In our China USB Flash Drive Factory We produce USB gadgets, especially those that make our lives easier (and often make great corporate gifts). To optimize its use, it is convenient to know all its characteristics well. Today we want to look at the differences between a USB 2.0 and another 3.0: what do they mean for the most commonly used devices and when is it worth choosing one or the other.

Don’t worry, you don’t have to be a computer engineer or a manual early adopter. With a little notion, you can choose the most suitable product for your purposes, either for your own consumption or to make a corporate gift. USB 2.0 and 3.0 are the most common on the market.

The 4.0 is still taking off and is not yet common on the market. To know their differences well and decide which one to opt for, you have to look at a series of elements that we are going to analyze in this post.

The first thing is to situate ourselves. USB 2.0 are already authentic veterans, they began to be used in the year 2000. In recent years they have been giving way to 3.0. So if your flash drive is relatively recent it will be in the second category in all probability.

IF you have an old gadget, don’t worry. Here the scheduled obsolescence is not something to take into account, it will simply work a little slower with certain files that are very large.

Where do I begin to distinguish a USB 2.0 and a 3.0?

In this case, we can say that appearances are not deceiving. Visually we can differentiate them at first sight. How?

By the color of the connection:

Black for USB 2.0

Blue for USB 3.0

We recently detailed these differences in a post. So there you can find more details on how to appreciate these visual nuances. If we go into operational issues, it is in the data transfer speed where we see the clearest differences between USB 2.0 and 3.0.

This capacity especially influences if we are talking about very heavy files: high-quality images or videos. It’s tempting to always go faster to save time. But if you really have a gadget for the most basic functions with a 2.0 you won’t lose competitiveness. To make a quick comparison and not get dizzy with very technical data, USB 3.0 can be up to ten times faster.

The high transfer speeds are only really noticeable when you’re working with the largest files and need to move them from one device to another. For example, consider a professional photographer or videographer who needs to quickly transfer jobs and gain time in their workdays. By the way, these two variants of USBs are backwards compatible.

That is, gadgets 3.0 work without problems in connections designed for 2.0. So you don’t have to suffer if you want to make the jump to a more modern device. Of course, you will not be able to benefit from its speed advantages, so keep this in mind if you work with the aforementioned heavy files.

USB 2.0 and 3.0 power and connections

We live dependent on batteries. It is a reality of our days. Many of us have connections to charging systems through a USB connection. Well, as with higher quality image and video files, 3.0 devices load faster, almost twice as fast. Apart from the question of speed, when it comes to charging batteries, 3.0 connections are better at replenishing power to devices that require more power.

They are also better if we leave the gadget connected to the electrical current, but we do not use it, and thus there is no discharge or it is much less than if a 2.0 is used. It is also important to note the differences in connection types that each class of USB has.

The 2.0 use the same way to send and receive information. So it’s best to just do one thing or the other to make the most of its capabilities. In contrast, the 3.0 allows you to perform both tasks at the same time.

We have reached the final section of the post, so let’s go with the million dollar question: what type of USB connection should I choose? It will depend on what you want it for. If you are going to work or you know that your audience only works with documents that take up little space —words, excels, pdfs…—, then with a 2.0 you can be more than satisfied. On the other hand, if you work with videos, images or other files that take up a lot, don’t think about it, opt for 3.0. These tips are perfectly applicable when choosing a corporate gift that is a gadget with a USB connection.

In our USB Flash Drive Factory in China you will find both alternatives. You will see that the 2.0 are cheaper as a general rule. So, if your audience is among the people who don’t work with very large files, they can be an interesting option for your next campaign. In any case, you opt for one option or the other, the success of your campaign with these advertising gifts is practically guaranteed.

Think that they fulfill one of the main maxims of these gifts: they are very useful for our day to day. We’d also like to hear about your experiences using USB 2.0 and 3.0. Of course, if you have any doubts or want to learn more about how to prepare a campaign with these corporate gifts, you can contact us. In any case, we leave you open the comments section.