# item.guide
Side-by-Side Comparison USB

Micro-USB vs. USB 3.2 Gen 2

Comparing 2 standards across 8 specifications. 8 key differences identified.

Comparing:
Micro-USB
USB 3.2 Gen 2
Micro-USB →

Micro-USB (Micro-B) was the dominant charging and data connector on non-Apple smartphones and small electronics from the late 2000s through the mid-2010s. Its USB 3.0 variant added a second, wider tab beside the standard 5-pin plug for extra SuperSpeed pins -- a design most phone makers skipped, keeping plain USB 2.0 Micro-B nearly universal in practice.

View full Micro-USB spec sheet →
USB 3.2 Gen 2 →

Originally released as USB 3.1 in July 2013, this 10 Gbit/s tier used more efficient 128b/132b encoding than USB 3.0's 8b/10b. It was renamed USB 3.2 Gen 2x1 in 2017 alongside USB 3.0's rename to Gen 1x1 -- both generations kept identical real-world hardware, with only the marketing name changing.

View full USB 3.2 Gen 2 spec sheet →

Specification Comparison Table

8 Parameters
Parameter / Spec
Micro-USB
USB 3.2 Gen 2
Pin Count
5 (USB 2.0) or 10 (USB 3.0, wider stepped shape) —
Standard Base Dimensions
~6.85 x 1.8 mm —
Reversible
No —
Status
Largely superseded by USB-C —
Original Name
— USB 3.1 Gen 2 (July 2013)
Current Name
— USB 3.2 Gen 2x1 (also marketed as "USB 10Gbps")
Max Bandwidth / Data Rate
— 10 Gbit/s
Encoding
— 128b/132b (more efficient than USB 3.0's 8b/10b)

Other Alternatives to Compare

Compare Micro-USB vs. Mini-USB → Compare Micro-USB vs. USB 1.1 → Compare Micro-USB vs. USB 2.0 → Compare Micro-USB vs. USB 3.2 Gen 1 → Compare Micro-USB vs. USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 → Compare Micro-USB vs. USB Power Delivery → Compare Micro-USB vs. USB-A → Compare Micro-USB vs. USB-B → Compare Micro-USB vs. USB-C → Compare Micro-USB vs. USB4 → Compare Micro-USB vs. USB4 2.0 →