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Cables can be divided into transmission protocols and physical interfaces. Transmission protocols refer to communication languages, while physical interfaces refer to the compatibility methods of physical items.

The same physical interface can support different transmission protocols simultaneously to achieve backward compatibility.

Because physical interfaces all have fool-proof designs to prevent incorrect connections between different interfaces, this means that as long as your cable can be plugged in, it is normally compatible, only differing in which transmission protocol language is used to communicate and transfer data, with different languages having different bandwidth speeds.

Physical Interfaces

Interface Type	Usage	Interface
USB Type-A	Computer
USB Type-B	Scanner, Printer, etc.
USB Type-C	New computers, mobile phones, tablets, etc.
USB Mini-A	Old portable devices, deprecated
USB Mini-B	Old portable devices, deprecated
USB Mini-AB	Only as universal connector, deprecated
USB Micro-A	Deprecated
USB Micro-B	Mobile phones, tablets, etc.
USB Micro-AB	Only as universal connector, deprecated

USB Type-A Physical Interface

Usage: Computer

Male

Female

USB Type-B Physical Interface

Usage: Scanner, Printer

Male

Female

USB Type-C Physical Interface

Usage: New computers, mobile phones, tablets

Male

Female

USB Mini-A Physical Interface

Usage: Old portable devices, deprecated

Male

Female

USB Mini-B Physical Interface

Usage: Old portable devices, deprecated

Male

Female

USB Mini-AB Physical Interface

Usage: Only as universal connector, deprecated

Male

No Mini-AB Male

Female

USB Micro-A Physical Interface

Usage: Deprecated

Male

Female

No Micro-A Female

USB Micro-B Physical Interface

Usage: Mobile phones, tablets

Male

Female

USB Micro-AB Physical Interface

Usage: Only as universal connector, deprecated

Male

No Micro-AB Male

Female

Transmission Protocols

Thunderbolt Transmission Protocol

• Developed by Intel
• Protocol for data transmission

Thunderbolt Versions

Thunderbolt

• Transfer rate 10 Gbit/s
• Up to six peripheral devices
• Can supply 10W power to peripherals
• Cable length up to 10 meters

Physical Interface

• PCI Express 2.0 x4
• DisplayPort 1.1a

Thunderbolt 2

• Transfer rate 20 Gbit/s
• First and second version Thunderbolt bandwidth are both 20 Gbit/s, so cables are compatible

Physical Interface

• PCI Express 2.0 x4
• DisplayPort 1.2

Thunderbolt 3

• Transfer rate 40 Gbit/s
• Physical interface USB Type-C
• Maximum power delivery 100W
• Can connect 2 4K resolution displays, or 1 5K resolution display
• Supports HDMI 2.0 (4K 60Hz) and DisplayPort 1.2 (5K 60Hz)

Physical Interface

• PCI Express 3.0 x4
• USB 3.1 Gen2
• DisplayPort 1.2

Thunderbolt 4

• Transfer rate 40 Gbit/s
• Physical interface USB Type-C
• USB 4 protocol support and data transfer speed
• Supports 2 4K displays (DisplayPort 1.4)

Physical Interface

• USB Type-C
• DisplayPort 1.4

USB Transmission Protocol

Reference

• Thunderbolt - 維基百科，自由的百科全書
• 2021 五款 MacBook Hub 推薦 : 教你怎麼挑選適合自己的 USB-C Hub 集線器！ – 蘋果迷 APPLEFANS
• Thunderbolt 3、Thunderbolt 4、USB4 差異是什麼？ - 電腦王阿達

Thunderbolt 2

• Apple Thunderbolt 連接線 (2.0 公尺) - 白色 - Apple (台灣)

Thunderbolt 3

• Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) 連接線 (0.8 公尺) - Apple (台灣)

Thunderbolt 4

• 什麼是 Thunderbolt 4？- Intel
• Thunderbolt 4新世代來臨，完全相容USB 4 | 4Gamers

USB

• USB - 維基百科，自由的百科全書
• 終於看懂USB介面大亂鬥
• 什麼是USB 3.1? 什麼是USB Type-C? - 創見資訊
• USB Type-C接口是什麼，和USB 3.0有什麼區別？ - 每日頭條