USB is the short form for “Universal Serial Bus”, and the “Universal” in it is really true to its meaning. USB is the most popular connectivity option accepted universally. The original USB 1.0 came with transfer speeds of up to 11 Mbps. USB is mainly used for data transfer and charging, as it is very cheap and very efficient.
Talking about the present situation, USB 3.1 was an attraction-grabber at this year’s CES. Its new standard, reversible USB Type-C connector, and performance were praised by industry experts. Also, the character of USB 3.1 makes it very useful for thinner devices and incompatible with the existing connectors.
Devices that have promised to include USB 3.1 are yet to be shipped, but the early data regarding USB 3.1’s performance is really very impressive. CES 2015 saw a lot of products using USB 3.1 from USB-IF (USB Implementers Forum).
According to a benchmark test by Anandtech, USB 3.1 is 27% faster than the VIA controller and 1.7 times faster than Intel. In real world testing, USB 3.1 completes copying a file in 75% of the time taken by Intel integrated 3.0 controller, and in half the time taken by VIA.
We don’t know yet about the shipping dates of devices and motherboards that will get USB 3.1 support. But we do hope to see some developments by early 2016.