USB 3.2 Gen 1
USB · 4 specs
Direct Answer
Originally released as USB 3.0 in November 2008, this 5 Gbit/s "SuperSpeed" tier was retroactively renamed USB 3.2 Gen 1x1 when the USB 3.2 specification arrived in 2017 -- the first step in a naming scheme many found more confusing than clarifying, since the underlying hardware and speed never actually changed.
Source: USB-IF · Last reviewed Aug 28, 2026
Specs
| Original Name | USB 3.0 (November 2008) |
| Current Name | USB 3.2 Gen 1x1 (also marketed as "USB 5Gbps") |
| Max Bandwidth / Data Rate | 5 Gbit/s |
| Introduced | SuperSpeed signaling, full-duplex architecture, 9-pin USB-A/B connectors |
Same Hardware, Three Different Names Over Time
USB 3.0, released November 2008, was the generation that introduced "SuperSpeed" -- 5 Gbit/s full-duplex signaling over 5 additional pins added to the existing USB-A/B connector shapes. It was a genuine technical leap over USB 2.0's 480 Mbit/s, and for nearly a decade "USB 3.0" was the name used throughout the industry.
When USB-IF published the USB 3.2 specification in September 2017, it retroactively renamed USB 3.0 to "USB 3.2 Gen 1x1" purely for naming-scheme consistency -- no hardware, cable, or speed changed as a result. USB-IF later simplified marketing further in 2022, promoting plain "USB 5Gbps" branding instead. All three names -- USB 3.0, USB 3.2 Gen 1x1, USB 5Gbps -- describe the exact same 5 Gbit/s hardware.