New USB logo to increase comprehensibility

The time-honored USB standard (Universal Serial Bus) has undergone numerous changes since its introduction in the mid-1990s. Most recently, however, the type descriptions such as USB 3.2 Gen 1 or USB 3.2 Gen 2 became increasingly complex and the comprehensibility decreased. New USB logos are now intended to bring clarity to transfer speeds and features here.

New USB logos introduced

With USB4 2.0, a new standard is coming in November. With the speeds and additional functions such as Fast Charge and Co but still the overview to keep, especially laymen is quite difficult.

The USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) now wants to remedy this situation, at least in part, and point out the capabilities with new USB logos on the packaging. This has now been revealed in a release.

The problem with this: The new logos are not mandatory for USB cables and a corresponding labeling is still purely optional on the part of manufacturers and providers, at least for now. Therefore, the USB-IF recommends buying only certified products with the new logo to avoid confusion.

Various USB logos

“USB-IF aims to make all certified USB cables, chargers and other devices easily identifiable,” the organization says. Only products that successfully pass USB-IF certification and sign a license can be labeled with the new USB logo, which shows performance and supported power protocols at a glance.

In doing so, the new logos provide information on data rates (5 GB/s, 10 GB/s, 20 GB/s and 40 GB/s, and for chargers, the maximum charging power. The USB-IF examples currently still lack an adapted logo for the USB4 2.0 standard, which can perform up to 80 GB/s.

USB-C cables should also feature new, appropriately adapted USB logos on the packaging as well as on the cables themselves, which simultaneously inform about the speed in Gbps as well as the maximum charging power in watts.

All the new logos are differentiated in terms of the design on the packaging, which comes in a red and blue color scheme and features the words “Certified”, and the logo on the cable or charger itself, which is highly simplified and printed in black and white. Or rather: will be, because it remains to be seen whether the manufacturers will actually use these imprints on a large scale.