There are plenty of quality chargers, and most go on sale during Amazon Prime Day 2026, which we're currently tracking to compile our constantly-updated list below. Whether you’re looking for a small, low-watt charger for your phone, a versatile travel charger, or something powerful enough to keep your laptop and multiple other devices topped off, today’s deals can help you save money while upgrading your charging setup.

After testing more than 20 chargers, ranging from basic, low-wattage models to a 140W multi-device charger, we learned that choosing the right one isn’t as complicated as you may think. Modern charging standards have made today’s chargers more efficient, smarter, and safer than ever. But we still had some standouts that you can see in our Best Chargers 2026 article.

While there are cheaper options or perhaps some with better deals, we can stand behind these as we have tested or used most of them ourselves, or they are part of the same family with the same or similar attributes. Below is a list of some of the best charger deals available right now.

Best USB Charger Deals: Quick Links

• Amazon: Up to 35% off
• Newegg: Up to 50% off

Best deals on 15-47W Chargers

Best deals on 48-68W Chargers

Best deals on 69-140W Chargers

More Prime Day Tech Deals

Best Tech and PC deals | Best gaming PC deals | Best RAM combo deals | Best 3D printer deals | Best RAM deals | Best gaming laptop deals | Best monitor deals | Best Wi-Fi Router deals | Best GPU deals | Best SSD deals | Best hard drive HDD deals | Best CPU deals | Best gaming chair deals | Best PC building tool deals | Best PC peripherals deals | Best filament and resin deals | Best motherboard deals | Best CPU cooler deals | Best PC case deals | Best Dell and Alienware deals | Best USB charger deals | Best gaming and productivity laptop deals under $1,000 | Best laptop PC deals

Also, you can join the Tom's Hardware deals Discord for up-to-the-minute hardware deals.

You can generally get by using whatever charger came in the box with your device (provided one was included, which is no longer a given), be it a low-powered smartphone or a high-powered item like a gaming laptop. But if you’re anything like me and inevitably lose the original charger, or you need more ports or power for all your devices on the go and at home, the choices suddenly become less straightforward. What wattage do I need? Is GaN actually worth paying for? (Spoiler: yes!) Can the cheap, no-name charger that's on sale safely handle multiple devices over extended charging times?

To find the best USB chargers for your phone, laptop, and other devices, we started by testing 20 different models (with plenty more to come), ranging from a 15W phone charger that came with a Samsung phone to 140W beasts, across a wide variety of brands including Anker, Baseus, Belkin, Ugreen, Cuktech, and more. Our extensive charger testing goes beyond marketing claims, focusing on real-world performance, including sustained output over time, thermal performance, efficiency, idle power draw, and even a raw dollar-per-watt metric for those who just want the best bang for their charger buck.

We found that most of today’s chargers are relatively efficient, safer, and smarter than ever. Even the cheap options handled basic charging without issue, particularly at lower wattages. But once you hit the 100W-plus range, heat and sustained output are much more important. Modern charging technologies like USB-PD, PPS, QC, and GaN have significantly improved charging speeds, efficiency, and size. However, chargers still can’t escape physics, and removing 140W of heat from something roughly the size of a deck of cards is still challenging.

Picking a charger that gets the job done isn’t rocket science. Almost any modern charger will suffice, especially for the low-wattage devices. But if you’re looking to power laptops, tablets, or multiple devices at once, spending a bit more can get you more ports, better sustained performance, cooler temperatures, faster charging, and added peace of mind. After dozens of hours of testing, these are the best phone chargers, laptop chargers, and general USB device chargers we recommend.

Quick List

Best Wall Chargers you can buy today

Best Low-Power Charger (up to 30W)

Anker’s Nano 3 30W charger offers users a simple, one-port charger with all of the modern charging and protection features. The little charger that could supports fast charging with USB PD 3.0 support, and PPS (Programmable Power Supply). It also utilizes Anker’s proprietary PowerIQ 3.0 technology, which combines universal device compatibility with rapid charging speeds by integrating USB-PD and Qualcomm QC (Quick Charge) protocols, and can identify your specific device to charge it as fast as possible. Anker’s MultiProtect safety system includes a full array of protections, including high-voltage protection, current regulation, temperature control, and more.

Our testing showed that the 30W Nano 3 delivered its nameplate wattage throughout the testing period. Temperatures during the test peaked at just under 65 degrees Celsius, which was on the warmer side compared to others, but nothing to be concerned about. Efficiency was also solid under load, and it didn’t draw any appreciable amount of power from the wall at idle. If you need a basic one-port charger for your smartphone, watch, or other small devices, it's well worth the $12.99 price.

Read more about our charger testing, including the Anker Series 5

Best 65W-Range / Midrange Charger

The Baseus Enercore 67W (CJ11) gets the nod for our best mid-range charger due to its charging flexibility with the integrated, retractable Type-C cable, consistent output over time, and well-managed thermals. The Enercore supports a wide variety of fast-charging protocols, so you can be assured your device will be recognized and will charge quickly. Safety isn’t an afterthought either, with the company's ‘AI-powered’ BCT technology (an onboard chip that monitors temperatures) to keep thermals in check, along with your more common features like OCP, OVP, and short-circuit/overcharge protections.

Testing the Baseus Enercore confirmed its low operating temperature. In fact, it delivered the lowest temperature we recorded (just under 55 degrees Celsius), running much cooler than most 65-67W models and even the 45W Anker Nano. It was also one of the most efficient we tested, but at these lower wattages, you’ll see that more is reflected in the low temperatures than on your electric bill. Priced at $29.99 (currently on sale; normally $39.99), it compares well with the competition and is the only one in our initial testing group with a retractable cable, making it more convenient for travel. So long as you’re not trying to charge multiple high-power devices, it’s ideal for multi-device charging.

Read more about our charger testing, including the Baseus Encercore

Best 100W-plus / High-output Charger

The curiously named Cuktech 10 Ultra lands on our best list because of its ability to charge multiple devices at once while maintaining the highest percentage of full output (after temperature-related throttling). Note that all of the high-output (100W-plus) chargers we tested throttled, which is par for the course for any passively cooled charging devices at this density. The 10 Ultra has a wide range of charging protocols and has plenty of safety features. The vibrant color display shows per-port output and warns of potential trouble due to temperature and other issues.

Testing the Cuktech 10 Ultra showed it to have average efficiency. It was actually the second-lowest peak temperature (less than 1 degree Celsius from the Baseus Encore 100W), topping out at 63.4 degrees and running cooler than chargers that output significantly less. The multiple ports (three Type-C, one Type-A) allow you to charge a slew of devices, including high-power items like a gaming laptop, and smaller devices concurrently. While it doesn’t have a retractable cord, it’s still good for travel as it can replace multiple chargers.

Read more about our charger testing, including the Cuktech 10 Ultra

Glossary of Terms

• GaN: GaN refers to Gallium Nitride, a crystal-like material that replaces traditional silicon in power adapters to control and convert electrical power. GaN chargers are more efficient at transferring power, can handle more power, run cooler, and are generally smaller. GaN chargers also handle rapid voltage and current changes more effectively, supporting fast-charging standards such as USB Power Delivery (PD) and PPS.
• (USB) PD: “PD” stands for Power Delivery. Essentially, it’s a fast-charging technology that communicates with your connected device to deliver the maximum safe and optimal amount of power. This allows a single device to charge lower-power items like phones and high-power electronics like laptops over a USB-C connection. It can safely deliver up to 240W under newer standards (USB-PD 3.1), allowing many smartphones to reach 50% charge in ~30 minutes.
• PPS: PPS stands for Programmable Power Supply. As the name implies, this is an advanced USB-C charging technology that dynamically adjusts its voltage and current in real time. It communicates with your device to optimize power flow, minimizing output heat, boosting charging speeds, and is said to prolong battery life.
• QC: Qualcomm Quick Charge is a fast-charging technology developed by, you guessed it, Qualcomm, and is designed to work with any device using a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. The latest iteration, QC5+, supports charging speeds up to 140W and smartly regulates power delivery by using lower voltage and higher current for a cooler, more efficient charge.
• FCP/SCP: Fast Charge Protocol and SuperCharge Protocol are proprietary fast-charging standards developed by Huawei for their smartphones and tablets. FCP, the older standard, uses a high-voltage, low-current model (9V/2A ~18W) while SCP is a low-voltage, high-current model that starts around 4.5V/5A ~22W with newer generations scaling much higher, even to 100W. Unless you have a Huawei device, this doesn’t apply.
• UFCS: Universal Fast Charging Specification is a brand-agnostic fast-charging standard developed by major Chinese smartphone makers (think: Huawei, OPPO, Vivo, Xiaomi). Its goal is to break brand barriers so you can quickly use a single third-party charger to power devices from different manufacturers. Like USB PD PPS (which it operates alongside), UFCS uses continuous voltage and current regulation from 5V to 30V and up to 100W.

Best Charger Shopping Tips

When choosing a charger for your devices, consider the following:

We tested the top 20 chargers on the market across different power segments to find out which models provide the most consistent power and the best charging experience without thermal throttling. For most people, charging their electronics is a normal, mundane part of life. Between our smartphones, smart watches, tablets, laptops, and other random devices, many of us simply plug the device into the included charger and never think of it again until it's complete. And while that’s fine most of the time, sometimes we lose the original or need something with more ports and power.

So, what should you get? Do you need a 140W charger, or is a 30W charger fine? Can I get away with a cheap $8 charger, or do I want/need something more advanced? How many ports, and what type, do I need? Is GaN technology necessary? Are these chargers safe when delivering full power for extended periods? This article aims to provide you with the answers you need and help you choose the right charger.

Truth be told, the answers aren’t terribly complicated, and the lion’s share of today’s electronics are smart enough not to accept the wrong voltage or overcharge, sparing us all from the potential of destroying expensive equipment like a gaming laptop or even a smartphone with the ‘wrong’ charger. We’re testing to verify output and output over time, check efficiency (the difference between output and wall usage), ensure safety (overheating, etc.), maximize charging speeds, and, of course, protect our devices from damage.

What are GaN and PD/PPS/QC/FCP/SCP technologies? Why does it matter?

Over time, new technologies and protocols have been released, said to improve charging capability. There’s the USB Power Delivery (USB-PD) standard (up to 240W) using USB-C, and Qualcomm’s Quick Charge (vendor-specific protocol) works on top of USB-PD in newer versions (QC 4.0/5). The former offers superior universality, whereas QC tends to focus on optimizing Qualcomm-powered Android devices.

GaN (short for Gallium Nitride), on the other hand, is a technology that, upon its 2018 launch, represents a leap forward for charging devices, offering increased efficiency and the potential to be more compact than traditional, less efficient silicon-based chargers. The change in materials allows for faster charging, lower temperatures, and are generally smaller, allowing for higher wattage in a more compact size. The latest generation, 5th (not counting UGreen’s 7th-gen introduction on their new chargers), offers even more output, to 240W, increased efficiency and heat management upgrades over the previous generations, for faster charging, higher power density, and smaller, even more efficient designs. You’ll most frequently see GaN 3 and 4 in the wild.

PPS (Programmable Power Supply) chargers use fast-charging technology that supports USB-PD 3.0, enabling on-the-fly adjustments to current and voltage to increase efficiency. In essence, instead of fixed-voltage steps (like 5V or 9V), PPS lowers conversion loss and heat by adapting to the device’s battery condition.

Finally, FCP (Fast Charge Protocol) and SCP (SuperCharge Protocol) are Huawei’s proprietary fast-charging technologies, with SCP reducing heat generation compared to FCP, so you can charge faster without overheating the charger.

All of these improvements have taken the basic charger and elevated it, helping not only to charge faster, run cooler and more efficiently, but also to extend battery life. The main drawback of these new chargers is the higher price compared to the potatoes of yesteryear. The more new protocols and rarer materials are used, the higher the price tends to be compared to older chargers and those with fewer features or protections (think Overvolt, Overcurrent, which most of our test subjects have).

When you’re in a pinch, chances are that $7.99 charger at the gas station will work fine to charge your phone or, depending on wattage/output, maybe even a laptop, but don’t expect it to do all the things a charger with all the modern accouterments will do (displays, different charging rates, for example), or have an app for monitoring like the Cuktech charger we tested.

Test Equipment and Setup

To gather the data, we need several items to ensure we’re getting the right information in the first place. This includes a portable power station to ‘charge,’ a tester that shows the output voltage, amps, watts, and the charging protocol, a wall power meter to see total wattage consumed, and an IR thermometer to record the device's temperature. Of course, you need a high-quality cable that won’t limit output (we chose a cable capable of 240W). In order to test the cable, we used the USB Cable Checker2 to verify its capability. Below is a list of all the parts we used for testing.

• USB Tester/Voltmeter/Ammeter Tester - Chargelab Power-Z KM003C ($109.99)
• USB Tester (used with multiple connections) - HDC-085C ($12.15)
• USB Cable Checker - Bit Trade One Cable Checker2 ($60.00)
• Portable Power Station - Anker Solix C300 ($179.99)
• IR Thermometer - TempPro TP30 ($19.99)
• Wall Power Monitor - Tekcoplus TK282PLUS_US ($19.99)
• USB-C Cable (240W) - Anker 515 ($29.99)

As you can see from the images below, the test configuration is quite simple. To start, we plug the wall power monitor (AKA Kill-A-Watt) into the outlet to measure how many watts the charger uses.

A charger, not unlike the power supply on your PC, will always draw more power from the wall than it outputs, as the conversion of electrical energy is not 100% efficient and generates heat due to inefficiencies in the transformation process (AC from the wall to low-voltage DC). The more efficient the device is, the less heat it produces and the less power you get billed for. Since we’re talking chargers, not PC power supplies, in most cases, the difference is typically only a few Watts and nothing to be concerned about (read: you won’t see it in your power bill).

From there, we connect whatever charger we want to test to the wall power meter, and then the Power-Z KM003C charging and power bank tester connects to the charger to get the readings directly from the device. Next, we connect the already-tested good USB Type-C cable (3.3 feet, 240W) and plug it into the Anker Solix C300 DC power bank, which accepts the charge and displays the input wattage while charging, rounding out the test system.

How we Test

Before we plug the device in, we inspect the build quality (seams, does it feel like cheap plastic or is it metal?), weight, and port type. We also look at the output rating, fast-charging capabilities, and any certifications (think UL/CE). From this information, we have a good idea of the pros and cons of the features, including cost /W, port count, and protections.

The actual testing starts with an ambient temperature reading from the case. Using the TempPro TP30 IR Thermometer, we take readings from the top and sides to determine the maximum value and record that data point as the device's starting temperature. Once that’s recorded, we plug the device in and check whether it shows any idle power use. I was surprised to see that a majority of the wall chargers we tested used some power at idle, even those without displays or LEDs. Those with displays tended to use around 1W when plugged into the wall with nothing attached.

After the charger is plugged into the outlet and then connected to the power bank with the USB Type-C cable, we check the power output at five, 10, and 30 minutes into testing at the Solix. This value shows how much output the Solix is receiving for charging. As you’ll see from testing, a few chargers throttle due to temperature as we get closer to the end of our test if they’re tasked with putting out their full rated wattage for extended periods. This is mostly with the high-output chargers, as it is inherently difficult to remove, say, 140W of heat from something about the size of a deck of cards and generally surrounded by a poor thermal conductor (plastic).

After passing the 30-minute mark, we take the temperature again and record the peak value at any point on the charger. At this time, we also capture the efficiency data from the output at the wall via the Tekcoplus wall power monitor and the Power-Z tester. The difference between what it pulls at the wall and what it pulls on the Power-Z shows how efficiently the charger converts AC to DC. As you’ll see in testing, these are all efficient, with most sitting at 90% or above. That, coupled with the minimal wattage difference, means you won’t notice a difference on your power bill.

After testing 20 chargers of all shapes, sizes, appearances, and outputs, we compiled all the data into easy-to-read charts.

Tested Chargers

We have a slew of chargers for this article, 20 to be exact, and from all walks of life. From a $9.99 off-brand Wegear to a name-brand Anker $89.99 140W model, we cover a wide variety of wall chargers (stay tuned for a desktop charger roundup, too!) with an almost dizzying array of features and technologies. In this test, we cover popular and familiar brands like Anker, Baseus, UGreen, Belkin, and even a couple of Amazon Basics. We also have lesser-known and off-brand brands like Iniu, Eleschion, Wegear, and the curiously named Cuktech in the roundup.

The chargers come in all shapes and sizes, from cubes to cuboids (3D rectangles) to those that plug in and sit flat on the wall. We have black ones, white ones, and multiple with displays that show output wattage and temperature, and there’s even the Anker Nano II ($29.99) that, when charging properly, shows a smiley face. Wattage ranges from a low 15W (anything less wouldn’t charge our power bank) to 140W devices meant for multiple devices. Some even have their own integrated, retractable Type-C cables like the Elecshion 65W (PD-585).

Below is a simple chart listing all chargers in alphabetical order, along with wattage, port count/type, major charging feature support, and the current price (as of when this was published).

Takeaways

After testing all 20 chargers, I walked away a bit surprised at some of the results. I was surprised to see that some chargers without screens actually have a slightly higher power draw. That said, when idle, the chargers sip power, barely reaching 0.3W, while those with screens are closer to 1W. As we touched on earlier, this isn’t remotely a big deal considering the extremely low wattage. To put it in perspective, at the US average of ~17 cents per kWh (kilowatt-hour), a constant 1W load for 30 days would run just over 12 cents.

Another tidbit I didn’t expect to see was that an overwhelming majority of these are, what I would consider, quite efficient, most within a few percentage points of each other. We did have a couple of outliers, like the older Samsung charger, which was several points below the others at 85% efficiency. The Belkin BoostCharge 20W was also lower than most, with 86% efficiency, and close to the Samsung. The rest sit between 89 and 93 efficiency, which is to be expected for any charger that isn’t the cheapest charger you can find.

Thermal throttling was also something I never considered, as I rarely had to output more than what a smartphone or smartwatch needed, but it did show up in our testing. As you can see from the first two charts, at 5 and 15 minutes into testing, wattage remained constant across all of our test subjects. However, after that, a few got too hot and throttled their output.

Of our 140W chargers, all three throttled during our test. The Anker Prime produced the most output at 118W after 30 minutes, with a reading of 67.2 degrees Celsius (measured at the hottest point on the charger with an IR thermometer). The Baseus Enerfil was the hottest 140W, peaking just under the Anker at 76.4C, but its output dropped the most to 88W. The Sharge Pixel was still pumping out 99W and ran 10 degrees cooler, reading 68.8C.

