USB standards group introduces confused branding plan to coincide with new USB 3.2 standard

Confused about USB? You will be following USB-IF's latest branding plan

The USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) has announced branding plans for USB 3.2 that look set to make USB standards even more confusing for ordinary consumers to follow.

The USB 3.2 standard will arrive on smartphones and PCs later this year. It is intended to increase the maximum bandwidth of the wired connectivity standard to 20 gigabits per per second. However, that will mean there are now three different mainstream USB standards.

USB-IF has therefore decided to rebrand the 5Gbps USB 3.1 Gen 1 to USB 3.2 Gen 1, while the 10Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 2 will still be known as USB 3.2 Gen 2. However, the 20Gbps USB 3.2 spec will now be known as USB 3.2 Gen 2x2, for reasons best known to USB-IF.

To make it even more unnecessarily confusing, there will be new consumer marketing names for each standard, too. USB 3.2 Gen 1 will be branded ‘SuperSpeed USB', USB 3.2 Gen 2 will become ‘SuperSpeed USB 10Gbps' and USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 will be ‘SuperSpeed USB 20Gbps'.

And if that wasn't confusing enough on its own, USB-IF's USB 3,.2 specification guidelines went on to claim: "SuperSpeed Plus, Enhanced SuperSpeed and SuperSpeed+ are defined in the USB specifications… However, these terms are not intended to be used in product names, messaging, packaging or any other consumer-facing content."

That comes on top of unclear specifications for the USB-C connection that enabled manufacturers to produce incompatible connectors. Partly as a result, using one USB-C cable to power different devices could end up frying some of them instead, or just not work.

And it's not the first time that the people behind the USB specifications have been taken to task for doing more to confuse people rather than simply provide a universal standard that everyone can get.

With USB-IF's latest branding plan, there's nothing to stop a manufacturer from simply advertising a device's ports as USB 3.2, without disclosing which flavour of USB 3.2 it is - they can simply side-step any claim that they are being misleading by suggesting that USB-IF's branding obfuscates more than it enlightens.

Hopefully, though, PC and motherboard makers will standardise on 20Gbps USB, which (mercifully) is backwards compatible with previous USB standards.