| Year | Event |
|---|
| 1994 | In December 1994, the very 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 not available commercially. |
| 1995 | 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 was much better received in the market. Many more USB devices were sold with the release of USB 1.1. |
| 1998 | The Apple iMac G3, released in 1998, was the first computer to have USB ports only, with no serial ports or parallel 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. |
| 2000 | 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 for 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. |