Of our ~100W chargers, a couple of those also throttled during testing. The Anker Prime (100W) and Belkin BoostCharge Pro (112W) also throttled after 15 minutes, with the Anker dropping to 89W (from 99W), and the Belkin dropping to 71W (from 101W). The 100W Anker also has the dubious distinction of running the hottest of all the tested items (and wasn’t even the highest-wattage item). The Baseus Encore (100W) and the Cuktech 10 Ultra charged with full output during our 30-minute test, keeping temperatures between a reasonable 63C and 65C, which was the lowest of any 100W< devices we tested.

As we look at lower-power chargers in the 45-68W range, none of them throttled their output. The off-brand Iniu 65W charge ran the hottest, peaking at over 70C, and was the hottest of this wattage grouping. Baseus’ Encore 67W and the Anker Nano 45W ran the coolest at around 55C and 58C, respectively—nothing to worry about here.

Last are the lower output chargers. Of these, we don’t expect to run hot, and most don’t, but there are some outliers here as well. The Wegear PA5 (30W) ran to a toasty 70C and was the hottest, by far, of our 15-30W chargers. Anker’s Series 5 charger sat at 65C, also running warm for the wattage. Belkin’s BoostCharge 20W charger ran the coolest, peaking at almost 52Cs, while the Ugreen 30W charger was just above that. In short, here, you’ll be able to run these chargers indefinitely without worrying about throttling output due to temperature. But most of these devices can only charge a single device. So if you have multiple devices or higher-wattage items like laptops or tablets, you’ll need to step up to a higher-wattage charger to charge them all quickly.

Conclusion

So far, we have tested 20 different chargers in this article, from all walks of life. From low-output single-device charging to high-output multiple-device charging, we covered quite a bit in this, our first article. We learned that, within this group, we saw full output from even the cheapest chargers, so long as we were under 67W. Beyond that, we saw some in this group start to fade due to higher temperatures, especially the high-power 140W chargers, which all throttled.

There’s little you can do to avoid that if you’re trying to charge multiple items. Even the newest generation chargers with the latest technologies still throttle output. That said, they still charged, but did so more slowly when their output was limited.

Of the high-power devices, our favorite is the Cuktech 10 Ultra ($59.99 - 110W). For under $60, it delivers plenty of power to charge laptops and multiple devices while still maintaining its output. It also has an excellent front screen that displays detailed charging information for each port (including temperature status), among other details. For the 100-140W group, Cuktech 10 Ultra offers the best balance between price, features, output, temperatures, and efficiency. In our middle group (45-68W), the Anker Nano ($29.99 - 45W) did a great job maintaining its output while also maintaining cool temperatures, and was the most efficient of all the chargers we tested so far. It also has a display to show charging status, which is a plus. Finally, if you’re just looking for something to charge lower-power devices quickly, the UGreen 30W Fast charger (under $14) does that efficiently too. You don’t have a fancy screen, but it does manage full output over time and runs the coolest among 30W devices.

In the end, all of these chargers will fast-charge your device if the output is appropriate, and in a pinch, the cheapest will do. Picking the ‘right’ charger isn’t nearly as complicated as it may seem at first glance. Across the board, even cheaper options handled simple charging duties without issue, especially at lower wattages. Higher wattages introduced tradeoffs of heat and throttling when pushed hard over time. Modern standards (think PDS, QC, GaN) have improved efficiency, size, and performance, but don’t eliminate the physical limits of delivering, say, 140W from a pocket-sized device.

To me, the takeaway is simple: match your charger's output to your actual needs. For example, if you're charging low-power devices (think a phone or two), don’t overthink it. But for high-power devices like laptops or multi-device needs, spending a bit more gets you better sustained performance, more ports, and added peace of mind for your wall/travel charger. Regardless of your needs, today’s chargers are smarter, safer, and more efficient than ever, so long as the wattage lines up, it’s hard to go too wrong. But that said, some are clearly better than others. Keep an eye out for a desktop charger article (covers even higher wattage) and a best chargers page, both available soon.

A device that “looks like a normal USB cable” but is far more powerful has been a rip-roaring success on Kickstarter, with three weeks still to go. The Hacknect project by Little Gadgets packs an ESP32-S3 microcontroller, microSD card storage, and Wi-Fi capabilities into an unassuming cable that can be controlled remotely and used for a host of cybersecurity shenanigans. Ready-made Hacknect functions shown in the browser-based app include: remote payload execution, HID keystroke injection, mouse automation, and more. A single Hacknect red or white cable is being offered to crowdfunding backers starting from roughly $82 (€70).

Wireless wire with secret teeth

Electronics makers and gadget DIYers will probably be familiar with the ESP32-S3 microcontroller at the heart of the Hacknect. This is usually installed on a small rectangular devkit board, but Little Gadgets has hidden it within the confines of a USB cable connector. We’d guess it is in the USB Type-A side, so it can interface directly with the micro SD card, and that connector is larger than the USB Type-C end. However, neither end looks conspicuously or suspiciously bulky.

The ESP32-S3 is designed for AIoT applications and includes 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5 (LE). Additionally, it enables a rich set of I/O, has mature software support, and includes several security features.

You can see the microSD card fits neatly in the solid side of the USB Type-A connector. It also seemingly works as a USB data and charging cable, but we aren’t sure if the microSD card storage is accessible from devices on either side of the cable, or if it is somehow veiled.

The advertised features of Hacknect are both impressive and concerning. Little Gadgets says that all these functions are available from a web browser UI accessible from your smart device or computer:

• Keystroke Injection - Execute automated keyboard payloads using high‑speed HID emulation.
• Mouse Injection - Simulate advanced mouse movements and automation actions.
• Payload Slots - Store and manage multiple payloads directly on the device.
• Wi‑Fi Triggers - Trigger actions wirelessly from smartphones or computers.
• Browser‑Based Control Panel - Control Hacknect completely from your web browser.
• One‑Click Payload Deployment - Launch payloads instantly with a single click.
• USB + TF 2‑IN‑1 Design - Integrated TF/SD storage support directly inside the USB‑A connector.
• Full-Speed USB Interface - Fast and responsive USB communication.
• Self‑Destruct Mode - Quickly erase stored payloads and sensitive data.
• Compact Stealth Design - Looks like a normal everyday USB cable.
• Mobile & Desktop Compatible - Works seamlessly with smartphones, tablets, laptops, and PCs.
• Open Source - Firmware, examples, and documentation will be openly available.

In summary, one might compare the Hacknect cable with the O.MG cable – another stealthy USB cable with Wi-Fi and an embedded microcontroller, covering much of the same functionality. Except that Hacknect is much more affordable and touted as an open-source project.

Since the project is already a success, should everything else run smoothly, backers are told to expect the first batches of Hacknect to ship in August this year. Our standard warning with crowdfunding projects applies. Remember that paying to crowdfund a project is not a guarantee of receiving a finished product. Backing a crowdfunded project is akin to an investment; you believe in the project and want it to succeed. You are not purchasing a retail product.

If you have a spare, old, unwanted PC power supply unit (PSU) just gathering dust, perhaps it could enjoy a new life as a bench power supply. This is probably the exact thought that fired across man-cave hobby channel Handmax Workshop’s neurons, which recently published a 5-minute video entitled ‘Don’t throw away your old PC PSU – do this instead!’

The video starts with a brief explanation of why a bench power supply is a useful piece of equipment for DIYers and tinkerers who sometimes have to or wish to work with electronics.

Probably the most useful feature of such a device is to deliver an accurate, stable DC voltage for testing things if you have run out of batteries or you suspect the device is broken due to a battery compartment issue (e.g., corrosion). Of particular attraction is the outputs that deliver a voltage you dial in, typically by turning a knob on the unit.

Handmax Workshop shows the ‘donor’ PC PSU is a very old one from the Pentium 4 era, which is rated at 350W. Its fan was also extremely dusty, but that was remedied, and we guess it was previously tested to be fully functioning.

Next up, the DIYer strips down the PSU, snipping the wires (wire length requirements will be much reduced in this project). With this era of PSU cables being color-coded, which is no longer a trend, the TechTuber flashes up a handy colorized guide to an ATX PSU’s main connector pinout (roughly 1 minute into the video).

The new bench power supply will need a chassis with a panel to mount the usual outputs, dials, and so on. So, Handmax Workshop turns to their Bambu Labs A1 to 3D print a nice two-art two-tone frame and panel. The design incorporates enough room beneath the front panel for the new wiring routes, etc. Handmax Workshop kindly makes the 3D printer files available via a link in the video description.

In addition to the old PC PSU and the 3D printer output, it is necessary to add some key components to make a working and useful bench power supply. The most important additions are as follows, and they aren’t very expensive:

• A 120W voltage regulator with LCD display, active cooling, and serviceable quality – adjusts output voltage between 0 and 36V
• An XT60 connector, where you will tap into your finely adjusted voltage output
• Below that are two banana sockets, which will also tap into the adjustable voltage (using splitters inside the build chassis) out
• Sockets for ground, 12V, 5V, and 3V – these are wired direct from the original PSU rails
• An on/off switch for the bench power supply
• A red LED to indicate whether the unit is on or off

As there was extra space on the panel, the DIYer decided to add a USB port on the front panel, complete with a fast charging circuit. We see in the finished build that it was a Type-A port chosen. This port can run from any input between 10 and 30V, so it was simply connected to the 12V line.

I noticed in this project that there are potential polarity hurdles to navigate when doing your wiring. It is a nice brief video, but due to this and the lack of accompanying written instructions, etc., it doesn’t look like a foolproof plan for a novice. Also, this is mainly a fun e-waste saving project as a new bench power supply isn't prohibitively expensive, with many available for around the $50 mark.

We’ve written about DNA storage and its potential several times before. However, the University of Missouri (Mizzou) is developing a “DNA hard drive,” which “moves the field closer to a practical, rewritable system.” That’s good, as readers prefer practical solutions to pie-in-the-sky projects, and rewritables are particularly attractive. Unfortunately, Mizzou’s blog post on its DNA hard drive advance is pretty light on technical details, and doesn’t share any prototype photos, demo statistics, or availability timescales, for example.

“DNA is incredible — it stores life’s blueprint in a tiny, stable package,” Li-Qun ‘Andrew’ Gu, a professor of chemical and biomedical engineering at Mizzou’s College of Engineering, gushes. “We wanted to see if we could store and rewrite information at the molecular level faster, simpler, and more efficiently than ever before.”

We know of the potential of DNA from prior published works, news from other academic institutions such as MIT, and details from the University of Washington’s well-publicized collaborations with Microsoft, among many others. So, what makes Mizzou’s advances stand out from the crowd? It is touted to be an irresistible mix of simplicity, speed, and rewritability.

Gu’s team claims to have developed a method to store, erase, and overwrite DNA data repeatedly. Indeed, this would make the Mizzou DNA HDD attractive and practical – with its “extraordinary storage density and longevity,” due to the nature of DNA.

Frameshift encoding and Nanopore sensing

Mizzou doesn’t divulge details of the writing methodology in its blog post, but we unearthed the associated research paper, which says it uses "frameshift encoding" to write data. This technique is an emerging approach among several groups looking at rewritable DNA storage.

The Mizzou blog briefly explains its DNA reading method, though. The team has designed “a compact electronic device paired with a molecular-scale detector called a nanopore sensor,” it is explained. This read head, since we are using HDD terminology, senses the subtle electrical changes as DNA passes through its field, and electronics/software converts the DNA’s A, C, G, and T sequences into binary.

The academics assert that their project, which leverages the university’s experts in fields such as physics, biology, data, and materials sciences, marks a “key milestone in making DNA a long-term replacement for some of today’s energy-hungry storage technologies.” That’s pretty bold for a project that admittedly has a “long-term” hope to shrink its DNA HDD to USB thumb-drive size. Moreover, we haven’t even seen the non-miniaturized prototypes or demos yet. We’ll stay tuned, but think it will be a while before we see any DNA-data thumb drives on Amazon…

I’ve bought many, many USB cables over the years. What frustrates me the most is how unassuming they are. Branded, braided, data-capable, high-speed, power-capable – these terms are meaningless to the average consumer when USB cables all look, more or less, the same. It’s a cable. It plugs in. It should all work the same, right?

If only it were that simple. I’ve bought many a dud in my time, even at prices that should have priced out the poor-quality knockoffs. Just because a cable has a fancy braided coating doesn’t mean that you can use it to power your laptop or smartphone, or that it’s safe to use for transferring data, or if it’s even safe to plug in without frying your USB port. That’s why I rely on a USB cable tester as part of my tech kit, and I think it’s one of those forgotten pieces of kit that every household should own, even if most probably don’t.

If it involves power, you really should test it

One unfortunate incident that occurred a few years ago that convinced me of this need involved a USB cable I purchased from a well-known retailing behemoth. I’ve owned a MacBook for several years and, if you’ve ever owned one, you’ll know the frustration of dealing with a yellowing USB charging cable. Every bend and every crease reduces the lifespan of the supplied USB power cable until, eventually, the plastic sheathing breaks, the wiring becomes exposed, and the cable ends up rotting in the trash.

So, to Amazon. I purchased a no-brand knock-off with a nylon-braided shielding that I hoped would work and would last. It didn’t. When it failed to charge my laptop after less than a week, it dawned on me that I was trusting my $2,000 MacBook to a cable that cost me less than $10. I didn’t know how it’d been made or if it was any good before I started using it, other than a cursory glance at the sketchy-looking packaging.

Give these USB testers a try

My inquisitive nature, despite being late to kick in, led me to consider how I could actually test a USB cable in the future before relying on it to power my devices or handle my data. I wouldn’t do it with a flash drive, so why would I do it to a cable? Hence: USB testers. You can test USB cables to determine their quality, available speeds, and generation. You can check if they’re grounded properly, provide the correct voltage and current, and check if they have any faults.

While some of these devices might look a little intimidating to beginners, they're easy enough to understand once you've given them a try. The most expensive will be designed to tell you upfront if, for example, a cable is ready and capable of handling the more advanced USB-C functionality – fast-charging, in particular, isn’t one you’ll want to trust to a cable that isn’t up to the challenge.

I've put together a list of a few USB testers that I would recommend. These vary in price and functionality, from basic tests to check the line and data capabilities of a cable, with more advanced models acting as USB multimeters that are capable of checking if features like fast-charging are working.

These USB testers should give you a good idea of how reliable your cables are. Beginners will probably find it easier to use the models with USB screens, like the Fnirsi USB tester or the MakerHawk USB Multimeter, but you can't really go wrong with any of them.

One thing to point out, however, is that to test a cable, you need a sacrificial lamb of a device to use it with. While testers like these should feature fault detection to prevent any damage, I use an old phone as my test subject, just in case. You should also remember that a cable is only as good as the device you use it with, although the USB multimeters we've listed here can help you check these, too.

And, if you find a cable you can't trust? Don't try to repair it, don't try to salvage it. The best place for it is in the trash — it'll save a whole lot of heartache.

A computing enthusiast has assembled one of the most bizarre USB drives we have ever seen. Despite being the size of a dinner plate, this drive holds just 128 bytes of data. The incredibly poor data density is largely due to the use of the archaic Magnetic Core Memory technology, which predates integrated circuits. Moreover, data saved to this drive is non-volatile (good), but bits are erased during the read process (bad). Despite the drawbacks and impractical nature of this device, created by space science researcher @dyd_Nao on X (machine translation), we applaud the effort.

The Japanese tech enthusiast has mixed this curiously old memory tech with modern ICs and interfaces to come up with this bizarre USB flash drive. Built around the central non-volatile core are modern components like driver chips, sense amplifiers, LEDs, and the USB functionality is provided by a Raspberry Pi Pico. The Pico also handles the rewrite cycle.

Of course, this project was more ‘can I?’ rather than ‘should I,’ as 128 bytes of kinda-NV-RAM on a very large USB drive is of no practical purpose that we can fathom. Actually, 128 bytes isn’t even enough to store the full text from an old-school Twitter Tweet. One of the original post commenters notes that Magnetic Core Memory has good resistance to radiation. But what of all the supporting components…?

What is Magnetic Core Memory?

Magnetic Core Memory was used as RAM before the semiconductor DRAM breakthrough in the 1970s. You can read more about it at places like Wikipedia, but, in brief, it stored data on tiny ferric rings wrapped in wire. If you look at the example photos from @dyd_Nao, you’d observe the central grid-like structure, which is the core plane.

On the plus side, it was non-volatile RAM technology. However, amongst its many drawbacks were its expense, low density, and lack of scalability due to its sometimes hand-woven construction. Moreover, reading the data was ‘destructive’ – or in other words, reading the data would erase the data, so a system would need to re-write it immediately if it wanted the data to persist post-read.

Magnetic Core Memory was first used by a computer in 1953, in MIT’s Whirlwind computer. It is a memory technology that predates integrated circuits, and was actually a RAM standard from 1955 to the early 70s. Intel actually pioneered semiconductor DRAM with its 1103 DRAM ICs in late 1970, commercially debuting cheaper, faster, and denser computer memory tech.

An open source USB to GPIB adapter will soon reach version 3, bringing an integrated Ethernet port with PoE support to the design. Project originator Kai Gossner (Xyphro) recently contacted CNX Software about the impending milestone. Regular readers will have moderately fresh GPIB imprints on their brains, as we recently reported on this ancient (53-year-old) cable connectivity standard introduced by HP back in 1972 getting its first stable Linux driver.

XyphroLabs’s UsbGpib project can be found on GitHub, where you can check out the buy it or build it guide, download resource files, and read about the latest v2.2 update. The project exists to provide “access to legacy GPIB/IEEE-488 instruments using contemporary hardware and software,” using modern hardware, specifically via USB, hence the name.

UsbGpib hardware features a list of “easy to source” components – an important asset for building an interface for such a lost-in-time standard. Central to its operation include an easily sourced ATMega32U4 microcontroller for 5V I/O compatibility, a USB Type-C port with full USBTMC (USB Test and Measurement Class) support, a 16 MHz Crystal, and of course, a physical 24-pin GPIB interface. Xyphro kindly expands upon the physical necessities by sharing housing/enclosure resources, firmware, and software that includes the source code.

Work on v3 of the UsbGpib project seems to be quite advanced. Several 3D designs of this integrated Ethernet with PoE support revision have been made, and CNC machined housing ordered. Xyphro says that “V3 is converging and nearing completion… [and] prototypes will arrive approximately end of January.”

