more confusing have their own names