Computer USB history
Listed below are the important historical events relating to USB (universal serial bus), including related technologies.
1994
In December 1994, the first version of USB was released as USB 0.8. Considered a pre-release version, it was not available to the commercial market.
1995
USB 0.9 was released in April 1995, and like USB 0.8, it was a pre-release version and was unavailable commercially.
Another pre-release version, USB 0.99, was released in August 1995. It, too, was not available on the commercial market.
1996
USB 1.0, the first commercial version of USB, was released in January 1996. It had a data transfer rate of 12 Mbps.
1998
In August 1998, USB 1.1 was released and better received in the market. Many more USB devices were sold with the release of USB 1.1.
The Apple iMac G3, released in 1998, was the first computer to have only USB ports for external device connectivity.
2000
USB 2.0 was released in April 2000 and was stated to have a data transfer rate of up to 480 Mbps. However, bus limitations resulted in maximum data transfer rates of up to 280 Mbps.
The first USB flash drives were released and sold on the commercial market in late 2000 by IBM and Trek Technology.
2008
On November 12, 2008, USB 3.0 was released, allowing data transfer rates up to 5 Gbps.
2013
USB 3.1 was released in July 2013, providing data transfer rates up to 10 Gbps.
2017
USB 3.2 was released in September 2017. It introduced the USB-C connector, providing data transfer rates up to 20 Gbps.