A GPIB / IEEE-488 refresher

GPIB is an ancient interface, capable of up to 8 MB/s transfers, created by HP back in 1972. It was developed by the influential tech firm as a standard to connect its growing range of lab equipment to computers at a time when a robust standard interface, capable of meeting HP’s needs, simply wasn’t available. GPIB connectivity would be embraced by other makers of electronic test and measurement instruments, and we even saw some 8-bit home computers from Commodore and Acorn use it (as IEEE-488).

XyphroLabs’ implementation looks suitably robust to carry the GPIB flag. It has been successfully tested with a multitude of equipment from makers such as HP, R&S, Agilent, Tektronix, Keithley, Gould, and others. Moreover, this adapter isn’t just useful for Linux folks, it works with Windows 7 or newer, and MacOSX devices, too.

You can buy a pre-made “rock solid” UsbGpib v2 currently for $54.99. That’s only advisable if you have no need / desire for an Ethernet and PoE enabled (v3) model.

USB PD (Power Delivery) is an advanced, fast-charging standard that supports various power requirements over a USB connection. Its predecessor, USB (Universal Serial Bus), was a wondrous invention in the late 1990s and revolutionized how we connected devices to our computers. Before that, we had various serial and parallel connections along with proprietary options.

USB introduced a fixed 5V power supply for peripherals, allowing companies to design around this power requirement. But as time went on, devices traditionally charged via a DC barrel jack moved to USB, and those devices started requiring more power or introducing proprietary protocols. This is where USB PD (Power Delivery) comes in. The first version of USB PD was designed for older USB-A devices; it wasn’t until USB PD 2.0 that USB-C became the dominant interface.

The USB C PD Specification

The key feature of USB-PD is smart power negotiation. The device and the charger communicate with each other and establish the correct power requirements without user intervention.

The specifications for USB-C PD have evolved over the years. We are currently at USB-PD 3.2, which introduced new branding/terminology. The specification defines communication standards that enable the device to report its power capabilities. The latest version of this protocol, the Power Supply Block (PSB), was PSB-P3.1 in 2021, and that standard is backward compatible with previous versions.

As a result of the spec, I can charge my smartphone at 18W and my Lenovo X390 at 65W from the same USB PD charger; there is no longer any need to carry multiple chargers. Even Apple devices, which have long used proprietary connectors, are moving to USB-C due to EU regulatory requirements.

Let's take a look at the specs.

PPS: Programmable Power Supply, introduced in USB PD 3.0 that enables a device to dynamically adjust voltage and current for efficient charging.

AVS: Adjustable Voltage Supply, introduced in USB PD 3.1 alongside EPR. AVS enables a USB-C charger to provide higher voltage and power levels, up to 240W when using the correct cables.

EPR: Extended Power Range, introduced in USB PD 3.1, enables chargers and devices to deliver more than the previous 100W limit. It works with AVS to provide up to 240W.

USB PD 1.0

USB PD 1.0 was the start of the standardization. We only have five power profiles. One for 5V, and two each for 12V and 20V. But each profile is designed for a different device type. At the time, smartphones didn’t use high-speed charging profiles that we have now. Typically, smartphones would charge between 10 and 15W. Headphones, desk accessories, and portable hard drives would run at 10W. You could run higher-powered devices, such as hubs or external GPUs, if you had the correct cable.

There are numerous USB PD 1.0 devices on the market, commonly used to charge smartphones and power USB-A devices that require more power. I have one to power my many USB soldering irons. This version of USB PD may be “dumb” when compared to the newer standards, but it gets the job done.

USB PD 2.0

USB PD 2.0 is where we see USB-C enter the PD standard, and PDO (Power Data Objects) expands the standard to provide additional 9V and 12V options that deliver 1.67 to 3A (up to 27W) for 9V and 1.8 to 3A or 2.25 to 3A for 15V. At 20V, devices can negotiate up to 5A, giving a full 100W of power.

USB PD 2.0 was possibly the most impactful version on the market, largely thanks to the introduction of USB-C to the standard. Most USB-C laptops use this, but it does depend on the manufacturer. The same applies to power banks and hubs. This is the era in which many manufacturers moved away from proprietary power bricks because USB-C offered the power they needed in a very convenient form factor. Notable examples include Nintendo’s Switch, Ultrabooks, and Chromebooks.

USB PD 3.0

USB PD 3.0 brought PPS (Programmable Power Supply) to the standard, with voltages between 3.3 and 21V at 3A. USB PD 3.0 provided a fine-grained approach to power negotiation. By negotiating a more efficient power profile, devices could charge faster and at lower temperatures. There is still the 100W hard limit, but PPS favors efficiency over raw power. USB PD 3.0 is common in flagship smartphones because it supports flexible charging rates, improves battery life, and, of course, reduces heat. These are all factors to consider when charging smaller devices.

USB PD 3.0 is now a decade old and has become the de facto standard for chargers, thanks to its expansive voltage range that supports a wide range of devices.

USB PD 3.1

Released in 2021, USB PD 3.1 introduced Extended Power Range (EPR) that added three new fixed voltages. These were 28V, 36V and 48V. It also saw the max power output extended to 240W when using an EPR cable.

The Adjustable Voltage Supply (AVS) enables 240W by providing 48V at 5. This high power output is typically used with GaN (Gallium Nitride) power supplies that use GaN semiconductors instead of the traditional silicon. The benefit of GaN is that it can be made smaller, more efficient, and it has much better heat dissipation. Other devices that use this standard are high-power laptops, such as gaming and workstation replacements. The Framework Laptop 16 is a chief example of a high-power laptop that employs USB PD 3.1.

USB PD 3.2 had no impact on any of the electrical standards used. Rather, it was a release to align the USB PD terminology with USB-IF branding.

The USB PD standard is constantly evolving, and with USB PD 3.1, we have a connector that offers plenty of power for gaming laptops and even enough power for mini PCs and multi-monitor setups. A future USB PC specification could one day solve all of our power connector problems.

There are a few things in life that no mortal can ever have enough of: cheese, storage, and perhaps, USB ports. Too long have we suffered through manufacturers' reluctance to give us what we really want, and the dream becomes particularly painful when you realize it's actually feasible. In a somewhat bizarre (exciting, really) video shared on the r/pcmasterrace subreddit, a user has shown off a bunch of old-looking motherboards, all rocking a comically large number of USB ports — 36, to be specific.

customized motherboard with multiple USB ports from r/pcmasterrace

It seems like the recording comes from inside a factory or a warehouse, since you can see pallets in the background and there's more than just one board on the table, all lying atop bubble wrap plastic bags. They could also already be at their destination, such as a bot farm, as suggested by a commenter on the original post. It makes sense from an efficiency point of view; connecting a swarm of phones to a network or system requires a bunch of USB ports, so why not include as many as possible?

That's the real takeaway, too, that these are not actually "original" motherboards, but rather customized models with a bunch of USB interfaces and controllers, put together specifically for specialized applications. Other use cases could involve large-scale device testing or even mining. After all, we've seen boards like Asus' H370 Mining Master that launched with 20 USB riser ports, each connected to a PCIe x1 lane.

Digging a little deeper, the socket appears to be Intel's LGA 1151 from the iconic Skylake/Kaby Lake era — arguably Intel's final heyday before slowly giving up the crown to AMD. The motherboard itself doesn't have any brand markings, implying it's an OEM product. We can also see two RAM sticks and a stock cooler on most of the boards, and despite the grid of USB controllers next to the ports, there's still ample space for a GPU.

Realistically speaking, to fill out the entirety of these ports, you'll need to connect every peripheral and accessory known to mankind. We're taking keyboard, mouse, headset, controller, mic, speakers, Bluetooth dongle, external storage, webcam, drawing tablet, a phone, USB dock (yeah), and a Stream Deck. Or you could just recreate a classic and use all the ports' power to cook some delicious food:

Comment from r/pcmasterrace

Recently, I built a PC toolkit that had all the tools that I would need to repair a broken computer. Using Ventoy, it even included a USB flash drive with multiple Linux distros, rescue ISOs, and even a copy of Windows 11 ready to install. What it didn’t have were the apps that I typically use to overcome issues and solve problems.

Sure, I can install these every time I move to a new computer. Or I can work smarter and install them on a portable device and run the apps directly from it. That’s where PortableApps comes in. PortableApps is a website that collates portable versions of common open source/freeware applications that can be downloaded and run from your PC without installation. Best of all, there is a portable launcher that we can install on a USB flash drive and use that to manage software that is installed onto the flash drive.

In this how-to to we will go through the steps to set up your own portable apps flash drive, and show how it can be used between multiple devices.

All you will need for this how-to is a USB flash drive. Preferably USB 3 for the best possible performance. I chose a spare 8GB drive, but even an old 1GB drive would be useful if you only need a handful of apps or a collection of smaller applications.

Setting up the PortableApps USB flash drive

1. Insert a blank, formatted USB flash drive.
2. Open a browser window and visit the Portable Apps website, and click on Download from PortableApps.com. This will download a 7MB .paf file containing the PortableApps Platform application.

3. Double-click on the downloaded file to run the installer.
4. Using the dropdown menu, set your language and click OK.

5. Select Next to move on.

6. Click “I Agree” after reading the license agreement.

7. Select New Install and click Next. This will start the installation process on either your PC or a chosen USB storage device/cloud storage service.

8. Select Portable to install to a USB drive. You could also choose a cloud or local installation.

9. Select your USB flash drive and click Next.

10. Click Install to copy the files to the USB flash drive. If the destination is incorrect, click Back and choose the correct destination.

11. Ensure that Run PortableApps.com Platform is checked, and click Finish to close the installer and run the platform from the USB flash drive.

12. After closing the About pop-up and once the application updates itself, two icons will appear in the bottom right corner of the screen. The first icon, a grey circle with a white arrow, is the PortableApps Menu (Start Menu). The second icon, a blue circle with a grey arrow, is an application installer. Click on the second icon to show a list of installable applications.

13. Scroll down the list and check the applications that you wish to install, and then click Install to start the process. I grabbed a few applications that I always need. Notepad++, GIMP, Inkscape, KiCAD, Krita, etc.

14. Wait for the downloads to complete.

15. Click Finish to end the installation process.

16. Click on the PortableApps Menu icon to launch the applications menu.

17. From the categories, select the application that you wish to run, and click on it to start.

The PortableApps Menu

The PortableApps menu is where we launch our portable applications, but it can do much more than that.

1. Installed Applications: All of your installed applications are listed here. They are broken down into categories for ease of use. You can also use the search bar at the top of the menu.
2. Quick Links to USB: Here are quick links to folders on your PortableApps USB flash drive. The Explore option will open a general File Explorer window to view the drive as a whole.
3. App Management: These links can back up and restore applications, check for app updates, and install new apps. The options link configures how the PortableApps menu integrates with your OS.
4. Eject and Close: These buttons are used to eject the PortableApps USB flash drive and to close the menu.
5. Disk Usage: Used to keep a close eye on available disk space on your PortableApps USB flash drive.

Are the applications truly portable?

I wanted to test this, so I fired up my Lenovo X390, running Windows 11.

I inserted the PortableApps USB flash drive and double-clicked on the Start file. The menu appeared, and I was soon able to launch Notepad++ directly from the USB flash drive.

This led me to the crazy question of “How portable are these apps? Could I make them work in Linux?” The short answer was yes, I could. I needed to install Wine in order to run the Start.exe file from the flash drive. It worked though!

But let's temper this success with a caveat. Some apps crashed! I tried the Krita image editor, and it loaded fine, and then crashed. GIMP was a little slow, but it worked.

PortableApps is a powerful tool for those of us who are nomadic and just want to get working as quickly as possible. It's free, easy to use, and very useful. All you need is a spare USB flash drive, something that all of us have in abundance. So there is no excuse not to test it out.

Anker has long been a leader in innovative chargers and related accessories, and the company brought some of its newest devices to the IFA trade show in Berlin, including a dock, a beefy portable battery, and a surprisingly compact 160W charger, all a part of its high-end Prime lineup.

14-port Anker Prime Docking Station

First up is the company's latest Prime dock, which is loaded with ports – 14, to be precise. It brings three USB-C, three USB-A, two HDMI, DisplayPort, Ethernet, and SD / MicroSD slots. There's also basically a GaN charger on board, delivering 140W upstream for fast-charging laptops and other devices. All three of the USB-C support fast charging and data, so no you don't need to choose which port you plug into.

The Prime Dock supports three screens, and up to 8K on one screen, with 4K claimed on the other two. Note that the materials weren't entirely clear and Anker was still setting up its booth, so we weren't able to confirm. But this looks to be a 10 Gbps dock (there is no mention of Thunderbolt or USB4). If so, there must be a fair bit of compression happening if you plan to push a lot of pixels.

As with all three of these new Anker devices, there's a screen and app for info and controls. And the dock's housing hides active cooling to avoid throttling.

The 14-in-1 Anker Prime Dock should arrive on September 5th, with an expected U.S. price of $299.

Anker Prime Power Bank can reportedly charge 40% in 10 mins

Anker's latest Prime Power Bank looks fairly standard for a 26,250 mAh model here in mid-2025. It's rated to deliver 300Wr with two USB-C ports (140W each) and a USB-A port (up to 22.5W). But its claim to fame is that it can be recharged at up to 250W. The company says it can go from zero to 40% recharge in just 10 minutes, and 85% in 35 min. But that's if you plug a charger into each of its two USB-C ports. It can also do 150W recharging via an optional charging base.

Anker says the Prime Power Bank is 17% smaller and 10% lighter than competing power banks of the same capacity, but it is still a substantial brick, at 159.9 x 38 x 62.7 mm. That's a little slimmer, but otherwise similar dimensions to a 26,000 mAh Baseus charger I bought earlier this year. At 99.75 Wh, it is airplane-friendly, but rules about power banks and their use on flights have been changing lately, so be sure to check before heading to the airport.

The battery also has a screen that shows charging info, and can be adjusted via an app to change settings and dim or turn off the display. It also supports firmware updates for the latest protocols and software features, but that requires the optional base.

Pricing and availability weren't available for the Prime Power Bank as of publication.

Anker 160W Prime Charger

Anker says its three-USB-C port 160 Prime Charger is 54% smaller than Apple's 140W charger, and it's certainly small for how much power it can dish out. It should fit in most pockets unless you're still rocking skinny jeans.

The three USB-C ports can each max out at 140W, and they can dynamically adapt while charging, so when one device hits 100%, others can pull more power to charge your other devices faster. Again there's a display on the front of the Prime Charger, which provides real-time power info for each port. It can be controlled via Bluetooth with an app to change charging modes, adjust screen brightness, turn on a sleep mode, and more.

The Anker 160W Prime Charger is expected to cost $149 in the U.S, and should be available September 25th.

The world is mobile, and with remote working more accessible than ever, you can pretty much work or take your devices anywhere that you can think of. The problem is the availability of sources to charge or keep your devices topped up so that you don't run out of power at an inopportune moment. If you have access to plug your laptop into a wall outlet, then there's no issue, but let's say you want to play a few games on your laptop or Switch 2 on the train or a flight. A battery can be quickly drained in demanding applications, so you will need a beefy power bank to charge high-draw devices.

The Ugreen Nexode should also be fine to take on flights due to it being under the 27,000mAh/ 100Wh limits set by aviation flight authorities. Do check with your carrier if you have any concerns about bringing your power bank on your next flight, as the rules can vary sometimes depending on locations and carriers.

• Check out this deal on Amazon

This power bank isn’t just for charging a smartphone; It's able to put the juice back in your laptop or handheld game console in next to no time with high-power fast-charging. With dual 100W charging, you can even charge simultaneously. You can even charge a MacBook Pro with ease thanks to its 140W-capable USB-C power delivery 3.1 (PD 3.1) technology. In just 30 minutes, you can charge a MacBook up to 50% or more.

One of the best features of the Nexode power bank is its integrated TFT display. It provides input/output wattage per port, the current battery capacity level, and even the remaining time before the power bank runs out. More information makes it easier to manage your device's charge for prolonged use.

If you're looking for more savings, check out our Best PC Hardware deals for a range of products, or dive deeper into our specialized SSD and Storage Deals, Hard Drive Deals, Gaming Monitor Deals, Graphics Card Deals, or CPU Deals pages.

If there's one thing I'm always seem to be running out of, it's available USB ports, and primarily, ports with the correct power requirements for speedily charging my gadgets. How many times have you plugged something via USB to your laptop, and it's taken an eternity to charge, but you could have done it faster with a mains charger, but you only have a single port? I have large battery packs that can fast-charge over USB Type-C with 100W throughput and be filled up in next to no time, and then enable me to take my laptop and devices on the move and have ample power for the day. But I used to only have one or two of these ports before getting my hands on a decent multi-port charger.

You can get a bunch of extra USB charging ports in today's deal at Amazon, where the Sabrent 8-port 252W USB charger is now $84.15, reduced from its original list price of $169.99. A combination of a price cut to $99.99 and an additional clipped coupon for a 15% discount brings this charger to the $84.15 deal. Saving more than 50% from the original MSRP.

• Grab the Sabrent deal at Amazon

The Sabrent charger is fast and powerful, and can charge multiple devices with its compact 8-port layout, delivering up to 252W total output. The unit features a bright LCD color screen for real-time monitoring of your device's charging. Keep an eye on the voltage and amperage being used on each individual port and make sure your device is charging efficiently.

With 8 ports - 4x USB Type-A and 4x USB Type-C, there is plenty of room for charging multiple devices at once. The USB Type-C ports support fast charging, with each port providing up to 100W individually or up to 125W per pair. Multiple voltages are supported (5V/3A, 9V/3A, 12V/3A, 15V/3A, 20V/5A) to efficiently charge power-hungry devices like laptops, tablets, and smartphones. The USB Type-A charging ports each offer up to 18W or 36W per pair and support 5V/3A, 9V/2A, and 12V/1.5A.

If you're looking for more savings, check out our Best PC Hardware deals for a range of products, or dive deeper into our specialized SSD and Storage Deals, Hard Drive Deals, Gaming Monitor Deals, Graphics Card Deals, or CPU Deals pages.

When traveling, it’s easy to keep your devices topped off if you have easy access to a power outlet. Just plug in a power adapter and a USB cable, and you’re good to go. But what about those times when there’s no wall outlet in sight? That’s where a battery power bank can come in handy, and one of the best ones available is the Anker 737, which is currently just $76.99 at direct from the manufacturer after a coupon code WS245UB5BF.

• Check out all the deals in Amazon's Prime Day Sale

I have personal experience with the Anker 737, as I bought one on September 19, 2023 and have used it extensively. The power bank has a permanent spot in my travel bag for those times when I need to top off. The Anker 737 has gotten heavy use on cross-country flights, and even on the beach to charge the battery on my iPhone (which quickly drains as the display brightness jumps sky high in direct sunlight).

