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USB hardware

This article is about the physical and electrical aspects of USB connections. For the standard in general, see USB.

Various legacy USB connectors along a centimeter ruler for scale. From left to right:
  1. Micro-B plug
  2. Proprietary UC-E6 connector used on many older Japanese cameras for both USB and analog AV output
  3. Mini-B plug
  4. Standard-A receptacle, non-compliant because USB does not allow extensions cables
  5. Standard-A plug
  6. Standard-B plug

The initial versions of the USB standard specified connectors that were easy to use and that would have acceptable life spans; revisions of the standard added smaller connectors useful for compact portable devices. Higher-speed development of the USB standard gave rise to another family of connectors to permit additional data paths. All versions of USB specify cable properties; version 3.x cables include additional data paths. The USB standard included power supply to peripheral devices; modern versions of the standard extend the power delivery limits for battery charging and devices requiring up to 240 watts. USB has been selected as the standard charging format for many mobile phones, reducing the proliferation of proprietary chargers.