Upcoming USB 3.2 Advantages and few Drawbacks

USB 3.2 advantages

Good news for the techno-geeks – the newest specification of USB is to arrive in September 2017, USB 3.2. The previous versions, 3.0 and 3.1, have already gained popularity on the market.

Before we take a look at the new USB 3.2, let’s see how the 3.0 version was an upgrade from 2.0. The 3rd generation of USB cables has a much higher speed of connection, and it is its main advantage. The transition to 3.0 allowed to increase the data transfer speed to 4800 Mbps, which was tenfold the previous 2.0 speed. The 3.0 version also saw a new development in the form of additional protection from electromagnetic fields and had the maximum cable length reduced from 5 to 3 meters. Most of the devices currently on the market already support the 3.0 standard, and motherboards with 3.0 slots are available.

Shortly after, the USB 3.1 generation followed, and it ran at the same speed as 3.0 – 10 gigabits per second. On the good side, it was compatible with the new USB-C cables, the high-speed double-ended cables. So, a further transition would see 3.2 standard also working with USB-C cables.

Advantages of USB 3.2

The new specification is not currently on the market, but what we already know is that the USB 3.2 standard will be equipped with “multi-lane data transfer”, which increases data transfer speed from 10 to 20 gigabits per second. This is the highest speed allowed by the USB connection type until today. At the same time, the update in itself is not revolutionizing, since the encoding and the transmission processes remain the same in nature and only the speed doubles.

Apparently, a very important advantage of the new USB version is also that you will not need to buy any adapters so be able to use it since it is perfectly compatible with USB-C cables used with the previous standards. The 3.2 USB standard will allow the doubling of the performance of the already existing cables, so there is no need to develop new cables for it. However, eventually, a cable hardware update will be called for. USB is a very fast-developing technology and the most popular data transfer means, which demands improvements on a yearly basis.

Drawbacks of USB 3.2

All that said, there are certain nuances of the new specification one should take note of. Among the drawbacks of the upcoming update (and there are always some) we would mention the following:

– Older devices may run slow with 3.2 technology since their data transfer abilities do not adapt to the high speed. Eventually, your device may need to be updated. However, this is true for any technological update nowadays, and newer devices need to be purchased constantly

– The devices have to have modern hardware, like USB-C connectors certified to SuperSpeed Cable Standard, because earlier USB-C cables will not be able to handle such speeds. If your USB-C cables are older than 3 years ago, you may need to get new ones.

It seems like hardware production companies will have to start updating their products very soon, equipping them with USB 3.2 slots. This change should also encourage newer hardware development, like new types of cables and plugs, to allow for further improvements in data transfer speeds.

This post was last modified on May 30, 2018 10:59 AM

Yogesh Khetani: Yogesh Khetani is the Editor-in-Chief of TechnosAmigos. He has rich experience in Embedded Systems, Printer technology and web technology. He is also expert at WordPress CMS and also an affiliate marketer. He also contributes to Now I am Updated website and BLU Cell Phones 2020.