But this power bank isn’t just for charging smartphones; I’ve used it to charge my iPad, Apple Watch, and AirPods — sometimes simultaneously. Heck, it will even charge my MacBook Pro with ease (it’s 140W-capable using USB Power Delivery 3.1).

Anker says that a fully charged 24,000 mAh battery can recharge an empty iPhone 16 Pro four times, or fully charge an iPad Pro and still have some juice leftover. In my experience, those statements seem pretty accurate. It can charge three devices at once via one USB-A port (18W max) and two USB-C ports (140W max using a single port). One of the two USB-C ports is also used as input when recharging the Anker 737. You can also quickly replenish it from 0 to 100 percent at 140W in just 52 minutes.

However, one of the niftiest features of the power bank is its integrated OLED display. It provides input/output wattage per port, the current battery capacity level, and even the remaining time before the power bank runs out.

With a sub-$80 price tag, the Anker 737 is a well-thought-out power bank that should satisfy even the most demanding travel warriors.

We are working hard to find the best computer hardware deals for you this Amazon Prime Day. We cover the hottest deals in real-time at our Best Amazon Prime Day Deals Live page. If you're looking for more savings, check out our Amazon Prime Day deals for a range of products, or dive deeper into our specialized SSD and Storage Deals, Hard Drive Deals, Gaming Monitor Deals, Graphics Card Deals, or CPU Deals pages.

I travel a lot, be it by plane or by car, so my laptop bag is often filled with various cables, wall adapters, battery power bricks, and USB cables. However, I’m trying to consolidate as many of my components as possible. So, when browsing around Amazon looking to see if there was anything I could score for myself for Prime Day, my eye was immediately drawn to two listings from Ugreen: 65-watt and 45-watt retractable USB-C charging blocks priced at $34.99 and $19.99, respectively.

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Ugreen is a name I’m familiar with, as I have one of the company’s USB-C to 2.5 GbE adapters that I keep in my travel bag, just in case. But the retractable power bricks intrigued me for multiple reasons.

I currently use Apple 29- and 70-watt USB-C power adapters to charge my devices on the go. Of course, you can only charge one device at a time with these adapters. However, Ugreen’s power bricks allow me to charge up to three devices. In my usage case, I could imagine using the 65-watt USB-C power brick to charge my MacBook Pro, iPhone, and Apple Watch (or AirPods) simultaneously.

The second thing that intrigued me is the integrated retractable 2.3-foot USB-C cable. There’s no need to worry if I remembered to bring along a USB-C cable; it’s already attached and stows away when not needed. It doesn’t get any better than that. My track record is mostly good with retractable cables, so I’m crossing my fingers on the long-term durability here.

Finally, the overall size of these Ugreen retractable power bricks is a big draw. Compared to my 75-watt Apple adapter, these things are much smaller in comparison, due in part to the use of Gallium Nitride (GaN) power transistors. The 65-watt version has straight-through power plugs, while the 45-watt version uses retractable plugs to further reduce its profile in your bag.

The 65-watt version includes the retractable USB-C cable, one USB-C port, and one USB-A port, while the 45-watt version has the retractable USB-C cable and two USB-C ports.

With pricing as low as $19.99, Ugreen’s retractable USB-C charging blocks were an immediate impulse buy for me. I bought one of each, and they’re bound to be a helpful addition to my travel bag and will help cut down on cable/charger clutter.

We are working hard to find the best computer hardware deals for you this Amazon Prime Day. We cover the hottest deals in real-time at our Best Amazon Prime Day Deals Live page. If you're looking for more savings, check out our Amazon Prime Day deals for a range of products, or dive deeper into our specialized SSD and Storage Deals, Hard Drive Deals, Gaming Monitor Deals, Graphics Card Deals, or CPU Deals pages.

With its 80 Gb/s transfer rate and a 120 Gb/s boost mode for high-performance displays, USB4 version 2 represents a major breakthrough in terms of connectivity. Unfortunately, for now, there are only two USB4 v2 controllers for PCs on the market: one from Apple, another from Intel (the JHL9580), so there is almost no way to add USB4 v2 to AMD platforms. Good news: this is going to change, as both ASMedia and Via Labs have revealed to Tom's Hardware that they are working on controllers set to launch in the next two years.

At Computex, we met with representatives from ASMedia and Via Labs, two well-known makers of external controllers for various connectivity standards. In fact, ASMedia develops chipsets for AMD. Both companies are working on USB 4 v2 controllers, yet ASMedia plans to release its chip towards the end of 2026, while Via Labs intends to launch its USB 4 v2 solution sometime in 2027. For now, it is not clear whether ASMedia and Via Labs are also developing USB4 v2 PHY in-house or plan to use an off-the-shelf offering from, say, Synopsys.

Releasing controller chips does not necessarily mean their immediate adoption by actual makers of motherboards and laptops. The controllers must pass certification procedures by the USB-IF and PCI-SIG, and then they must be qualified by motherboard and/or PC makers, which takes time.

That said, it is reasonable to expect PCs and motherboards with ASMedia’s USB4 v2 controllers to be introduced at CES 2027 and hit the market in early 2027. Until then, USB4 version 2 with an 80 Gb/s transfer rate and 120 Gb/s boost mode will be a prerogative of Apple and Intel-based machines.

Such a long development cycle for USB4 v2 controllers should not come as a surprise. USB4 version 2.0 represents a significant upgrade to USB4 by doubling the maximum symmetrical bandwidth from 40 Gbps to 80 Gbps and enabling a 120 Gbps asymmetric mode (3 transmit lanes, 1 receive lane) for high-resolution display use cases. But performance is perhaps not the key difference between USB4 and USB4 v2, as the latter introduces a new signaling method — PAM-3 — that transmits more bits per cycle than the NRZ encoding used in USB4 while still operating over existing certified USB-C cables. However, usage of PAM-3 comes at a price as encoding and decoding get significantly more tricky and demanding in terms of resources. The protocol support of USB4 v2 is also enhanced: it can tunnel faster protocols like PCIe 4.0 and DisplayPort 2.1, whereas USB4 is limited to PCIe 3.0 and DisplayPort 1.4a. Adding all these features and making sure they work takes a long time, which is why ASMedia and Via Labs will be two or three years late to market compared to Apple and Intel.

The Sabrent USB 3.2 Type-C M.2 SSD Enclosure is now available at Amazon for one of its lowest prices to date, according to price tracker CamelCamelCamel. This handy little gadget fits spare M.2 SSDs and allows them to operate as a plug-and-play device. It has a recommended price of $39, but it recently snuck down to just $22.

If the enclosure looks appealing, but you're not sure what SSD to put inside, refine your specific needs regarding metrics like capacity and speed, then check out our list of the best SSDs to see which ones we personally recommend. Alternatively, this enclosure might be a good choice for that spare M.2 SSD you have in a drawer.

External GPU (eGPU) support on Apple Silicon Macs and MacBooks has been a persistent pain point for AI/ML developers. Through what some may consider to be black magic, Tiny Corp has managed to get an AMD eGPU working in Tiny Grad over USB3, a standard that inherently lacks PCIe capabilities. As they're using libusb, this functionality extends to Windows, Linux, and even macOS, including devices with Apple Silicon.

Traditionally, GPUs are connected through PCIe slots or the Thunderbolt/USB4 interfaces, which offer PCI Express tunneling support. As such, external GPU solutions rely on the aforementioned interfaces, which limits their support for older systems and laptops. Unlike Intel-based Macs/MacBooks, Apple Silicon based devices do not support external GPUs, mainly due to the lack of driver support and architectural differences. So, despite their efficiency compared to traditional x86-based systems, users have reported challenges in AI workloads, especially when it comes to prompt processing.

Requirements for running an eGPU through a USB3 interface at this time include the use of an ASM2464PD-based adapter and an AMD GPU. For its tests, Tiny Corp used the ADT-UT3G adapter, which uses the same ASM2464PD chip, but out of the box, it only works with Thunderbolt 3, Thunderbolt 4, or USB 4 interfaces. The team likely employed a custom firmware to enable USB3 mode that works without direct PCIe communication. Technical details are murky, however, the controller appears to be translating PCIe commands to USB packets and vice versa.

The USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) introduced the USB 2.0 standard on April 27, 2000, meaning this port speed is turning 25 years old today. The USB 2.0 standard pushed this interface to the mainstream, especially as it delivered a blazingly fast transfer speed (for its time) of 480 Mbps with its Hi-Speed USB. This was over 40 times faster than the 12 Mbps limit of USB 1.1 and was even faster than Apple’s first implementation of its proprietary FireWire 400 connector. More importantly, it was cheaper to implement than the latter, making it more attractive to motherboard manufacturers.

USB 2.0's early days

Despite the standard being released in 2000, German publication Heise [machine translated] reminds us that it took a couple more years before PC makers started putting USB 2.0 on their devices. VIA was the first company to deploy it, with its Southbridge VT8235 that had P4X333 and KT333 chipsets in 2002, with Apple followed suit in 2003 with its USB 2.0-equipped Macs. It wasn’t until 2004 that Intel released a Pentium 4 chipset that had USB 2.0 capabilities, despite it being one of the companies that spearheaded the development of the first USB standard.

Furthermore, there wasn’t widespread driver support for USB 2.0 when it launched. It took Windows XP almost a year to support the standard when Microsoft released Service Pack 1 in August 2002. It wasn’t until the release of Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 in June 2003 that the older operating system was able to take advantage of USB 2.0’s higher speeds. Windows 95 and 98, which were still quite popular at the turn of the century, did not receive native support for USB 2.0 at all, although Windows 98 Second Edition (SE) supported third-party drivers for the standard.

USB 2.0 helped replace the parallel and serial ports used for connecting peripherals to your computer. These old connectors were rather large and painfully slow, with the former’s highest bitrate limited to around 20 Mbps, while the latter could only hit 256 Kbps. Furthermore, USB 2.0 is decidedly more compact than those old standards, that used many more pins, and lacked the hot-swappable USB benefits.

This made USB 2.0 much more convenient to use. When paired with its cheaper licensing costs, it made absolute sense for manufacturers to implement USB 2.0 as the primary way for connecting peripherals and transferring data between devices. USB-IF also released several smaller connector types for USB, including USB Mini and USB Micro, which made it convenient to implement on more portable devices, like smartphones and tablets.

USB4 and beyond

Sanwa Supply Inc., a leading Japanese company known for building peripherals and other accessories, like the USB foot pedals and MagSafe-like Ethernet cables, has just released a USB-C cable with a connector that bends by 180 degrees and rotates on its axis by 360 degrees. Japanese site ITmedia (machine translated) said that the company offers the USB-C to USB-C cable in two lengths—1 meter (approx. 3.2 feet) and 1.8 meters (approx. 5.9 feet)—and also has USB-A to USB-C cable (with only the USB-C end having the 360-degree rotating feature) in 1- or 2-meter lengths.

Unfortunately, both cable models are limited to USB 2.0 speeds, so it only has a maximum transfer speed of 480mbps. Nevertheless, the USB-C to USB-C model is rated as PD 240W, making it compatible for charging even the most power-hungry devices, like gaming laptops. On the other hand, the USB-A to USB-C option is compatible with Quick Charge 3.0, making it useful for charging the average smartphone. The design should reduce strain on your USB C ports, and make charging more convenient. You won't have to hold or position your device a certain wait to prevent long term damage on your USB-C port or cable.

The 1-meter USB-C to USB-C cable is priced at ¥2,580 while the longer 1.8-meter option is ¥2,780. This translates to about $16.46 for the shorter USB-C cable and $17.73 for the longer one. But if you only need one USB-C cable and don’t have use for the faster charging speed of PD 240W, the USB-C to USB-A option is cheaper at ¥1,980 for the 1-meter option (around $12.63) and ¥2,280 for the 2-meter model (about $14.54). This puts it at about the same price as other branded cables with a protective nylon covering, but you get more flexibility versus other competing USB-C cables.

The cable is not available on Amazon yet, so you’ll need to buy it directly from the Japanese site and find a way to have it shipped. There are other 360-degree charging cables that you can find on the eCommerce platform, but they’re all charging cables that do not allow data transfers. If you’re looking for another weird but useful product from Sanwa, the company just launched its wireless mouse receiver that also serves as a USB and HDMI hub, allowing you to use a 2.4G wireless mouse, plug an external monitor, and charge your laptop from a single USB-C port.

Earlier this week, open-source developer and YouTuber TheRasteri announced a single-PCB open-source USB to HID adapter project, the HIDman— aimed at providing a more compact solution to USB to HID adapters than existing, cited open-source solutions like USB4VC and ps2x2. 

Besides the GitHub page outlining core information on the adapter, the HIDman release has also included a 22-minute YouTube video on TheRasteri's YouTube channel, including a detailed rundown of why and how the unit was assembled. Detailed setup information is also included in the video, and for users who want to just order a ready-made HIDman, the project is also available for purchase with or without assembly from PCBWay.

So, why is an adapter like this necessary? In short, many old PCs simply weren't made to interface with USB devices at all, and some simpler adapters may not even work properly, depending on keyboard or system. An all-in-one compatibility solution like HIDman or its contemporaries, then, becomes the obvious choice. The HIDman firmware is even already being used in the latest revision of the TinyLlama pocket DOS PC, TinyLlama2. TheRasteri also highlights a few even smaller HIDman variations made by others in the community, including one as small as an on-slot PS/2-to-USB adapter.

Even if you can use custom drivers and adapters to force USB support in old operating systems, using an adapter and simply opting for PS/2 input is the better solution, since those solutions are known to be more prone to crashes. This is why HIDman firmware is integrated into TinyLlama2, and why it and its contemporaries are so desirable to DOS enthusiasts.

Input devices supported by HIDman include nearly every modern USB mouse and keyboard, including those that are wireless via a USB dongle, and gamepads with support for HID input, like every USB PlayStation gamepad but no Xbox gamepad. Legacy input devices that HIDman can emulate serial mice with support for third buttons, PS/2 mice with support for up to 5 buttons, and a variety of classic keyboards and controllers, including the original line of IBM PC keyboards. While you certainly aren't getting support for RGB or full-blown 12-macro-key mice, you're still keeping a great deal of modern mouse and keyboard functionality intact on retro hardware here.

Japanese electronics company Elecom has announced it will be introducing a pair of USB 80 Gbps cables in mid-December. The USB 80 Gbps interface is also sometimes referred to as USB4 Version 2. Each cable flaunts 80 Gbps operation but one is capable of just 60 Watts of power delivery, with the other offering a full-spec 240 Watts of power delivery. According to Elecom, this marks Japan's first officially certified USB 80Gbps 60W cable, and of course, the common DisplayPort Alt Mode feature works for both cables. The USB 80 Gbps version of DP Alt Mode can reach up to 8K at 60 Hz.

In case you aren't up to date with the current connection standards, widely available Thunderbolt 5 cables supporting all of the above standards except OCuLink have been on the Western market since June. Right now, the best options for eGPU users definitely start at OCuLink and then the 80 Gigabit-plus bandwidth versions of Thunderbolt 5 or what is basically USB4 v2, though officially dubbed USB 80 Gbps to distinguish purely by bandwidth. Interestingly in the case of USB 80 Gbps and older USB 40 Gbps (previously USB4) cables, you should still be able to do 80 Gbps over a standard USB4 cable as long as both the client and host device are updated to utilize USB 80 Gbps. Be sure the cable in question still meets your Power Delivery specification, though.

In any case, it's nice to see Japan get its first officially licensed USB 80 Gbps cable, particularly the 240-watt version as well. While we're sure Japanese users truly in need of those cables likely already imported them, it's still good for the Japanese market to get its own options that will likely be more readily available in electronics stores and the such. For most of our US readers, though, you'll probably be fine gunning for a Thunderbolt 5 cable to enjoy all the features of USB 80 Gbps with 40 Gbps extra bandwidth when connected to a display in 120 Gbps Boost Mode.

When you buy a flash drive, you certainly want capacity, performance, and resiliency in that order. However, there is a flash drive that offers exactly opposite features: an 8KB (yes, eight kilobytes, 8192 symbols) capacity, but that capacity can last for 200 years—just in case one needs to preserve it this way. It is priced at €29.95 with taxes and has a blue LED, which is essential, so I tell you.

The Blaustahl USB storage device by Machdyne features 8KB of FRAM and is designed for long-term text storage, potentially lasting over 200 years. It incorporates a Raspberry Pi RP2040 microcontroller, making it suitable for various secure storage applications in case it can fit into a tiny amount of storage space.

The device uses FRAM (Ferroelectric RAM), known for its ultra-low power consumption, rapid write speeds (like if you do care at 8KB), and extremely high write endurance, capable of one million billion read/write cycles. It makes it superior to EEPROM and NOR flash in terms of performance, though it comes at an unbelievably high cost. The Blaustahl includes 4MB of NOR flash for firmware and a USB Type-A male port that requires no additional drivers on most operating systems.

What can you store in an 8KB device? Well, a few pages of text, depending on the formatting. Speaking of text, in a bid not to embarrass yourself among your ancestors, the Blaustahl features a built-in text editor accessible through serial communication programs like PuTTY and Tera Term. On second thought, this makes it ideal for secure storage of passwords, cryptocurrency keys, notes, and geocaching data—if you are brave enough.

But then again, it is FRAM. FRAM stands out for its longevity and endurance compared to other storage solutions. It can retain data for over 200 years at 35°C, outperforming NOR flash, which lasts up to 200 years, according to the manufacturer, and NAND flash, which lasts between 16 to 20 years under similar conditions. EEPROM also offers good data retention but with longer write times and fewer write cycles compared to FRAM, yet at 8KB you do not care anyway.

There is good news, too: future firmware updates are expected to include encryption features, further enhancing the device's security. The firmware, schematics, and enclosure design files are all accessible on GitHub, allowing users to explore and modify the device to suit their needs.

Developer and maker LeoDJ has shared his design for a Framework laptop expansion card that will surely gain wide appreciation among owners of the modular PC. The  DongleHider+ can fit up to three dongles inside and offers an outward-facing USB Type-A connector.

Using this card does take a bit of DIY muscle, as it's not for sale. To hide your Logitech Unifying dongle-sized device successfully, its outer casing needs to be removed. 

LeoDJ didn't like the Bluetooth latency of his wireless mouse, so they wanted to keep the Logitech Unifying dongle permanently plugged into his laptop without spoiling the device's clean lines. The DongleHider+ project admirably achieves these goals, and more, by providing connectivity for up to three (tiny) dongles and offering a handy USB Type-A port.

