What’s The Difference between Micro B and Micro USB?

• 

  kerfuffle on 06/10/2021 - 20:53

  +3

  Micro USB is more common.

  • 

    ilovefullprice on 07/10/2021 - 08:06

    Thanks!

• 

  scrimshaw on 06/10/2021 - 20:54

  +10

  Micro USB-B is your standard USB 2.0 connector that transfers at 480mbps max. It's used in a lot of smartphones around 3-4 years ago and you might see it still in budget devices and tablets.

  a less common, flat-shaped micro USB cable supports USB 3.0 standards. It's flatter, wider than Micro USB but it has extra data lines which means it can transfer data at speeds of up to 5 Gbps. This is typically bundled with external drives.

  See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_hardware#/media/File:USB_2…

  • 

    netbies on 06/10/2021 - 21:24

    +2

    Micro B was used with Samsung Galaxy S5. However, the port is compatible with micro usb.

    Using micro B supports USB3 transfer rate, using micro usb only supports USB2.

    • 

      ilovefullprice on 07/10/2021 - 08:06

      Thanks!

  • 

    ilovefullprice on 07/10/2021 - 08:06

    Thanks!

• 

  May4th on 06/10/2021 - 20:59

  +3

  us

  • 

    iDroid on 06/10/2021 - 22:32

    A?

    Ah, no B.

• 

  iridiumstem on 06/10/2021 - 20:59

  +1

  Slight caveat, you can still have USB 2.0 with USB C connector (a lot of cheap phones can be).

  • 

    ilovefullprice on 07/10/2021 - 08:05

    Thanks!

• 

  Hybroid on 06/10/2021 - 21:07

  +2

  The wide one is generally USB3 with higher power delivery while smaller one is USB2. Don't buy from Kogan.

  • 

    ilovefullprice on 07/10/2021 - 08:04

    Thanks!

• 

  Kangal on 06/10/2021 - 21:24

  +3

  First of, you need to understand there are different form-factors of USB:
  USB-A, mini-USB, micro-USB, USB-C, etc etc

  And then know there are different protocols (ie Speeds) of USB:
  eg/ 2.0
  3.0
  3.2
  ?.? "ThunderBolt"
  etc etc

  Typically, a "microUSB" product/cable will come with the form-factor of "microUSB" and the protocol of "2.0". This is enough for your usual Slow Charging and Slow Connectivity.

  Whereas anything labelled as "MicroB" will be using a different form-factor. This is just the "microUSB" form-factor with extra pins on the side. Those pins are required for better Standard Charging and faster 3.0 protocol.

  USB-C itself is a form-factor. I hate that it supports USB 2.0 because this is archaic, and now, most devices and products use USB-C when they should be sticking to microUSB instead. They do this to "trick" consumers, thinking a cheap product is actually good. The price difference between 2.0 and 3.1 is literally Zero (or close to it), its just these OEMs want to Copy/Paste their old efforts into "new" products (ie Different casing).

  At the minimum, USB-C should have been USB 3.1 speeds. And to go further, they should have mandated that "special USB-C" products come with a thick-cable and a different colour, so as to differentiate proper "ThunderBolt" from your "Standard 3.1". You know, they needed to simplify the standard. They did the opposite, and its a disgrace for consumers and even certain product designers.

  • 

    ilovefullprice on 07/10/2021 - 08:03

    Thanks!

• 

  avoidfullprice on 06/10/2021 - 21:36

  +1

  Higher data rate is only possible with the wider micro b connector.

  Importantly, get a cable which delivers enough power to the harddrive so it actually spins up. In other words, don't get cheap cable for data.

  • 

    ilovefullprice on 07/10/2021 - 08:03

    Thanks!

• 

  Haydos90 on 07/10/2021 - 07:47

  +1

  They are both Micro-USB type B connectors, with the one labelled as "Micro USB" being a USB 2.0 cable (slower transfer speeds) and the one labelled as "Micro B" being a USB 3.0 cable.

  FYI since I've found a lot of people don't seem to realise, but you can actually use a Micro-USB B 2.0 cable in a Micro-USB B 3.0 port if you're not fussed about the speeds, it fits in the bigger half of the port.

  • 

    ilovefullprice on 07/10/2021 - 08:03

    Thanks!