[zokier]

> Why not just call it USB 4.0 and divorce the branding from the technical specification?

That is exactly what the "SuperSpeed USB" branding is all about. The technical spec is USB 3.whatever and the brand name is " SuperSpeed USB". But neither the press nor vendors seem to be able to stay in the line and actually consistently use only the branding, so here we are

[stephenr]

But SuperSpeed was 5Gbps. Then it was SuperSpeed+.

This was the nice aspect of Firewire - once 1394B was out - everyone referred to them as Firewire 400 and Firewire 800. No ambiguity.

Heck even Thunderbolt does this better - 1 and 2 are interchangeable device/cable-wise, and just support higher speeds, but it's just a new 'version' and it just doubles the bandwidth.

With USB you have to read all the fine print to make sure you get what you want/need.

[zokier]

SuperSpeed+ was never supposed to be exposed to consumers:

> NOTE: SuperSpeed Plus, Enhanced SuperSpeed and SuperSpeed+ are defined in the USB specifications however these terms are not intended to be used in product names, messaging, packaging or any other consumer-facing content.

[stephenr]

Oh great so it's all just meant to be "SuperSpeed".. "How super?" "Guess".

[zokier]

> USB-IF’s recommended nomenclature for consumers is “SuperSpeed USB” for 5Gbps products, “SuperSpeed USB 10Gbps” for 10Gbps products and “SuperSpeed USB 20Gbps” for 20Gbps products

Yes, guess how super “SuperSpeed USB 20Gbps” is

[stephenr]

But the lowest speed doesn't specify the speed - so unless a user happens to have read the USB-IF recommendations for naming, they won't know that there is a difference, if the manufacturers even follow said recommendations