There are more than enough instructions for those wishing to follow in LeoDJ's footsteps. From the Framework community post, you can head over to the maker's GitHub repo and Mastodon threads, which are packed with useful source files for getting the PCB and Framework laptop expansion card made. The Mastodon thread is particularly useful as it offers a pictorial assembly guide.

Some people might be nervous about breaking apart and soldering in the dongles they want to install permanently in the DongleHider+, but LeoDJ says they are pretty cheap on used goods marketplaces. Clear instructions for disassembling Logitech's Unifying Gen1 and Gen2 dongles are provided. Furthermore, the soldering of the dongle to the PCB shouldn't be too challenging – especially if you only decide to install a single dongle internally.

LeoDJ has provided a few compatibility notes: Using the Framework 13 (AMD versions) and 16 (AMD versions) he noticed that when connected to a USB4 capable expansion card slot, a USB 3 device is connected to the exterior port the second internal USB dongle stops working.

We've reviewed various Framework laptop sizes and generations, most recently the powerful Framework 16 with AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS and Radeon RX 7700S (8GB GDDR6, 100W TGP) graphics module option installed.

USB Type-C may be the solution to a lot of tech problems, but we can't say we expected it to solve issues coming from nature. A German company called Kamedi is selling the 'Heat-It' USB Type-C dongle that it claims can relive or heal itchy bites or stings from mosquitoes, horseflies and wasp.  

This little device can fit in your phone's Type-C port and has a metal surface on the other side that generates heat. When you plug it into your phone (there are Android and iOS apps), you can customize the duration of the heat treatment (or use a child-friendly or sensitive skin mode to turn the temperature down a bit). The 'cure' works by applying heat of a out 51 degrees Celsius (123.8 degrees Fahrenheit) over the bite.

Kamedi points to a research study published in the Swedish journal Acta Dermato-Venereologica to back up its claims. The study, which specifically uses the Heat-It, claims to be "the first published controlled real-world study of the use of concentrated heat to alleviate itch induced by insect bites or stings," and states that the findings "demonstrate a significant reduction in itch and pain using local heat application after insect bites or stings, based on data derived from a large data set with more than 12,000 registered treatments from more than 1,700 individuals."

Why Not a Cup of Tea?

This is a high-tech solution to a problem that people have attempted for a long time. One could simply use a cup with a hot beverage in it to do the same job, or a hot spoon run under boiling water. But if you're outdoors hiking, you may not have access to those. But the dongle also helps apply heat to a more specific area where you get the bite.

And since the app has customization for heat and duration, you can make customizations that you couldn't to a hot spoon. 

Prevention is better than a cure, so your best bet is probably a good bug spray. And while this may be a high-tech solution to a low-tech problem, at least the USB-C standard means you could try this on either iPhone (thanks to the European Union) or Android.

We haven't given these things a try, but proponents of the USB-C standard who also get lots of bug bites can find this gizmo on Amazon US and UK. 

In an entertaining new video previewed by Dave’s Garage, the design and purpose of Microsoft’s USB Cart of Death is discussed by two Windows development luminaries. The titular cart was based upon a mail cart, brimming with an unhealthy tangle of over 60 daisy-chained USB devices of all types and functions. Victimized PCs were connected to the cart via a single plug, often quickly falling prey to the infamous Blue Screen of Death (in the early days).

Dave’s Garage is hosted by Dave Plummer, who you may know for his important work on creating Windows Task Manager, Windows Pinball, Calc, and ZIP folders. Joining him in the video clip above is Raymond Chen, a veteran of Windows development for over 30 years and author of The Old New Thing.

Chen recalls that when USB was a new technology and began to get support in the Windows OS, its device diversity and flexibility made it imperative that it should be as robust as possible.

USB devices started to gain momentum from the Windows 98 era. Around this time, the Windows kernel team and other Windows developers needed to work on the robustness of USB support of Windows builds. Thus, the USB Cart of Death was born. Chen says that the cart was probably a repurposed office mail cart. However, it looked quite different as it was laden with the widest range of USB devices available in those early days.

Microsoft’s USB Cart of Death featured three mice, four keyboards, printers, drives, and all sorts of USB peripherals. Its creator(s) also added a bunch of hubs, and because the USB spec mentioned hubs could be daisy chained up to three deep, they did this, too. Overall, perhaps 64 USB devices were all chained together, aiming to push the interface to its maximum. Finally, as an ergonomic and fun touch, a USB gaming steering wheel was attached to the USB cart of death, with which its handler could steer it around.

With the cart constructed as outlined above, it was basically used to terrorize Windows developers. Chen told Plummer that the cart may be taken to a developer’s office, and the victim casually asked whether something could be plugged into a current test machine. “You plugged that one plug into the test machine [and] the entire USB infrastructure would go crazy,” recalled Chen.

The developer accompanying the cart might then wait for things to settle down and begin testing the various mice, keyboards, printers, etc, to see if they had all successfully been recognized. However, a ‘rude’ cart driver might instead plugin, watch the system start attempting to cope with ~64 devices being simultaneously foisted upon it, and then yank the plug amidst the PC’s struggle. “Because the usual result of this was a blue screen,” the cart got its nickname, the USB Cart of Death, explained Chen.

As well as surprising innocent and unexpecting developers, Chen said that the USB Cart of Death would sometimes be used to prepare BSOD PCs ready for debugging. He talked about a USB testing lab with rows of machines where he could plug/unplug the USB cart of death in randomly sadistic ways: five seconds – unplug, seven seconds – unplug, etc. The next morning, developers could come in and debug the crashed machines and hopefully make progress in stabilizing Windows USB support. Moreover, seeing PCs crash in different ways was both interesting and useful.

Chen quipped that after one USB bug was fixed, “it wouldn’t crash next time – the same way,” adding with some mirth, “Congratulations, it crashed for a different reason.”

Readers of a certain age might remember the USB plug-and-play scanner crash during Bill Gates’ presentation at Comdex. Chen reckons that Gates’ scanner crash with Windows 98 predates the USB Cart of Death. However, that on-stage upset might have inspired this four-wheeled USB device-packed menace, mused Chen.

Plummer’s full interview with Chen will be available via Dave’s Garage on YouTube starting Saturday, November 25.

Are your USB ports boring? Do they need some RGB? Well, this $6 USB 2.0 Type-A port from Tensility International Corporation, listed via Digi-Key aims to light up your dark and dreary USB ports. Hat tip to Arturo182 for bringing this to our attention.

Rated for up to 30V at 3A (90W via USB A?), this RGB USB port uses an RGB LED with a common anode connected to the power pin. The colors can then be mixed by controlling the state of each color's cathode pin. Controlling those pins would be the job of a microcontroller, perhaps the Raspberry Pi Pico's RP2040 on a custom PCB. In the datasheet, we can see that there are two rows of pins. Those nearer the front of the USB port handle the standard USB 2 duties. The rear four pins are for the LEDs in a Blue, Green, Voltage, and Red configuration. The additional LED pins mean we can't just drop this part into an existing board. Instead, they must be installed into a custom board with traces routed to send signals to the RGB LED. It also looks like a typical USB A port, ready for soldering into a 1.6mm or less thick PCB. 

As we have already noted, this port is capable of up to 90W of power delivery, so an interesting use case would be to set the RGBs to denote a set voltage. Using a buck converter or voltage regulator, we could set the appropriate voltage and trigger the microcontroller to illuminate a color to indicate. Say red for 30V, green for 12V and blue for 5V? A simple flick of a switch would set the voltage and trigger the color change. Or we could use PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) to mix a specific color for voltages in between. While this won't be as clear as using a NeoPixel of APA102 RGB LED, it will get the job done.

This through-hole component is available via "cut tape" and "reel." The former enables small amounts to be purchased for short runs / individual projects. The latter is favored by manufacturers who will load the reel ready for a pick and place machine to place the components on a run of boards.

If you are designing your own product or have the skills to retrofit the port into an existing build (not something we recommend), then $6 isn't a lot to ask for a little bling.

First announced last month, USB4 Version 2.0 now has official specification documents for developers to follow. The USB-IF (USB Implementer's Forum), the governing body for USB, published the new documentation on its website, at the same time releasing new "USB 80 Gbps" certification logos that can be used on USB cables and devices that reach the 80 Gbps speed.

USB 4 (technically USB4 but commonly spelled with a space) was announced in 2019 and supports up to 40 Gbps connections while offering cross-compatibility with Thunderbolt 3 and 4. USB 4 version 2.0 doubles the maximum speed to 80 Gbps but can go even higher, up to 120 Gbps in one direction (with 40 Gbps downlink) to power high-resolution monitors.

Using USB4 v2.0's bandwidth, the standard is fully compatible DisplayPort 2.1 and can power a 4K display at up to 240 Hz, or up to a 10K display at 60 Hz, without the need for compression.

"This updated technical specification extends USB4 speed and data protocol performance, enabling manufacturers to develop products that can deliver USB 80 Gbps in addition to existing USB 40 Gbps and USB 20 Gbps to end users," USB-IF CEO Brad Saunders said in an official statement.

USB4 version 2.0 will work over both existing USB4 40 Gbps passive cables and new, active 80 Gbps cables. In addition to being compatible with DisplayPort 2.1, it will be, according to USB-IF, "closely aligned" with PCIe 4.0.

Considering that the original USB 4 spec was announced in 2019 and we've just started seeing USB 4-branded products in the past few months, we don't expect any USB4 v2.0 devices to hit the market for a year or two. However, when USB4 v2.0 devices go on sale, you may see the new USB 80 Gbps logo on their packaging or even on their ports.

USB-IF has told Tom's Hardware on several occasions that it doesn't want consumers to have to think about version numbers when they're shopping for products. Instead, the group wants manufacturers to promote the maximum speed of all USB products, using monikers and logos such as USB 5 Gbps, USB 10 Gbps, USB 20 Gbps, USB 40 Gbps, and now USB 80 Gbps.

Products that go through the organization's official certification process will be able to use a "Certified 80 Gbps" logo on packages. 

Other devices or even computers that support 80 Gbps connections will be able to use the 80 Gbps port logo if they are certified.

Cables that are certified will carry an 80 Gbps, 240W logo if they can output 240 watts, or an 80 Gbps, 60W logo for 60 watts.

It's important to note that most USB products are not certified so, even when 80 Gbps devices and cables come out, you may not see these logos. And though the USB-IF would like manufacturers to talk about speeds and power output in their marketing materials, you will still see product listings that only mention USB 4 v2.0, USB 4, or USB 3.2, without listing the Gbps.

To help you make sense of all the version numbers, we have a detailed USB explainer and a special deep dive on USB 3.2 and USB 3.1

Found everywhere from charging hubs to PCs, home appliances and Raspberry Pis, the Universal Serial Bus (USB) lives up to its name. But with more than 10 different versions, a slew of connectors and a variety of transfer rates and charging capabilities, USB is also a broad set of standards that can be confusing if you don’t know what you need. 

If you look at a spec sheet for one of the best gaming laptops or best gaming PCs you might see it listed with a USB4 port, a USB 3.2 Gen 2 port and two USB 2 ports. But what does that all mean and what can you expect to get from each? We’ve got answers to help you find out what every type of USB can do.

USB Versions, Version Names and Speeds

If you’re using USB for data, as opposed to charging only, the most important thing to know is your connection’s top speed. Because, in order to copy files to an external SSD at up to 10 Gbps, you’ll need every link in the chain to support that speed: the host PC, the cable and the drive itself.

It would be nice if every USB port and product had its top speed written on it or, at least, on the spec sheet. And, in fact, that’s what the USB-IF (USB Implementer’s Forum), which runs USB, would also like. The organization recently introduced a new naming convention that lists every port that’s 5 Gbps or faster as USB 5 Gbps, USB 10 Gbps, USB 20 Gbps or USB 40 Gbps, without using version numbers. Manufacturers who get their USB products certified by the USB-IF get logos with USB speed numbers that they can use on their packaging.

However, most USB devices don’t go through the official certification process. Even if something is certified, there’s still a good chance you’ll see it advertised with the numerical version number – ex USB 3.2 – instead of the speed. You may also see USB products listed as Hi-Speed USB, SuperSpeed USB, SuperSpeed USB 10 Gbps or SuperSpeed USB 20 Gbps. The SuperSpeed names are deprecated but still appear on some packaging and marketing materials.

There are so many versions of USB 3.x, that we’ve made a dedicated USB 3.2 and USB 3.1 explainer to help you sort it out in more detail. However, the important thing to know is that USB 3, 3.1 and 3.2 are all the same 5 Gbps connection, which jumps to 10 Gbps when you see Gen 2 after the version and to 20 Gbps when you see Gen 2x2 in the name.

USB Connectors

There are more than half a dozen common USB connectors you might see on a device. Some of these connectors are more common on certain types of devices.

USB Type-A

Dating all the way back to the 1990s, the USB-A connector was the first and is still the most widely used USB connector. It is rectangular, flat, and only meant to plug into a computer in one direction, which can be a hassle if you’re plugging in to a port you can’t see. You’ll find USB Type-A ports on most peripherals and computers, except for some ultrabooks that are too thin to support one. USB Type-A connectors may support USB 1.1, USB 2 or USB 3.x in 5 or 10 Gbps varieties, but this all depends on what the device or cable supports. USB 3.x ports are sometimes blue and those which reach 10 Gbps are sometimes red.

USB Type-B

USB-B is primarily used with the largest peripherals, such as printers. It can also be found on USB hubs or monitors that have USB hubs built into them, though the B port is always part of the wire that connects that hub/monitor to your PC.

Mini USB

Mini USB first appeared at the turn of the century alongside the USB 2.0 specification and is now mostly a thing of the past, having been replaced by micro USB. You may still see mini USB on some older game controllers or digital cameras. Technically, there is both mini USB Type-A and mini USB Type-B, but you are only likely to see mini USB Type-B in the wild.

Micro USB

Though USB-C is a newer and better connector that’s about the same size, you will still see micro USB on a ton of devices, ranging from budget Android tablets to Raspberry Pis, micro controllers, digital cameras, power banks and smart home devices. Technically speaking, there is both micro USB Type-A and Type-B, but you’re only likely to see Type-B.

USB Type-C

Most new computers shipping today have at least one USB-C port (and some have many more). The plugs on these cables are oblong in shape, and unlike any other USB connector, it does not matter which orientation you use to plug them in.

USB-C cables can deliver data, video, and power (up to 240 watts), though not every cable supports all of these features so you need to check the specs. Many new keyboards, mice, and nearly all new smartphones and tablets come with a USB-C connector onboard.

USB Power Standards

With the exception of Apple’s iPhones, just about every mobile device charges over USB. You can also power any of the best ultrabooks or best portable monitors off of a USB connection. But not all USB ports and cables deliver the same amount of juice.

Some of the newest USB devices may actually have a logo on their packaging which says how much power they can output, but this is not very common right now. Most modern phone chargers and all laptop chargers use some kind of USB PD, but not all USB-PD devices have the same maximum wattage, so be sure to check the chargers and cables. For laptops, 60W is the most common minimum and those that go over 100W are less common as this is a newer standard.

Video Over USB

DisplayPort Alternative Mode (Alt Mode) is yet another way to simplify cabling on modern PCs, particularly with laptops. With DisplayPort Alt Mode, a USB-C cable can deliver non-USB signals. In the case of DisplayPort Alt Mode, a computer can transmit a DisplayPort signal over a USB-C cable. 

While this is probably not much of a concern for a desktop, it is a big advantage for laptops. A USB-C port is physically smaller than HDMI or DisplayPort, so being able to transmit a DisplayPort signal while keeping a laptop's dimensions small is a boon for PC OEMs. 

Unfortunately, you usually cannot tell if a laptop’s USB-C port can deliver video just from looking at it. You’ll need to read the computer’s instruction manual or spec sheet or you could just experiment.

The latest USB4 ports on laptops can utilize DisplayPort Alt Mode 2.0, which can run at up to 8K resolution at 60 Hz and use HDR10 color. Though USB4 itself can only do 40 Gbps of data, the port can send 80 Gbps of DisplayPort data, because it sends all the data in just one direction and can therefore take over all 8 lanes.

You can also output video from a USB 3.x or even 2.0 Type-A port, sort of. Though there’s no such thing as USB alt mode over Type-A, there are a number of docking stations and portable monitors that use DisplayLink technology. With the right drivers installed, your computer will compress video and send it to the dock via a standard USB signal.

USB Cables and Backward Compatibility

One of the best things about USB is how backward compatible it is. You can take a brand new USB 20 Gbps SSD and plug it into a USB 1.1 port from 1999, and it will probably work. However, any connection is only as fast as its slowest part. So if you have a USB 40 Gbps drive connected to a USB 40 Gbps port on your computer, but you’re using a cable that’s only capable of USB 5 Gbps, you’ll get only 5 Gbps.

When shopping for USB cables, it’s particularly important to look for the maximum rated speed. You can find many cables that use USB-C on both ends and offer 60 watts of charging, but can only move data at USB 2.0 speeds (480 Mbps).

The History Of USB

It's hard to believe it at this point, but the Universal Serial Bus (USB) has been around for over two decades. USB's origins date back to the mid-1990s, starting with the USB 1.0 spec that was introduced in 1996. That was followed by USB 1.1 in 1998, USB 2.0 in 2001 and USB 3.0 in 2008. Two decades after the release of USB 2.0, USB4 Version 2.0 was announced in late 2022, which further ramps speeds for connected peripherals.

USB 1.0/1.1 (1996 - 1998)

USB came about at a time when various ports were vying for our attention on the backs of computers. Not only were there multiple serial ports, but there was also a parallel port (for printers) and PS/2 connectors for mice and keyboards. If you gamed, you needed a game port for your controller, and it was common to see a SCSI connector for external storage in business environments. 

USB was developed as a "universal" replacement for all these ports, simplifying how we connect devices by settling on a common connector.

USB 1.0 debuted in 1996 with the familiar Type-A connector, which is still with us today. The USB 1.0 standard offered a "Low Speed" signaling rate of 1.5 Mbps or "Full Speed" signaling at 12 Mbps. The first revision to the nascent standard, USB 1.1, arrived in 1998.

USB 2.0 (2000)

USB adoption really began to accelerate with the introduction of the USB 2.0 standard in 2000, which dramatically increased the maximum signaling rate to 480 Mbps and took on the "High Speed" moniker. 

We also saw the introduction of the USB On-The-Go specification with USB 2.0, which allows smartphones and tablets with USB-based connectors to host other USB devices. For example, you can plug a mouse, USB thumb drive, or digital camera into the USB port on a Samsung tablet or Google Pixel phone.

