The Universal Serial Bus (USB) standard was developed in 1996 is standardize the connection of peripherals to computers and replace the standards of the time such as Serial, Parallel, Firewire and PS/2. The standard was originally designed to work Host (computer) to device (keyboard). The Host would be connected with a Type A connector and the Device would be connected with the Type B connector. Later versions supported smaller Type B connections such as Mini B and Micro B.

With the arrival of the USB 3.0 standard, these connectors were updated with additional pins to support the increased data rate and power. The connectors still maintained an element of backwards compatibility.

In the latest USB standards the Type C connector has replaced all the previous connectors and is designed to be used with both Hosts and Devices.

USB Type A is the original Host connector and is still the most common type of USB connector found today. It is used to connect everything from keyboards and mice to scanners and printers. The connector was updated with the USB3.0 specification, these will have an extra 5 pins arranged behind the standard 5 pins and commonly will have a blue colour.

The most commonly used USB-A cables are:

• USB Type A to Type B, often used to connect printers
• USB Type A to Micro B, mostly used to connect to older mobile phones
• USB Type A to Type C, this is used in more modern phones

USB Type B is the original Device connector and is still commonly found on printers. The connector was updated with the USB3.0 specification, an extra section was added that contains 5 additional pins and it commonly will have a blue colour.

The most commonly used USB-A cables are:

• USB Type A to Type B, used to connect printers to computers
• USB Type C to Type B, used to connect printers to laptops

The USB Mini B connector is not commonly used any more, it was often found on cameras and sat navs. The Mini B connector wasn't updated with USB3.0.

The most common USB Mini B cables are:

• USB Type A to USB Mini B, used to connect cameras to a computer

The USB Micro B connector was very common on mobile devices such as mobiles phones, it has largely been replaced by USB Type C. The connector was updated with the USB3.0 specification, an extra section was added to the side that contains 5 additional pins.

The most common cables types for this connector are:

• USB2.0 Type A to Micro B - This was commonly used with mobile phones
• USB3.0 Type A to Micro B - This was used with Samsung phones before USB-C was created

USB Type C connectors are the latest and fastest connector in the USB standard. It is the first USB connector that is reversible, meaning you can plug it in either way up, eliminating the common problem found with the Type A connector.

We stock a large range of USB Type C cables including the latest USB-C to USB-C standards:

• USB4 40Gbps / 240W Cables
• USB4 20Gbps / 240W Cables

We also stock cables that allow you to connect to the older connections:

• USB Type C to Type A
• USB Type C to Type B