

That said, despite the very subtle nuances in naming convention, there are indeed some very notable differences between the USB 3.1 Gen 1 and the USB 3.1 Gen 2, and thus we are just going to stick with the terms USB 3.0 and USB 3.1 to keep it simple in the context of this informative article. However, it also bears noting that the version of USB 3.1 that we are referring to here is technically called USB 3.1 Gen 2, which means that the official names of the two models that we will be comparing are actually only separated by one letter. What’s In a Name?īefore we begin our comparison o f USB 3.0 and 3.1, there is one important detail that we should probably cover first, and that is that picking up on the difference between USB 3.0 and 3.1 can be especially confusing given that the official names of the two versions sound awfully similar.īasically, USB 3 has since been officially renamed USB 3.1 Gen 1 by the USB Implementers Forum, USB-IF, for short, who are essentially the not-for-profit group of big-tech representatives who came up with the original concept for the USB (which is now referred to as USB 1.0) back in the mid-90s and remain in charge of the implementation standards to this day. Are you scratching your head wondering what exactly is the difference between products that offer USB 3.0 vs 3.1 technology? While the nuances might be hard to pick up on, there are actually some major differences betw een USB 3.0 and 3.1 -and we are here to help clear up the confusion.