USB 3.0 / 3.1 / 3.2 (2008 / 2013 / 2017)

In 2008, USB-IF introduced USB 3.0, which ran at a speedy 5 Gbps, offering roughly a 10x improvement in throughput over the preceding USB 2.0. Even today, that’s the top speed that most devices support. In fact, most peripherals only need USB 2.0 speeds. 

However, the USB-IF kicked speeds up another notch in 2013 when it introduced  USB 3.1 in 2013, doubling signaling rates again to 10 GBps. The original 5 Gbps speed was renamed to USB 3.1 while USB 3.1 Gen 2 referred to the 10 Gbps rate. 

USB-C was introduced in 2014, but the connector cuts across versions as you can have a USB-C port that operates at only 2.0 speeds or one that operates at 20 or even 40 Gbps.

With the introduction of USB 3.2 in 2017, we saw yet another 10 GBps tier and a faster 20 Gbps tier, both with dual-lane capabilities. It was at this time that the USB-IF decided to lump all 3.x specifications under USB 3.2 so USB 3.2 (no Gen or Gen 1) is 5 Gbps, USB 3.2 Gen 2  is 10 Gbps and USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 is 20 Gbps. It’s called Gen 2x2 because it uses two 10 Gbps lanes.

USB4 / USB4 v2.0

USB4 was announced in 2019 as the next evolution of the USB standard, and is available exclusively using the USB-C connector (rather than the legacy USB-A connector). It can operate at either 20 or 40 Gbps, the latter of which is equivalent to Thunderbolt 3 or Thunderbolt 4 as USB4 can be compatible with Thunderbolt.

Data is transmitted using dual sets of four bi-directional lanes.

DisplayPort Alt Mode 2.0 was added, bringing support for 8K resolution at 60 Hz with HDR10 color. DisplayPort 2.0 can use up to 80 Gbps since all eight data lanes can be used to send data in one direction to the monitor.

USB4 v2.0 was first announced in the Summer of 2022. As has been the case with previous generational leaps, USB4 v 2.0 doubles the maximum symmetrical bandwidth, this time from 40 Gbps to 80 Gbps. But it doesn’t stop there; USB4 v2.0 also offers an asymmetric mode (which uses three transmit lanes and one receive lane) to boost maximum bandwidth in one direction to 120 Gbps.

Another feature that USB4 v2.0 brings over USB4 is support for PAM-3 signaling, an upgrade over NRZ. Using existing cables, PAM-3 transmits more bits per cycle. USB4 v2.0 can also tunnel PCIe 4.0 and DisplayPort 2.1 (up from PCIe 3.0 and DisplayPort 1.4a), along with Power Delivery 3.1 up to 240 watts using certified cables.

There are already controllers on the market from Intel and Apple, and others either in development or soon to hit the streets (ASMedia, Via Labs).

While USB 4 Version 2 may be the latest and fastest generation, the most common USB ports on PCs and peripherals have a "3" in the version number, specifically USB 3.2, USB 3.1, or even 3.0. When you're looking at spec sheets, you'll also see generation numbers after the USB 3.2 or 3.1, so, for example, there's USB 3.2 Gen 1, USB 3.2 Gen 2, and even USB 3.2 Gen 2x2. And yet some ports with different version numbers actually have the same speed! Confused yet?

Fortunately, once you get past the confusing decimals and generation numbers, it's easy to determine the speeds you can expect from your USB ports, cables, and devices. You just need to know the lingo, which we outline below.

USB 3.2 vs USB 3.1 and USB 3.0: What's the Difference?

The version numbers are confusing and don't mean much, as USB 3.0, USB 3.1 Gen 1, and USB 3.2 Gen 1 are interchangeable and operate at 5 Gbps, while USB 3.1 Gen 2 and USB 3.2 Gen 2 are the same and operate at 10 Gbps.

In fact, the USB-IF (USB Implementers Forum), which creates the standards, has told us several times that it would prefer manufacturers not to use these version numbers at all and instead list their products as either SuperSpeed, SuperSpeed 10 Gbps, SuperSpeed 20 Gbps, or as just USB 5 Gbps, USB 10 Gbps, and USB 20 Gbps.

If you are a vendor and pay to have your product officially certified by the USB-IF —something many vendors skip —the organization even has a set of logos it would like you to use.

However, despite the USB-IF's desires, we still see most PC vendors listing their ports as USB 3.2 or USB 3.1, without necessarily telling you what to expect from them. The spec sheets may not even list a generation number; if they don't, assume it's Gen 1 (5 Gbps).

The different USB 3.x version numbers exist purely because the number has been incremented with each speed advancement. In 2008, the USB 3.0 standard launched, bringing USB to 5 Gbps —a massive leap from the 480 Mbps of USB 2.0 —and, for many years, that was as fast as USB could go. In fact, even today, the vast majority of USB ports and products don't go beyond 5 Gbps, nor do you need them to. Many peripherals don't even need to go beyond USB 2.0.

In 2013, the USB-IF announced that it was increasing USB to 10 Gbps and, in doing so, changed the version number for all USB 3.x products. As a result, USB 3.0 (5 Gbps) became USB 3.1 Gen 1, and the new, 10 Gbps speed became USB 3.1 Gen 2.

In 2017, the organization rolled out a 20 Gbps speed for USB 3.x devices. In honor of the new speed, the version number changed across all speeds: the 5 Gbps speed became USB 3.2 Gen 1, the 10 Gbps speed became USB 3.2 Gen 2, and the 20 Gbps speed became USB 3.2 Gen 2x2.

The 20 Gbps speed is called USB 3.2 Gen 2x2, because it uses two 10 Gbps lanes to give you the 20 Gbps speed. Would it have been less confusing if they called it USB 3.2 Gen 3? Who knows?

There's also a lesser-used version called USB 3.2 Gen 1x2, which is 10 Gbps and nearly identical to USB 3.2 Gen 2. The difference is that while USB 3.2 Gen 2 has a single 10 Gbps data lane, USB 3.2 Gen 1x2 uses two 5 Gbps lanes to reach its 10 Gbps total. That shouldn't matter to you as an end user, but you may see the USB 3.2 Gen 1x2 terminology.

What Kind of Connectors Do USB 3.2 and USB 3.1 Use?

Both the 5 Gbps and 10 Gbps speeds are available with either USB Type-A or USB Type-C connectors. USB Type-A ports have the traditional, rectangular connectors that can only be inserted one way. USB Type-C ports are smaller, oval-shaped, and reversible. Despite USB Type-C being extremely common on laptops and phones, some modern desktops feature few (if any) USB Type-C ports.

Though not very common, you'll also find USB 3.x cables with Type-B connectors, the kind of square connector used mostly to connect to printers and USB hubs.

And there are also some SuperSpeed micro USB connectors. However, these SuperSpeed Type-B and micro USB connectors are larger than regular Type-B and micro connectors so are not backwards compatible.

So, if you're wondering what kind of wires or adapters you need for a port, the version number alone won't tell you that. A USB 3.2 Gen 1 or USB 3.2 Gen 2 port, or a USB 3.1 equivalent, could have either type of connector.

However, if you are using USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps), you will definitely be using USB Type-C. The Type-A ports cap out at 10 Gbps. Also, though rare, the USB 3.2 Gen 1x2 (also 10 Gbps) can only use Type-C.

What Colors are USB 3.2 / USB 3.1 Ports?

The USB-IF does not mandate that USB ports have to be any particular color. However, a blue port is usually 5 Gbps, which means that it's SuperSpeed USB (aka USB 3.2 Gen 1, USB 3.1 Gen 1, or USB 3.0). Some manufacturers now use red USB ports to include SuperSpeed 10 Gbps USB (aka USB 3.2 Gen 2 or USB 3.1 Gen 2).

However, it's also possible that ports will just be black, which indicates nothing at all. Your best bet for determining speeds is to look at the spec sheet for any device, whether it's a USB hub, an SSD, or a motherboard.

What Cables Do You Need for USB 3.2 / USB 3.1?

As with all things USB, USB 3.2 and USB 3.1 are backward compatible with older USB standards. So, if you use a USB 2.0 device or cable and plug it into a USB 3.2 port, you'll get a connection, but at the speed of the slowest link in the chain (in this case, 480 Mbps).

If you have a USB 3.2 Gen 2 port and want to take advantage of its 10 Gbps speed, look for a cable that supports 10 Gbps (it could be USB 3.2 Gen 2 or USB 3.1 Gen 2) and a peripheral that does the same. If you want to reach 20 Gbps, all three components — the port, the peripheral, and the cable — must support that speed.

What Can I Do with USB 3.2 or USB 3.1?

USB 3.2 Gen 1 and USB 3.1 Gen 1 run at up to 5 Gbps, which, in and of itself, is more than most peripherals require on their own. Wired mice and keyboards, even those with high polling rates, don't even reach the USB 2.0 limit of 480 Mbps. However, some of the best webcams require USB 3.2 / 3.1 / 3.0 connectivity, especially when they're delivering 30 fps at 2K or 4K resolutions.

If you're using a USB hub, you'll want at least a 5 Gbps connection, since all the peripherals connected to it will share that bandwidth. So, if you have a mouse, a keyboard, and a webcam all plugged into the same hub, they will definitely need at least the 5 Gbps that USB 3.2 Gen 1 / USB 3.1 Gen 1 provides.

Monitors or docking stations that use DisplayLink technology, which allows your computer to output video over a standard USB Type-A port, often require 5 Gbps speeds.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, external SSDs and the best hard drives need at least USB 3.2 / 3.1 / 3.0 speeds. The fastest external SSDs or SSD enclosures can operate at USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) or USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps), though the 10 Gbps speed is far more common and cheaper.

In a quick search of Amazon, we found an M.2 NVMe USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 enclosure for $25 and USB 3.2 Gen 2 enclosure for just $16.

How Much Power Do USB 3.2 and USB 3.1 Offer?

The USB 3.2/USB 3.1/USB 3.0 standards are only specified for 5 Volts and 900 mA, for a very unimpressive total of 4.5 watts. That's a hair better than USB 2.0, which caps out at 2.5 watts, but not enough to charge a modern smartphone or tablet very quickly. Also consider that 4.5 watts is the maximum, so an individual USB 3.2, Type-A port on a laptop or desktop may not even deliver that much.

However, it's important to remember that the charging standards a port supports and the USB version number are not necessarily related. Many chargers and hubs use different charging standards that allow them to go well beyond the limits of USB 2.0 or USB 3. Those that use USB Battery Charging (USB BC) can deliver up to 7.5 watts over a Type-A port. And then there are third-party standards like Qualcomm Quick Charge, which go up to 18 watts and beyond.

If you're using a USB Type-C cable and port, the charger/host device may support USB Power Delivery (USB PD), which can reach 240 watts in some cases. But wattage has nothing to do with data speeds, as a USB 2.0 port can provide power delivery, while a USB 3.2 port might not.

Video Over USB 3.2 / USB 3.1

Technically speaking, neither USB 3.2 nor USB 3.1 by itself can deliver video. Using DisplayLink technology, one can convert and compress video into USB data that is sent to a specially enabled hub or portable monitor. However, few people use DisplayLink devices today.

Many of the best ultrabooks and best graphics cards have USB Type-C ports that support "alt mode," which means that the USB cable and port can deliver data using a protocol that's not part of the USB spec. In many cases, that protocol is DisplayPort 1.2, 1.3, or 1.4, which can then connect your computer to a monitor or TV. However, just because a port supports USB 3.2 or even USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 does not mean it will necessarily support alt mode.

Frequently Asked Questions

When the USB Promoter Group announced its USB 4 Version 2 specification with a maximum 80 Gbps data transfer rate last week, it did not reveal how it planned to make 80 Gbps work on existing cables. But apparently, there is more than that. USB 4 can do even better and support aggregate bandwidth of up to 120 Gbps.

The USB Type-C connector has four lanes configured in a 2 Tx + 2 Rx symmetric arrangement, which in the case of USB 4 operates at 20 Gbps per lane and therefore provides 80 Gbps bi-directional bandwidth. With USB 4 version 2, per lane data transfer rate is increased to 40 Gbps, and aggregated bandwidth increases to 80 Gbps with PAM-3 encodings (in both directions), reports Angstronomics citing documents from Keysight, a leading maker of test equipment.

But in addition to symmetric 2 Tx + 2 Rx setup, Keysight's M8040A Bit Error Ratio Tester for USB 4 v2 can test asymmetric 3 Tx + 1 Rx configuration, or 120 Gbps aggregated bandwidth from the host and 40 Gbps from device to host. It should be enough to carry a DisplayPort 2.0 UHBR20 signal (enough for 8Kp85 uncompressed and 8Kp144 with DSC) from the host to the display and then 40 Gbps (in both directions) will remain to handle data consumed by a USB 4 hub, a webcam built into the display, and so on.

So far, the USB Promoter Group has not formally confirmed that a 3 Tx + 1 Rx asymmetric configuration support would come to USB 4. Still, asymmetric configurations are nothing new for USB specifications. They are particularly easy to enable in the case of USB 4 (as well as Thunderbolt 3/4), as all signal types are muxed and demuxed at each end of the interconnection.

Now, assuming that a 3 Tx + 1 Rx asymmetric setup is a part of the USB 4 v2 specification, a major question is whether support for 3 Tx + 1 Rx asymmetric will be mandatory for all USB 4 v2 controllers or will be optional and reserved for select controllers only. Increasing per lane data transfer rate to 40 Gbps and implementing PAM-3 encoding will significantly increase the complexity and power consumption of USB 4 v2 controllers compared to USB 4 v2 controllers. Furthermore, increased bandwidth will require USB 4 v2 controllers to connect to hosts at around 15 GB/s (equal to bandwidth offered by a PCIe 5.0 x4 or a PCIe 6.0 x2 interface). Supporting a 120 Gbps upstream mode might complicate things further.

When can we expect the first USB 4 v2 host controllers to arrive? Angstronomics believes that Intel will support USB 4 v2 with its 14th Generation Core 'Meteor Lake' platform in 2023 as the company has already implied support of 80 Gbps Thunderbolt input/output interface by its media. As for AMD, it will lag behind Intel and will only offer CPUs with USB 4 v2 support in 2025. As usual, it is hard to make predictions about Apple.

We have reached out to the USB Promoter Group and enquired whether the final edition of USB 4 v2 supports the 3 Tx + 1 Rx asymmetric configuration. Unfortunately, for now, the organization neither denies nor confirms this.

"The USB Promoter Group announcement was only intended to cover high-level details as the specification is still under development," a statement by the USB Promoter Group reads. "It is only targeting developers at this time in order to promote the detailed trainings that will be available at the upcoming Seattle and Seoul USB DevDays events in November."

The USB Promoter Group has announced USB 4 version 2.0  with some massive upgrades over the original standard. The biggest feature version 2.0 provides is a doubling of available bandwidth from 40 Gbps to a whopping 80 Gbps. 

This massive jump makes USB 4 Version 2.0 one of the highest performing connectivity standards on the market. With speeds exceeding all current USB Thunderbolt standards, including Thunderbolt 4 which is limited to 40 Gbps – like USB4.

Version 2.0's shockingly fast speeds are attributed to a new physical layer architecture that has been added to USB4. As a result, version 2.0 uses the existing 40 Gbps passive cables built into USB4 Type-C and adds newly-defined 80Gbps USB Type-C active cables to reach that 80 Gbps mark.

The new USB4 version also adds new updates to its display functionality. Including a bandwidth boost beyond 20Gbps for USB 3.2 data tunneling when using alt modes such as DisplayPort mode. USB4 Version 2.0 has also been updated to feature the latest versions of the DisplayPort standard and PCIe spec.

Of course, like with all previous USB versions, USB 4 Version 2.0 will be backwards compatible with previous revisions, including the original USB4 standard, USB 3.2, USB 2.0 and Thunderbolt 3.

The USB group says Version 2.0 was created specifically to benefit users running a number of different devices through a single USB port, including docks, high-performance displays and more. This makes a lot of sense, as version 2.0's 80Gbps of bandwidth is incredibly overkill for the vast majority of the population.

But for power users who regularly power their laptops off of a massive setup incorporating multiple DisplayPort monitors, USB drives, ethernet and more, the 80 Gbps of bandwidth will come in handy and ensure there are no bandwidth limitations between any of these devices, and the host system.

The idea of a USB Type-C cables charging just about anything has been limited by the amount of power they can deliver. Club3D, a small retailer, has launched a new cable  which can deliver up to 240W of power. The company has three cables ready to choose; two which are fully featured for transmission of power and data and video, and another which is limited to power and slower (USB 2.0) data.

We reported on the updated specification which is behind the design of these new cables nearly a year ago. In May 2021, the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) released the USB-C v2.1 update which outlined Extended Power Range (EPR) standard. Specifically, this standard allows for USB-C to support power delivery up to 240W, which is up to 48V at 5A.

Before the USB-C v2.1 update, the standard was limited to 100W (20V at 5A) power delivery. This is why it was rare to find any creator or gaming laptop which would even trickle charge with USB-C power for a time.

The emergence of these revamped cables is exciting, but what we need now are some chargers and devices that can make use of the new capabilities. Club3D's own charger series maxes out at 132W.

USB-C charging at up to 240W should be ample for most mainstream laptops, except those sporting the most powerful CPUs and GPUs currently available.

At the time of writing we couldn't find any information about retail availability for the new cables, and no pricing has been announced.

After about seven years on the market, USB Type-C connectors with USB 3.x SuperSpeed+ (10Gbps) data transfer mode are becoming mainstream standards for a variety of peripherals, including those used by professionals. But there lies a problem. Modern motherboards rarely have more than three USB-C ports, and for many creative professionals, three is not enough. To address this issue, Sonnet developed a card with eight 10Gbps USB-C connectors specifically for those who need many Type-C interfaces. 

To enable eight USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, the Sonnet Allegro Pro USB-C PCIe 3.0 x8 card carries four ASMedia 3142 controllers (with a PCIe 3.0 x2 interface) supporting a pair of USB-C connectors each. It also features an unknown PCIe 3.0 x8 bridge that orchestrates their operation with the host to eliminate bandwidth congestion and even enable the virtualization of ports. As a result, Sonnet claims that the card can concurrently deliver full 10Gbps bandwidth through each port.

The Sonnet Allegro Pro USB-C 8-Port PCIe card is designed primarily for audio/video professionals who use plenty of separate devices and require high-speed interfaces to transfer files, according to the company. While eight USB-C ports is an indisputable benefit of the card, we have something to add when it comes to performance. 

