Side-by-Side Comparison
USB
USB 3.2 Gen 2 vs. USB-B
Comparing 2 standards across 8 specifications. 8 key differences identified.
Comparing:
USB 3.2 Gen 2
USB-B
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.
USB-B (Standard-B) is the squarish connector historically used on printers, scanners, and external hard drives -- the peripheral-side counterpart to USB-A. A 9-pin SuperSpeed variant with a distinctive stacked upper tab was added for USB 3.0, though USB-C has since displaced Standard-B in most new peripheral designs.
Specification Comparison Table
8 Parameters| Parameter / Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
|
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) | — |
|
Pin Count
|
— | 4 (USB 1.x/2.0) or 9 (USB 3.0+, stacked SuperSpeed tab) |
|
Standard Base Dimensions
|
— | ~11.1 x 7.0 mm |
|
Reversible
|
— | No |
|
Typical Role
|
— | Peripheral-side port (printers, scanners, external drives) |
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