USB
Standard for computer data connections
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December 2024 |
USB-C
New EU regulations mandating USB-C charging ports for small and medium-sized electronic devices took effect.
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August 2024 |
USB4
As of August 2024, no USB4 controller has implemented support for USB3 Gen T tunneling, despite its introduction in USB4 Version 2.0.
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March 2024 |
USB4
Windows 11 was upgraded to support USB4 Version 2.0, including 80 Gbit/s connectivity.
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2023 |
USB-C
Apple replaced its proprietary Lightning connector with USB-C for iPhone 15 and AirPods Pro second generation.
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2023 |
USB 3.0
USB-IF introduced a new branding scheme, replacing 'SuperSpeed' with simple speed designations: USB 5Gbps, USB 10Gbps, and USB 20Gbps, along with new packaging and port logos.
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October 2023 |
USB hardware
USB PD promoter group launched revision 3.2 of the specification, expanding the Adjustable Voltage Supply (AVS) protocol to work with the standard power range (SPR), down to a minimum of 9 V.
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October 31 2023 |
USB-C
USB Type-C specification Rev 2.3 was published.
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September 2023 |
USB4
Intel announced Thunderbolt 5, an implementation of USB4 using the new 80 Gbit/s connection abilities and updated DisplayPort support.
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June 2023 |
USB hardware
Framework introduced a 180 W (36 V 5 A) GaN USB PD charger with the Framework 16 laptop.
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2022 |
USB hardware
Radio Equipment Directive 2022/2380 mandated USB-C as the compulsory mobile phone charging standard, effective from 2024, and extended to laptops from 2026.
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October 18 2022 |
USB-C
USB Type-C specification Rev 2.2 was published, primarily enabling USB4 Version 2.0 with 80 Gbps speeds over USB Type-C connectors and cables.
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October 18 2022 |
USB4
USB Promoter Group released USB4 Version 2.0 specification, introducing 80 Gbit/s symmetric connections and asymmetric connections supporting 120 Gbit/s in one direction and 40 Gbit/s in the other.
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October 4 2022 |
USB-C
The European Parliament voted in favor of the Radio Equipment Directive 2022/2380, requiring USB-C ports for most electronic devices by the end of 2024.
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September 2022 |
USB4
AMD announced USB 3.2 Gen 2×1 support for Zen 4 processors.
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September 2022 |
USB 3.0
AMD implements USB 3.2 Gen 1x2 and Gen 2x2 in its LGA 1718 AM5 chipsets.
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January 2022 |
BadUSB
FBI issued another warning about FIN7 group's BadUSB attacks targeting transportation, insurance, and defense companies. USB drives were sent in packages pretending to be from Amazon or the US Department of Health and Human Services, with letters about gift cards or COVID-19 protocols. When connected, the drives would emulate a keyboard and initiate malware download commands.
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2021 |
USB-C
The European Commission proposed USB-C as a universal charger for electronic devices.
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October 2021 |
USB hardware
Apple introduced a 140 W (28 V 5 A) GaN USB PD charger with new MacBooks.
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October 5 2021 |
USB4
Windows 11 was released with support for USB4 Version 1.0.
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May 2021 |
USB hardware
USB PD promoter group launched revision 3.1 of the specification, adding Extended Power Range (EPR) mode to support higher voltages of 28, 36, and 48 V, enabling up to 240 W of power delivery.
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May 25 2021 |
USB-C
USB Type-C specification Rev 2.1 was published, introducing USB PD Extended Power Range with support for up to 240 W (48 V × 5 A).
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January 2021 |
USB 3.0
Intel begins including USB 3.2 Gen 1x2 and Gen 2x2 in its LGA 1200 Rocket Lake chipsets (500 series).
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2020 |
USB4
Intel's Tiger Lake processors became the first products compatible with USB4, with more devices emerging towards the end of the year.