The Allegro Pro USB-C 8-Port PCIe card comes with a PCIe 3.0 x8 interface, so its peak data transfer rate is 7.877 GB/s in each direction without 128b/130b encoding overhead. Meanwhile, four USB 3.2 Gen 2 controllers can generate up to 1.25 GB/s in one direction without 128b/130b encoding overhead. Therefore, while we can hardly imagine a usage scenario when all eight USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C ports need all their bandwidth for data transfer in one direction, in such a scenario, the card will not be able to offer 10 Gbps bandwidth for all ports. Yet, since we deal with mixed workloads in most cases, this limitation is barely applicable to real-world situations.  

Meanwhile, those who need extreme performance from an external device typically use Thunderbolt 3/4 ports, so they will continue to use them while plugging other peripherals into the Allegro Pro USB-C card. Furthermore, keep in mind that there are not many desktop-grade SSDs that can hit 7.877 GB/s anyway, so the limitation is mainly hypothetical. 

The board comes in a full-height half-length form factor and has a small heatsink to cool down the PCIe bridge. The card takes just one slot and can be installed into a desktop or into an external Thunderbolt expansion box (which means total bandwidth will be limited to that of Thunderbolt 3/4 — 32.4 Gbit/s without encoding overhead). Its power consumption is unclear, but it can deliver up to 7.5W of power to each of its USB 3.2 Gen 2 connectors. The board is compatible with Apple's macOS, Microsoft's Windows, and Linux. 

The Allegro Pro USB-C 8-Port PCIe Card (USB3C-8PM-E) is available now directly from Sonnet at a price of $399.99.The company's partners will soon start selling the product as well, according to the company.

Earlier this year, the USB-IF introduced USB Power Delivery specification 3.1 that brings support for 240W power delivery over the USB Type-C cable and connector. While increasing the power delivery capabilities of USB-C will be a boon for users (when devices actually come out), finding a USB cable that supports the required combination of features could be a confusing. To address this, USB-IF has unveiled logos that will be placed on the packages of certified USB chargers, cables, and devices in a bid to clearly indicate their capabilities.

From now on, certified USB Type-C cables will carry logos highlighting support for 60W or 240W of power delivery capability. Another logo will emphasize supported data transfer rates (e.g., 40Gbps in the case of some USB 4 products), whereas the third one will reveal both data transfer rate and power delivery capabilities. There is also a new logo for 240W-capable chargers. 

"With the new higher power capabilities enabled by the USB PD 3.1 Specification, which unlocks up to 240W over a USB Type-C cable and connector, USB-IF saw an opportunity to further strengthen and simplify its Certified Logo Program for the end user," said Jeff Ravencraft, USB-IF President and COO. "With our updated logos, consumers can easily identify the USB4 performance and USB Power Delivery capabilities of Certified USB-C Cables, which support an ever-expanding ecosystem of consumer electronics from laptops and smartphones to displays and chargers."

Logos will be placed only on the packages of certified cables, hosts, and chargers. However, there are many products that will be capable of delivering these specs but where the manufacturers don't spend the time or money to have them certified. But, if you want to feel confident in knowing what a cable, charger or device can do, look for these marks.

The European Commission has announced new plans for legislation today that will require all mobile devices, including smartphones, tablets, cameras, headphones, portable speakers and handheld video game consoles, to conform to the USB Type-C standard for charging.

This goal is to reduce e-waste from a large number of differing chargers, and may also have the added benefit of ending those times when you can't find the right charger for your phone at a friend's house. The transition period will be 24 months once the European Parliament passes the new regulation.

Fortunately, the move to Type-C has already become mainstream with most smartphones incorporate Type-C for charging already. The same can be said of tablets, USB headphones, and speakers as well. So once the legislation is set in motion, all major device manufacturers should be ready for it.

What About the IPhone?

However, this leaves one major player left to make the transition, iPhones. Apple is still using its home-brewed Lightning port, years after most smartphone manufacturers made the transition to Type-C. Of course, many Apple customers own these cables, as well as accessories that use the connector.

MacRumors believe Apple has no plans to switch to type-C any time soon. If anything, we might see a completely wireless iPhone before Type-C comes to the phone.

It's possible Apple can sell an adapter for future iPhones to allow charging with Type-C chargers to comply with the legislation, though we don't know for sure how that would work with the proposal. Apple could also accelerate its wireless plans and make all iPhones fully wireless by 2023. Or, Apple could simply compromise fully and change plans by making a Type-C iPhone.

Fast Charging Uniformity:

Along with the Type-C uniformity, the Commission is also proposing a harmonized fast charging technology that will be compatible with all Type-C chargers and devices to ensure charging speeds will be the same when charging any device. If we had to guess, this will probably be related to Qualcomm's Quick Charge technology which is already very popular in the mobile landscape.

The Commission is also proposing unbundling charging bricks from smartphone sales to further reduce e-waste. This is something Apple is already doing with its iPhones and Samsung is doing with Galaxy smartphones.

The final proposal is to improve information pertaining to charging statistics for both devices and chargers. The Commission wants to make details perfectly clear on how fast your device charges and whether or not it supports fast charging.

According to the Commission, over 11,000 tonnes of chargers are wasted every single year from incompatibility problems and consumer reports say that at least 38% of people have problems finding or buying the right charger in the first place.

For now, this legislation only applies to the European Union, but we wouldn't be surprised to see other countries following suit with similar agendas down the line.

Though any powered USB hub can provide some juice to mobile devices, most don’t provide the amperage you need to charge at full speed. Or, if they do, the added output is often limited to a set of dedicated charging ports that don’t do data.

Enter Plugable’s new USBC-HUB7BC hub which provides full USB 3.x (5 Gbps) speeds from each of its 7 ports while also promising up to 2.4 amps at up to 5 volts from each. Available today on Amazon for a starting price of $38 (when you click the $10 off coupon), hub uses a powerful 60-watt AC adapter to provide enough amperage to all your devices.

Providing 2.4 amps of charging is as fast the USB BC (battery charging) 1.2 spec allows. Considering that regular USB 3.0, without BC, is rated for only 0.9 amps, this is a huge improvement.

The USBC-HUB7BC hub itself is mostly flat (the middle top area is slightly raised) and rectangular so you can stack one on top of another if you own more than one of them. It is clearly designed to be laid flat, though if you don’t tug on it too hard, you can place it vertically on your desk. 

All 7 Type-A ports live on the front of the chassis while there’s a type-B upstream port on the back, along with a barrel connector for the power supply. Plugable lists the USBC-HUB7BC as USB-C compatible because the upstream cable that comes in the box has a Type-C adapter you can place over its Type-A connector. So, if your laptop only has Type-C, you won’t need to buy any extra dongles to make this work.

At 5 x 3 x 1 inches and 1.4 pounds, the small black plastic box is lightweight and unobtrusive  on your desk. However, its 12-Volt, 5-amp power supply is nearly as large as the hub itself so you may want to hide that behind a monitor or put it on the floor. 

I had a chance to do some basic testing on the Plugable USBC-HUB7BC and found that it delivers a fair amount of power. Using our load tester on a single port, I was easily able to draw 2.4 amps, but my meter showed 3.97 volts, not closer to 5V, for a total of 9.5 watts. I was able to up the load to as high as 3.3 amps on 3.6 volts for a total of 11.8 watts. I was not able to test multiple ports at once to see if the power level stays the same if you have a device in each one.

I was able to power a Raspberry Pi 4 (8GB) by connecting it to one of the ports. However, even though a voltage meter showed the hub delivering exactly 5.0 volts and between 0.5 and 0.9 amps, the Pi gave a “low voltage” message throttled itself.

To test throughput, I ran CrystalDiskMark 8 on a Micro Center branded USB 3 Flash drive, both with the Plugable USBC-HUB7BC and a Sabrent USB 3.0 hub I own. The drive returned sequential reads and writes of 86.2 and 23.9 MBps when I tested it on Plugable’s hub and similar marks of 86.4 and 22.2 MBps on Sabrent’s. 

For $38  right now or $48 when the sale is over, the Plugable USBC-HUB7BC is a good value. When I searched the listings on Amazon, most hubs that offer 60 watts of juice were more expensive and restricted their 2.4-amp charging output to ports that don’t do data. If you want a hub that doesn’t make you choose between data connections and solid charging speeds, the USBC-HUB7BC could be for you.

If you charge a device via USB Type-C today, the maximum you’re getting is 100W. This is set out in the specification from the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), but the 2.1 update, released today, punches that up to 240W. 

Known as Extended Power Range, or EPR, the new spec does not mean you’ll need to throw out all your chargers, as the Type-C plug itself is staying the same, along with USB 4’s data-transfer abilities, but it does mean that we’ll start to see larger laptops with USB-C as a charging option, as current 17-inch and most gaming laptops still use dedicated charging ports due to their greater thirst for power.

Monitors, too, should benefit, with the ability to send power and video signals down the same cable to larger screens. We might also see the standard adopted to power peripherals such as printers and scanners, though laser printers can currently outstrip even 240W of capacity. The new Apple M1 iMac, by contrast, comes with a 143W power supply that doubles as an Ethernet connection, making it a candidate for a USB-C wall connection the next time it gets a facelift.

The maximum voltage delivered over the diminutive oval plugs is rising too, as 48V is required to output 240W at 5A. This has led to a small change within the connector, as pins for power delivery and USB 2.0 support can no longer short to ground to prevent the possibility of arcing when a cable is unplugged. New EPR cables will carry an electronic mark, meaning devices can interrogate them to see how much current they’re safely capable of handling without potentially producing unwanted lightning.

Icy Dock has developed the industry's only U.2 to USB 3.2 Gen 2 adapter, which lets you connect an enterprise-grade U.2 SSD to any desktop or laptop with a USB Type-A or Type-C port. The EZ-Adapter Ex MB931U-1VB targets people who need to transfer data from an enterprise-grade SSD to a PC or those who use U.2 drives as recording medium and need to transfer videos to a computer. But PC builders may be attracted to the adapter too. 

The U.2 form-factor (SFF-8639) was developed primarily for business and mission-critical server and workstation applications that have very strict requirements for connectivity, thermals, reliability and hot-plug capability. Today, U.2 drives used in servers and workstations and more. For example, select Blackmagic cameras with the Ursa Mini Recorder attached can use U.2 SSDs as storage medium. 

A big market for the EZ-Adapter Ex MB931U-1VB are content creators who have to transfer loads of data from one PC to another (or from a camera to a PC). 10GbE networks used in studios are fast, yet a PCIe 3.0 x4 interface of U.2 SSDs is a lot faster, so it makes sense to use U.2 SSDs as flash drives. There are also people  who might prefer to use enterprise-grade SSDs as their direct attached storage (DAS), due to their higher endurance and reliability. 

But another potential market comes from PC DIYers. U.2 SSDs tend to be very expensive when bought from the IT channel, but they can also be found on sites like eBay for considerably cheaper. Depending on the model, U.2 drives are designed for read-intensive, write-intensive or mixed workloads. Even after some time in service, most U.2 SSDs will have plenty of resource left. Furthermore, such drives are tailored for sustained, rather than burst, performance. As a result, even used U.2 SSDs may be faster and more durable than cheap consumer-grade drives rated for 0.2 DWPD over a three-year period. Hence, it makes sense to consider U.2 SSDs for DIY DAS applications. 

Yet, connecting such drives to PCs is complicated, as only select desktop workstations have U.2 ports (or M.2 to U.2 adapters), and not all of them have adapters that can house a U.2 drive. Furthermore, there are no laptops with U.2 slots. 

Icy Dock's EZ-Adapter Ex MB931U-1VB is based on the ASMedia ASM2362 controller. It can house any U.2 SSD and connect it to a PC with a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A or Type-C connector.

The EZ-Adapter Ex MB931U-1VB adapter is available now for $150 from Amazon. A power adapter and USB-A and USB-C cables are included.

Get ready for a whole new generation of USB. First announced in 2019, "USB4” (official spelling lacks a space, but we’re using one in this article to reflect the way readers search) is finally appearing in some shipping computers, including Apple's new M1-powered iMacs, its M1-based Macbooks and Mac Mini and laptops with Intel 11th Gen Tiger Lake laptops. You won't find a ton of devices marketed as USB 4 at the moment, but a new generation of USB 4-powered docks and peripherals is trickling in. 

USB 4 promises a host of benefits that include faster transfer speeds, better management of video bandwidth and optional compatibility with Thunderbolt 3.

In a marketplace where PC and peripheral vendors use a confusing array of USB version numbers to market their products, the idea of a new standard might seem overwhelming. However, there’s also a lot to look forward to. Here’s everything you need to know about USB 4.

Main Benefits of USB 4

The new USB 4 standard has three main benefits over prior versions of USB.

• 40 Gbps Maximum Speed: By using two-lane cables, devices are able to operate at up to 40 Gbps, the same speed as Thunderbolt 3. The data is transmitted in two sets of four bidirectional lanes.

• DisplayPort Alt Mode 2.0: USB 4 supports DisplayPort 2.0 over its alternative mode. DisplayPort 2.0 can support 8K resolution at 60 Hz with HDR10 color. DisplayPort 2.0 can use up to 80 Gbps, which is double the amount available to USB data, because it sends all the data in one direction (to the monitor) and can thus use all eight data lanes at once.

• Compatible with Thunderbolt 3 devices: Some, but not necessarily all USB 4 implementations will also work with Thunderbolt 3 devices.

• Better Resource Allocation for Video, PCIe:  In lieu of alternative mode where the other interface takes over the connection, USB 4 devices can use a process called "protocol tunneling" that sends DisplayPort, PCIe and USB packets at the same time while allocating bandwidth accordingly.
  
  So, if the video only needs 20 percent of the bandwidth to drive your 1080p monitor that’s also a hub, the other 80 percent will be free for transferring files from your external SSD which can operate over either USB protocol or PCIe.

Will Use Type-C Ports

This almost goes without saying: USB 4 will only operate over the Type-C connector. Don’t expect to see a USB 4 device or hub with old-fashioned Type-A ports. That’s no surprise, as other recent standards such as USB Power Delivery only work on Type-C. If you do connect to, for example, a Type-A, 5 Gbps USB 3 port by using an adapter, the speed and power will drop down to the lowest common denominator.

Compatible With Thunderbolt 3 Optionally

Intel made news when it said it had given the Thunderbolt 3 protocol to USB Promoter Group, allowing devices with USB 4 ports to potentially be compatible with Thunderbolt 3 devices and USB 4 devices to attach to Thunderbolt 3. That’s good news for everyone, especially laptop users who want to play games by connecting an eGPU (external graphics card).

Though there are a number of Thunderbolt 3 eGPUs out there, few laptops and desktops come with Thunderbolt 3 and almost no motherboards support Thunderbolt 3 out of the box. Because Thunderbolt is an Intel standard, you won’t find it on any AMD-powered computer. Thunderbolt 3 is also more expensive to implement than standard USB, because it’s not an open standard and it requires an extra chip. So today, if you want an eGPU or a super-speedy Thunderbolt 3 storage drive, your choice of computer is very limited.

With USB 4, device and host manufacturers won’t have to pay Intel any royalties so there’s a much better chance of mass adoption. However, there’s a catch: Thunderbolt compatibility is not a required part of the USB 4 spec so manufacturers don’t have to implement it. You could end up buying a laptop with USB 4 and find that it doesn’t work with, say, your Razer Core X graphics dock. 

“We do expect PC vendors to broadly support Thunderbolt backward compatibility, because most of what they need is already built into the USB 4 design,” USB Implementers Forum Chairman Brad Saunders said. “It’s based on the same technology so we do anticipate a high rate of adoption there, but the phone guys will probably choose not to add the extra little bit they need to be backward compatible.”

So far, Apple is touting its M1 computers as having Thunderbolt 3 / USB 4 ports and new Tiger Lake laptops such as the Dell XPS 13 say that they support USB 4 / Thunderbolt 4. Unfortunately, despite having these ports, the new Macs don't work with external GPUs.

However,  it's important to remember that Thunderbolt 3 and Thunderbolt 4 are logo certification programs from Intel that cost manufacturers time and money. So, while a USB 4-powered computer could work with 40 Gbps devices or even those labeled as Thunderbolt, it may not be listed as supporting Thunderbolt if it doesn't go through certification. 

It also makes sense that, for example, a phone or tablet vendor would save money by not giving 40 Gbps transfer speeds or support for transmitting PCIe data. You wouldn't (and couldn't) connect your phone to an eGPU or top-performing external SSD.

Two Speeds of USB 4

Though it can hit theoretical speeds of up to 40 Gbps, not all USB devices or hosts will support that standard. Expect Smaller and less-expensive devices such as phones and Chromebooks to use the 20 Gbps version of USB 4, which is still a lot faster than the USB 3.x 5 Gbps connection you get from most laptops today (though 10 and 20 Gbps USB 3.2 connections do exist). Make sure to look at the specs if you want the fastest USB 4 connection available.

USB 4 Labels Won't Use Version Number

So how will you know if the device you're buying is USB 4 compatible? Manufacturers may mention USB 4 in their spec sheets, but the USB-IF's logo program focuses purely on the connection's transfer speed, which is either 20 or 40 Gbps. 

The certification logos, which you will see on retail packaging and also occasionally on the devices themselves, will be labeled as either USB 20 Gbps or USB 40 Gbps or the USB trident logo with a 20 or 40 next to it. 

Now, it's important to note that there is also a SuperSpeed USB 20 Gbps standard, technically USB 3.2, and that does not have the other features of USB 4. However, that would have a different logo. 

It's also worth mentioning that many of the millions of USB products on the market don't have official certification from the USB-IF so they can't use these logos at all. So, despite the organization's best efforts, it's likely that you will see a lot of products using the term USB 4 in their product descriptions. 

Great at Sharing Bandwidth Between Video and Data

A big part of the USB 4 spec is protocol tunneling, the ability to dynamically adjust the amount of resources that are available when you are sending both video and data over the same connection. So, let’s say that you have USB 4 with a 40 Gbps maximum and you’re outputting to a 4K monitor while copying a ton of files from an external SSD. And let’s stipulate that the video feed needs about 12.5 Gbps. In that case, USB 4 would allocate the remaining 27.5 Mbps to your backup drive.

USB-C introduced “alternative mode,” the ability to transmit DisplayPort / HDMI video from a Type-C port, but the current 3.x spec doesn’t provide a good way to split up resources. According to Saunders, DisplayPort alt mode can split the bandwidth between USB data and video data exactly 50/50, and HDMI alt mode doesn’t allow simultaneous USB data at all. 

However, with protocol tunneling, USB 4 is sending the DisplayPort, PCIe or USB as data packets and can therefore control the resource allocation.  

