Computer USB history

YearEvent
1994In 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.
1995USB 0.9 was released in April 1995 and like USB 0.8, it was a pre-release version and not available commercially.
1995Another pre-release version, USB 0.99, was released in August 1995. It too was not available on the commercial market.
1996USB 1.0, the first commercial version of USB, was released in January 1996. It had a data transfer rate of 12 Mbps.
1998In 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.
1998The 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.
2000USB 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.
2000The first USB flash drives were released and sold on the commercial market in late 2000 by IBM and Trek Technology.
2008On November 12, 2008, USB 3.0 was released, allowing for data transfer rates up to 5 Gbps.
2013USB 3.1 was released in July 2013, providing data transfer rates up to 10 Gbps.
2017USB 3.2 was released in September 2017. It introduced the USB-C connector, providing data transfer rates up to 20 Gbps.