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November 2020 |
USB4
Apple unveiled MacBook Air (M1, 2020), MacBook Pro (13-inch, M1, 2020), and Mac mini (M1, 2020), all featuring two USB4 ports.
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November 12 2020 |
USB4
macOS Big Sur (11.0) was released with support for USB4.
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July 2020 |
USB4
Intel announced Thunderbolt 4 as an implementation of USB4 40 Gbit/s, with additional requirements like mandatory backwards compatibility to Thunderbolt 3.
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May 2020 |
Windows To Go
Windows 10 May 2020 update (version 2004) removed Windows To Go functionality, effectively eliminating the feature from the operating system.
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March 2020 |
BadUSB
FBI issued a warning about FIN7 cybercrime group using BadUSB attacks to target companies in retail, restaurant, and hotel industries, aiming to deliver REvil or BlackMatter ransomware. Attacks involved sending packages with USB drives disguised as gift cards from Best Buy, which when plugged in, would emulate a keyboard and download malware to contact Russian servers.
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March 29 2020 |
USB4
Linux kernel 5.6 was released, providing initial support for USB4 technology.
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March 3 2020 |
USB4
Cypress Semiconductor announced new Type-C power (PD) controllers supporting USB4, specifically the CCG6DF dual port and CCG6SF single port controllers.
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January 2020 |
USB4
During CES 2020, USB-IF and Intel announced their intention to allow USB4 products with optional Thunderbolt 4 functionality.
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2019 |
USB-C
Linux kernel version 4.6 added support for USB version 3.1.
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2019 |
USB-C
USB4 was released, becoming the first USB transfer protocol standard applicable exclusively via USB-C.
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2019 |
USB4
The USB Implementers Forum originally announced the USB4 technical specification, marking the introduction of this new data communication standard.
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August 29 2019 |
USB-C
USB Type-C specification Rev 2.0 was published.
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August 29 2019 |
USB4
Release of USB4 Version 1.0 specification, defining 20 Gbit/s and 40 Gbit/s connections, with support for USB 2.0, USB 3.x, PCIe 4.0, and DisplayPort 1.4a tunneling.
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May 2019 |
Windows To Go
Microsoft announced the discontinuation of Windows To Go with the May 2019 update (version 1903), citing lack of support for feature updates and declining OEM support for specific USB drives.
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March 2019 |
USB4
USB4 was announced by the USB Promoter Group, with plans to base the specification on Thunderbolt protocol specification contributed by Intel Corporation.
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March 29 2019 |
USB-C
USB Type-C specification Rev 1.4 was published.
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February 2019 |
USB 3.0
USB-IF simplified marketing guidelines by excluding Gen 1x2 mode and requiring SuperSpeed trident logos to include maximum transfer speed.
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2018 |
USB-C
iOS first supported USB-C with version 12.1-12.4.1 on iPad Pro (3rd generation).
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2018 |
USB4
Intel supported Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C with their 8th generation mobile processors, such as those in the Lenovo P52 which featured dual Thunderbolt 3 ports.
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2018 |
USB flash drive
SanDisk announces a 1 TB USB-C flash drive, claimed to be the smallest of its kind
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2018 |
M.2
PCI-SIG issued a warning about pin usage conflicts between NGSFF and the upcoming M.2 standard revision 1.2, which would use previously non-connected pins for 1.8 V power and USB 2.0 data.
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May 2018 |
USB 3.0
Synopsys demonstrated the first USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 operation mode, connecting a Windows PC to a storage device and achieving an average data rate of 1600 MB/s for reading bulk transmissions.
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May 24 2018 |
USB-C
IEC published third edition (3.0) of IEC 62680-1-3 specification for USB Type-C cable and connector interfaces.
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April 10 2018 |
USB-C
USB Type-C Authentication Specification was adopted as IEC specification IEC 62680-1-4:2018.
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This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia articles M.2, USB hardware, USB-C, USB4, USB mass storage device class, Windows To Go, USB 3.0, BadUSB & USB flash drive, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.