What’s the difference between USB 3 and USB-C, and are they the same size?

[austinbooth]

[worldscolide]

USB c and USB 3 share a lot of the same circuitry, for example both have pci express lanes, both are universal serial buss, both are incredibly fast, for example, the latest iteration I think is 40 gigabit per second speed wise. However usb c is almost always used for things like phones, and charging and external hard drives. Or additionally USB c can be used for an external GPU. USB 3 cannot be used for charging, it can't be used for an external GPU, it can't be used for display output unless it has display link circuitry. And the reason for that is usb c can also double as a display port, and a thunderbolt port.

[worldscolide]

And while they can do some of the same things... They are not the same. Usb 3 can never be a display port, it can never be used to charge a laptop, it can never be a thunderbolt port.

[austinbooth]

Thank you

[jshm2]

Speed and connectivity mostly. USB 3 is the speed, whereas USB C is the connecter.

No they are not necessarily the same size.

[Anonymous]

Letters are just a shape of the connector. Numbers have to do with transfer capabilities. They are apples and oranges.

[slatyb]

USB 3 is a signaling protocol. USB-C is a physical standard.

[Anonymous]

I guess they are the same

[austinbooth]

That's what I thought

[jahaims]

Google is free