From The Verge: The SuperSpeed USB branding is no more thanks to a new set of guidelines currently being rolled out by the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), the body that manages and maintains the USB standard.
It’s part of a rebranding initiative that the organization kicked off last year with the introduction of a new series of packaging, port, and cable logos. But with its latest set of branding and logo guidelines it’s going even further, simplifying its legacy branding and signaling the end of the decade-old SuperSpeed branding. If the name doesn’t ring any bells, then that’s probably because you (like most other people) simply referred to it by its USB 3 version number. Alongside it, the USB-IF is also ditching USB4 as a consumer-facing brand name.
The changes came into effect this quarter, and could start appearing on products and packaging as early as by the end of the year, according to the USB-IF’s president and chief operating officer Jeff Ravencraft. But any products that were certified prior to the shift will still be able to use the old brand names.
In a Zoom call, Ravencraft explains that the new branding is designed to prioritize what the standards can actually do, rather than the USB version they’re based on. “As we started to update our branding we did a lot of focus group studies with many different types of consumers,” he tells The Verge, “and none of those people understood the messaging and the branding, and they don’t understand revision control or spec names.”
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