Comparison between USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 with other different versions of USB

USB (Universal Serial Bus) is a type of connection which is used to connect computer with different devices like smartphones, tablets, external hard drives, digital camera etc. If you connect these devices to your computer , it will automatically install the required drivers by itself and makes it comfortable for a user as he doesn't require to install any driver or software. USB is a plug and play also. USB devices can be added and removed without restart your computer.

There are different versions of USB like USB 1.0 , USB 2.0 , USB 3.0 , USB 3.1.
USB can be used provide the power to different devices by plugging the devices like smartphones, tablets and can be used to charge their batteries.

There are lots of different USB devices that can be connected to your computer. Some of them are - Keyboard, Microphone, Digital camera, Webcam, Smartphones, Tablets, External drive, Mouse, Printer, Joystick, Scanner, Ipod , MP3 player and many more.

USB Versions

USB 1.x - It is an external bus standard that supports data transfer rate of 12Mbps and is capable of supporting upto 127 peripheral devices.

USB 2.0 - It is high speed USB and was introduced in 2001. It supports the data transfer rate of upto 480 Megabits per second (Mbps). It is backward compatible i.e it is capable of supporting USB 1.x  devices and cables.

USB 3.0 - It is Super speed USB . It has improved power management, increased bandwidth capability and improved performance over USB 2.0. It supports data transfer rates of upto 5 Gbps.

USB 3.1 - It is also known as SuperSpeed +  and was made available from 2013. It supports the data transfer rates of upto 10 Gbps.

Benefits of USB 3.0 Over USB 2.0

Power Consumption - USB 3.0 devices provide more power when required and save power when the devices are idle. USB 2.0 provides upto 500mA whereas USB 3.0 provides upto 900mA.

Transfer Rates - USB 2.0 provides data transfer rates of 480 Mbps where as USB 3.0 provides transfer rates of 5 Gbps - 10 times faster.

More Bandwidth - USB 2.0 supports 1 way of data transfer at a time  whereas USB 3.0 uses 2 unidirectional data paths, one to receive the data and other to transmit the data.