Surely you have heard many times the terms USB 3.0, USB 3.1, USB 3.1 Gen 1, and USB 3.1 Gen 2. So what is USB 3.1? What are the advantages compared to USB 2.0 and what is the difference between USB 3.1 Gen 1 and Gen 2? We will find out below.
USB 3.0
Simply put, USB 3.0 is a connection standard that helps you transfer data (usually used to connect to laptops and desktop computers) with a theoretical speed of up to 5GB/s, but in reality, the maximum is only about 300Mb/S. So in the best conditions, a 1 GB data file only takes about 4 seconds to transfer.
USB 3.1 Gen 1
USB 3.1 Gen 1 is another name for USB 3.0 after being renamed by the USB standards-setting organization (USB-IF), but there are no changes to the specifications. It will still take you about 4 seconds to complete a 1GB file transfer (best conditions), 10 times faster than the previous generation, USB 2.0, when it only supported a maximum practical speed of about 35/40 MB/s (about 40 seconds/ 1 GB file).
USB 3.1 Gen 2
As a powerful upgrade of USB 3.1 Gen 1 – USB 3.1 Gen 2 has a theoretical speed that this port supports up to 10GB/s. Like previous generations, this number does not accurately reflect the waiting time, in fact, the best speed that this port supports is still at 1.2GB/s (which means it takes you less than 1 second to download a 1GB file).
Hopefully, my short article will help you better understand the USB 3.1 connection standard. If you need more information, you can leave a comment below.