“With USB SuperSpeed, we didn’t have quite the flexibility in architecture to really manage those two distinct bandwidths [data and video] in a combined fashion over the connector,” Saunders said. “So this is really optimized for more scalability between the different application types.”

All USB 4 Hosts Support USB PD

Where some current-day USB Type-C devices support the USB Power Delivery (USB PD) standard for carrying electricity to high-powered devices, not all of them do. Every USB 4 device and host will have to comply with USB PD, which allows for higher wattages and better power management.

USB PD can theoretically provide up to 100 watts, but charging devices do not have to support that amount of power. So there’s no guarantee that a given USB 4 port would give or take the amount that a particular notebook requires to operate, but you can expect it to follow the spec.

Backward Compatible With Older Devices

The best thing about all generations of USB is how well they work together. USB 4 will work with USB 3 and USB 2 devices and ports. It should go without saying, though, that you’ll only get the speed and capabilities of the weakest part of your connection. A USB 4 device won’t be able to transfer at 40 Gbps when you hook it to a USB 3.2 port and an old-school USB 2 port won’t suddenly get faster just because you connect it to a brand new USB 4 backup drive.

Your Old Cables Will Work At Their Maximum Speeds

Your existing USB cables and adapters will work with USB 4, but as with everything else that’s backward compatible, they will only operate at their maximum rated speeds. So, if you have a USB 3.2 cable that can operate at 5 Gbps, you’ll only get up to 5 Gbps, even if you are using it to connect a USB 4 port to a USB 4 device. To get Thunderbolt 3 support, you’ll likely need a Thunderbolt 3 cable.

Thunderbolt 4 is USB 4 with All the Trimmings

At the same time we're seeing the emergence of USB 4, Intel's Thunderbolt 4 is hitting the market, but the two standards aren't actually in competition. To have a computer or peripheral certified as Thunderbolt 4, the manufacturer has to get a certification from Intel which proves that it's capable of supporting all the capabilities of USB 4, including Thunderbolt 3 support.

Thunderbolt 4 is little more than a label which proves that this device has been signed off on by Intel at some expense to the manufacturer.  If you see a product touting Thunderbolt 4 support, what it really means is that it is USB 4 with 40 Gbps connectivity and backward compatibility with Thunderbolt 3 devices. However, as we've seen, even a computer like the new Apple MacBook Pro, which is "Thunderbolt 3" compatible, may not work with Thunderbolt 3 eGPUs. 

"Thunderbolt 4 is a branding program," Saunders said. "And the branding program, as Intel as communicated it, is effectively USB 4 with some requirements that it support all the high-end features, some of which are optional."

Will Cost More to Manufacture Than USB 3.2

One hurdle for mass adoption is the added cost of USB 4. While we don’t know exactly how much it will cost for PC and device vendors to add USB 4 connectivity, we know that it will require more expensive components than the latest current standard, USB 3.2.

“I think it’s going to be something less than Thunderbolt, but not as inexpensive as SuperSpeed in terms of the actual material cost to the product developer,” Saunders said. “It takes a lot of gates to do it and the product still does all the SuperSpeed stuff.”

Saunders added that he hopes the costs will come down quickly. However, we’d guess that the cost differential will push USB 4 onto higher end PCs, at least at first.

Why USB 4 is Officially Spelled as “USB4” (No Space)

Unlike every other version of USB, the new spec is officially spelled without a space before the version number. While we think that most people will probably write it as USB 4, the official name is USB4. USB Promoter Group CEO Brad Saunders explained that his goal in removing the space was to take the focus off of version numbers and onto a brand name.

“One of the things I’ve trying to signal right now is that we don’t plan to get into a 4.0, 4.1, 4.2 kind of iterative path,” he told us. “And we don’t want it to be associated and used with products as a differentiator . . . we want to keep it as simple as possible.”

The USB 3.x spec has been filled with different version numbers, including USB 3.0, USB 3.1 Gen 1, USB 3.1 Gen 2 and four different versions of USB 3.2, in addition to the presence or absence of optional features such as USB PD and alternate mode. But Saunders told us that those numbers are really for developers and he wishes that OEMs would use simpler terms like “SuperSpeed USB” when marketing their products.

Perhaps because of his concern about marketers throwing too many digits at consumers, Saunders said the organization does not plan to use version numbers for spec updates. So, even if there’s a faster iteration in two years, it will likely still be called USB 4 but with the speed number after (we imagine something like USB 4 80 Gbps). He and his team still haven’t decided on a branding strategy, so there may also be a marketing name for USB 4. Much like USB 3.x is known as “SuperSpeed USB,” USB 4 could end up with its own moniker (we suggest “Super Duper Speed USB”).

“I want it to be a clear distinction. USB 4 is its own architecture with its own set of speeds and try not get trapped on these dot releases for every single speed,” he said. “When and if it goes faster, we’ll simply have the faster version of the certification and the brand.”

USB 4 Products Today

As of this writing, there are only a handful of devices that are marketed as "USB 4" devices. These include the Kingston SD5700T docking station, an Acasis M.2 NVMe enclosure, the OWC Thunderbolt Hub and a Cable Matters 40 Gbps cable.

Even without dedicated USB 4 peripherals, you can take advantage of the spec by connecting to Thunderbolt 3 docks, eGPUs and high-speed SSDs. 

Apple recently updated macOS to resolve an issue that, according to ZDNet, could result in some USB-C docks bricking specific MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models.

Apple said that “macOS Big Sur 11.2.2 prevents MacBook Pro (2019 or later) and MacBook Air (2020 or later) models from incurring damage when they are connected to certain third-party, non-compliant powered USB-C hubs and docks.”

Mac owners affected by the bug initially speculated that Apple’s new M1 chip was to blame. The first Macs to feature the chip weren’t released until 2020, however, so the inclusion of the “MacBook Pro (2019 or later)” line suggests that isn’t the case.

But it wouldn’t be surprising if the M1-equipped MacBook Pro was disproportionately affected by this bug compared to its Intel-bearing counterpart simply because it doesn’t offer nearly as much connectivity out of the box.

The most recent Intel-equipped MacBook Pro offers four USB-C / Thunderbolt 3 ports; the model featuring the M1 chip only has two USB 4 / Thunderbolt 3 ports. Both have headphone jacks, too, and the MacBook Air has the same configuration.

It’s not hard to imagine someone whose laptop only has two ports—one of which has to be used to charge the device—turning to a USB-C dock sooner than someone whose laptop has two more ports. Those cables have to go somewhere, right?

Luckily the specificity of Apple’s release notes suggests that most USB-C docks were safe—only some “third-party, non-compliant powered” accessories were to blame. Docks that were standards-compliant or non-powered shouldn’t have caused issues.

Still, the best way for anyone who owns a MacBook Pro or MacBook Air affected by this bug to stay safe would be to install macOS Big Sur 11.2.2, which is available now.

 To say that information about HDMI cables is confusing would be an understatement. Resellers’ claims about their cables vary widely, and the terminology about the technology is often unclear. That’s why popular search terms for HDMI cables include: “What is the best HDMI cable?,” “What is the best HDMI cable for gaming?,” and “What is the best HDMI cable for my TV?.” Clearly, consumers are looking for help. Some websites offer objective information, but many only recommend cables they get a purchase commission for. How can you make sure you’re getting the cables that are best for you?

First, you need accurate information. For it, check the HDMI Licensing Administrator, Inc. (HDMI LA) website at www.HDMI.org. It’s the organization that licenses HDMI specifications, and it’s the primary source of trustworthy cable information. Additionally, it also administers authorized cable compliance programs. 

Second, ask the right questions. These include: “What HDMI cable supports all the latest specification features?,” “What HDMI cable is future-proof?,” and “How do I identify a specific type of HDMI cable?.” The answer to the first two questions is the Ultra High Speed HDMI® Cable, and the answer to the third can be seen in the image below.

HDMI 2.1 is the latest HDMI specification, and major manufacturers have HDMI 2.1-enabled products in the market now, with many more on the way. These products include TVs, audio/video receivers, PC monitors, and the new Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 game consoles. The Ultra High Speed HDMI Cable is the most recent and future-proof cable, and it’s also the only cable that complies with the stringent requirements designed to ensure support for all HDMI 2.1 features. These include uncompressed support for 8K@60Hz, 4K@120Hz and 48Gbps bandwidth. Also, it supports dynamic HDR, Enhanced Audio Return Channel (eARC), and advanced gaming features like Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) and Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM). Cables are also required to be tested and certified to ensure low EMI, reducing the possibility of interference with wireless networks, streaming media players, Bluetooth devices, and mobile phones.

But this cable is not alone; it is part of a comprehensive compliance and authentication program, known as the Ultra High Speed HDMI® Cable Certification Program. Announced in January 2020 by the HDMI Forum, Inc., it is mandatory and designed to ensure cables are compliant with the HDMI 2.1 specification.  

The program summary:

—All Ultra High Speed HDMI Cables are to be tested and certified in compliance with the HDMI 2.1 Compliance Test Specification (CTS) for Category 3 cables. The HDMI Forum member companies that develop the HDMI 2.1 specification also develop the CTS and are the only ones qualified to develop a test program that ensures compliance to the specification.

—Cables are to be tested and certified only at HDMI Forum Authorized Test Centers (Forum ATC) which is the best way to ensure compliance to the HDMI 2.1 Specification and the CTS.

—Every length of each cable must be tested and certified. Different lengths have different electrical and performance characteristics and a single certification should not represent multiple lengths.

—All certified cables must be registered with the HDMI LA verification and authentication program. 

—All cables must display an Ultra High Speed HDMI® Certification Label on each package or unit of sale. Labels enable each model to be verified and authenticated by consumers by scanning with the HDMI Cable Certification app.

—Continuing product audit testing helps ensure cables stay in compliance to the specification over the lifetime of the product.

For more information, visit HDMI.org 

The terms HDMI, HDMI High-Definition Multimedia Interface, Ultra High Speed HDMI, Ultra High Speed HDMI Cable Certification Program, the Ultra High Speed HDMI Cable Logo and HDMI Logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of HDMI Licensing Administrator, Inc.

Do you need 20 USB ports? If so, Portwell has you covered with its new PEB-9783G2AR motherboard that comes equipped with (that's right) 20 USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports.

Surprisingly, the PEB-9783G2AR supports all 20 of it's USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports natively. That means there are no fancy gizmos like splitters or hubs, so you'll get the full bandwidth of the USB 3.2 Gen 1 interface on all USB ports. Of course, there are compromises; both chipsets support up to eight USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, two USB 3.2 Gen 1, and 4 USB 2.0 ports natively. Presumably, to get to 20 USB ports, Portwell used the chipset lanes dedicated to 6 of the SATA ports and repurposed them to USB ports (there are only two SATA3 ports available).

Portwell positions the motherboard for server and workstation workloads. As such, it comes with an Intel W480E or Q470E chipset that supports 10th Gen Core i7/i5/i3 CPUs, including the 10th Gen Xeon W family of CPUs. However, the board doesn't support all CPUs from the 10th Gen Core and Xeon W Family - you're limited to a peak of 10 cores and an 80W TDP.

The board supports up to 128GB of DDR4-2666MHz memory, and as usual with server boards, it supports ECC memory. Portwell uses its FlexATX form factor, which is a mix of both ATX and microATX specifications that Portwell designed for rackmount servers and 1U racks.

The rear I/O also includes two RJ45 Ethernet ports, audio, two DP 1.4 ports, and one HDMI port.

Why would you need 20 USB ports? Well, for a typical consumer, it's the definition of overkill. But the 20 USB ports can be a huge advantage for miners that want to run up to 20 GPUs from a single motherboard, and they would need fewer USB to PCI-E adapters to do so.

There's no word on pricing or availability at the moment. Given this a server board, we wouldn't expect it to be on consumer stores like Newegg anytime soon, either. However, you can ask for a price quote on the product page.

There are many 512GB USB flash drives on the market, but very few come in a small presentation like PNY's Elite-X Fit offerings. As per a ComputerBase report, the Elite-X Fit is now available with a 512GB capacity.

The Elite-X Fit measures 2.16 x 1.52 x 1.55 cm, so it isn't a lot longer than the typical USB Type-A connector itself. The drive adheres to the USB 3.1 Gen 1 specification and, according to PNY, the Elite-X Fit 512GB (P-FDI512EXFIT-GE) delivers read speeds up to 200 MBps. PNY rates write performance as 30 times faster than USB 2.0 (3 MBps), which works out to 90 MBps.

Given the Elite-X Fit's dimensions, the SanDisk Ultra Fit is the only competitor within the same size class. The Ultra Fit, however, comes with a 2.97 x 1.42 x 0.51cm footprint, so the Elite-X Fit is a tad shorter. 

SanDisk advertises the Ultra Fit 512GB with a read speed up to 130 MBps. However, the manufacturer doesn't commit to a write speed, instead just touting performance up to 15 times faster than a normal USB 2.0 flash drive. By SanDisk's standards, USB 2.0 flash drives write up to 4 MBps, which would put the Ultra Fit's write performance to around 60 MBps. In summary, PNY's drive reads 53.8% and writes 50% faster than SanDisk's drive.

PNY sells the Elite-X Fit 512GB for $99.99 on the brand's online store. The Ultra Fit 512GB typically costs $10 less unless it's on sale. The Elite-X Fit 512GB is backed by a limited one-year warranty, which is a bit short considering that SanDisk offers a five-year warranty on the Ultra Fit.

Czech manufacturer Unibos built an external M.2 SSD enclosure that uses the Thunderbolt 3 interface, as spotted by ComputerBase. The Unibos Portable SSD X4 Storage Box (SKU BR-TB3-X4) is quite a rarity, as most external Thunderbolt 3 enclosures are notably bigger, offering space for either multiple NVMe SSDs or RAID arrays with 3.5-inch hard drives.

This makes this enclosure a bit of a unicorn, though it's a welcome addition to the market. The Thunderbolt 3 interface gives the system direct access to the four PCIe 3.0 lanes that M.2 NVMe SSDs need, allowing up to 32 Gbps of transfer speed. It uses the Intel JH6340 as its internal controller.

• The best external hard drives and SSDs of 2020
• How to build an external SSD on your own
• AMD Ryzen 4000 laptops listed with March 16 release date. 

For comparison, the next best option that uses a USB interface is the WD Black P50, which uses a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 interface for up to 20 Gbps of bandwidth. But we've seen reports that that the portable drive doesn't play nicely with the existing USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 controllers, (but we haven't had the chance to test this ourselves). All other USB-based external SSDs have access to half that bandwidth at best, which is a shame considering that NVMe SSDs are capable of far higher speeds.

The enclosure of the Unibos Portable SSD X4 Storage Box is made from a CNC-machined block of aluminium. Cooling is handled passively.

MSRP pricing is €149, which isn't cheap, but that's the price you'll have to pay if you want one of the fastest external SSDs money can buy. Alternatively, you can wait for USB 4 to come out, which will come with Thunderbolt 3 support as standard. No word on U.S. availability. 

The Raspberry Pi 4  is the most powerful Pi yet, but the $35, single-board PC has been plagued with a small USB-C compatibility issue since it launched last year. That problem should now be fixed in newly-produced versions of the board, as reported by The Register.

The problem had to do with the Pi 4's USB Type-C port, which it uses to receive power. The way that the port was constructed meant that it would not work with high-speed, "e-marked" cables. We tested a wide number of cables to see which would work, but found that most cables did not have any issues. 

• Learn more by reading our Raspberry Pi 4 Review
• Find out how to overclock the Raspberry Pi 4
• Tested: 10+ Raspberry Pi 4 USB-C Cables That Work

In short, if you have a USB 3.1 5 or 10 Gbps cable, chances are that it it is "electronically marked" while USB 2.0 cables are just fine. The high-speed cables require two pull down resistors (see resistor color codes) on the Type-C port, because they use two lines to talk to the system. The original Pi 4 had only one resistor so these cables won't work with it.  Considering that the Pi 4's USB-C port is only usable for charging, chances are that you wouldn't want to use a high-speed data cable with it anyway.

However, if you just happen to have high-speed USB Type-C cables lying around, you will now be able to use them to power your Raspberry Pi 4, if you have one of the newly-revised units that are selling now. 

Unfortunately, it's not easy to tell whether you're getting one of the new Raspberry Pi 4 units before you buy it. In a quick look online, we didn't see any companies touting the new version. 

We reached out to Raspberry Pi CEO Eben Upton to ask how users can tell whether they're purchasing a new revision board or an old model, and he said that the best way to tell is by testing the board with an electronically marked cable to see if it works. Presumably by the time you're doing that test, you've already bought your Pi so your best bet is to just assume that any new Raspberry Pi 4 you buy still has the compatibility problem.

However, all newly-manufactured Raspberry Pi 4s have the fix so eventually all the old inventory will be gone.  If you're looking at getting into tinkering with a Raspberry Pi, check out our guide on how to set up your Raspberry Pi for the first time. 

Most security measures are meant to defend against remote attacks. People are told to use strong passwords, limit the information they share about themselves online and refrain from opening files received in suspicious emails. BusKill, a USB "kill cable" developed by Michael Altfield, is more about physically securing a device.

Altfield provided the instructions for setting up BusKill with a Linux notebook on his blog. (Shout-out to ZDNet.) Here's how Altfield described BusKill's purpose:

"We do what we can to increase our OpSec when using our laptop in public–such as using a good VPN provider, 2FA, and password database auto-fill to prevent network or shoulder-based eavesdropping. But even then, there’s always a risk that someone could just steal your laptop after you’ve authenticated! As of yesterday, that’s a hard attack to defend against. [...] As of today, we have BusKill. The BusKill solution described in this article can trigger your laptop to self-destruct if it’s physically separated from you. Because the data cable runs all-the-way from your body to the laptop, cutting the cable will still result in BusKill triggering."

The concept is simple: a modified USB cable with a breakaway connection is plugged into a laptop while its other end is attached to a USB drive connected to a carabiner. Severing the connection, either by lifting the laptop or cutting the cord, activates a prepared script that can automatically secure the laptop that's being taken.

Altfield's example scripts for BusKill offer two possible actions. The first merely locks the display behind the screensaver, at which point the person who stole the laptop would have to contend with its built-in security mechanisms. The second "kills" the device entirely, making it impossible to glean its contents, at least in theory.

More information about setting up BusKill yourself--along with recommendations for the appropriate USB drive, cables, etc.--can be found in Altfield's blog post. While the device probably won't be for everyone, it's a good reminder that many security measures can't stop someone from just walking away with an unlocked laptop.