On Sunday, the USB standards setting organization announced that USB 3.0 ports will be coming to smartphones and tablets by the end of the year. Mobile devices will feature a microUSB port based on USB 3.0 technology to fit the small size of the devices, said chief technology officer of the USB Implementers Forum Rahman Ismail. Currently smartphones and tablets use the older and slower USB 2.0 technology, but upgraded devices will sport data transfer rates as fast as 800Mbps. “What takes 15 minutes will roughly take 1 minute and 10 seconds,” said Ismail. USB 3.0 mobile transfer speeds will be considerably slower than their PC counterparts, though, which can reach up to 5Gbps. However, smartphones and tablet will feature faster charging due to faster power flow through USB 3.0 ports. On the flip side, Intel has also announced that the company intends to integrate its rivaling Thunderbolt technology into mobile devices. Luckily for us, PCs that have been recently introduced have featured both Thunderbolt and USB 3.0 ports, showing that both technologies can coexist.
USB 3.0 coming to smartphones and tablets by the end of 2012
Updated Dec 19th, 2018 7:41PM EST
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Dan joins the BGR team as the Android Editor, covering all things relating to Google’s premiere operating system. His work has appeared on Fox News, Fox Business and Yahoo News, among other publications. When he isn’t testing the latest devices or apps, he can be found enjoying the sights and sounds of New York City.
