USB 3.2 standard to absorb USB 3.0 and USB 3.1 specifications

[spanna5]

here we go again - History repeating itself

https://arstechnica.com/uncategorized/2003/10/2927-2/

[Ballantin]

Easier than all that:
USB 3.5
USB 3.10
USB 3.20

[aidanjt]

Smells like device manufacturer marketing departments pushed for this nonsense, same as before. This way they can just slap a "USB 3.2" sticker on their existing products and not have to change a damn thing.

[Usernamist]

USB 3.0
USB 3.1
USB 3.2

You might think these are successive iterations of one standard. You'd think wrong.

All three of the above refer to the exact same spec. rubbishrubbishrubbishrubbishrubbishrubbishrubbishrubbishrubbishrubbishrubbish

[DanceswithUnix]

People, USB has *always* been like this and for good reason. The original USB had a slow mode for low power cheap devices like mice and keyboards and a full speed mode for things like storage that needed it. That keeps costs down, and we like that.

I just built a new PC. I plugged a 20 year old USB keyboard into it, and that's what I'm typing on. I have some PCI cards, ram, PATA IDE drives and SCSI devices from the same era and the *only* thing that will just plug into this box and work the USB devices.

If you think the engineers doing this are doing a bad job, you are a pretty tough audience. And with that I will go plug in my USB 2 joystick, USB 3 VR headset with USB 3 cameras and play Elite whilst occasionally stabbing at my 1.5Mbit/sec USB 1 keyboard.

[scaryjim]

People, USB has *always* been like this and for good reason. The original USB had a slow mode for low power cheap devices like mice and keyboards and a full speed mode for things like storage that needed it. That keeps costs down, and we like that. ...

It's true, but they didn't roll each previous version into the new version numbering. A device was USB 1, USB 1.1, or USB 2.

Now, a 5 Gbps device or port could be described as USB 3, USB 3.0, USB 3.1, or USB 3.2. So many motherboards say they have USB 3.1 ports, but when you check the fine print they're only gen 1, a.k.a. USB 3.0. If you buy a 20 Gbps USB 3.2 device, and your motherboard spec says it's USB 3.2, but when you plug it in you find your "limited" to 5 Gbps, you're not going to be very happy. And now that's going to get worse, because they'll also just use the headline "USB 3.2", and you've got three different specs they might actually adhere to...

What, exactly, was wrong with just calling each subsequent iteration USB 3.0, 3.1 and 3.2?

[EN1R0PY]

"The USB Implementers Forum outlined the USB 3.2 spec back in July 2017. too slow to release. someone please replace these engineers. Keep in mind they worked for years on the 3.2 spec before 2017. GET RID of SLOW workers. The world needs FASTER creation, KEEP UP.

There is a world of difference between developing a actual product and ratifying a specification. They aren't waiting on engineers to develop the hardware or implement a new protocol in the controller firmware, there will be a million and one interested parties all trying to get their own pet solutions and features into the spec and refusing to sign it off untill they get what they want. This is why new specifications take forever not because they're waiting for some engineer to make some breakthrough while in the bath and run down the street yelling Eureka! in their birthday suit.

[philehidiot]

If you think the engineers doing this are doing a bad job, you are a pretty tough audience.

To be picky, I think anyone who is having a go at the engineers is poorly targetting their anger. This is a problem with marketing / product labelling, not the magic pixie wranglers who make it all work as you've described.

[AGTDenton]

Can't Thunderbolt 3 just eradicate it all...

[preter_s]

I'm not confused but it comes to a point where I can't be bothered to remember any more. But its so troublesome to have to Google every time I need to remind myself.

This is all about them being able to charge manufacturers fees to use their logos etc. It may not be much to big companies but for small companies, it can be quite significant having to manage so many types of USB types.

If not for the fees, all manufacturers would have stopped USB 2.0 production and jumped right to the latest and best. Consumers wouldn't be grappling with so many legacy and new fancy USB 3.0/3.1/3.2/Type C/Gen 1/Gen 2 nonsense types.