From a consumer perspective, USB is a mess of confusing specs and connectors.
My iMac has four male USB Type-A USB 3.0 5Gb/sec ports. The Fujifilm X-T2 has a single USB3.0/USB2.0 High-Speed USB Micro-B port. It is used for charging as well as syncing data between the camera and a computer.
I just spent nearly 45 minutes trying to find an inexpensive USB cable to connect my Fujifilm camera to my iMac. I thought it would be easy.
On Amazon.com, I used the search terms "USB Type-A USB 3.0 to High-Speed Micro-B." The results were an AmazonBasics cable, and a few cables which were highly rated, but only a few people had rated the cable. Searching Amazon.com also led to confusion as there are cables that don't have the right Micro-B connector type. Most of the cables I found had this Micro-B connector:
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But I need this Micro-B connector:
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NOTE: SVG Images are from Wikipedia.
I did some more research on Wikipedia. The Wikipedia entry for USB made me cry. USB is a fracking confusing mess! And USB 3.2 may make the branding and naming situation worse.
Anyway, it turns out that the connector I need is micro-B SuperSpeed, not High Speed as listed in the Fujifilm manual. Since I was having problems searching on Amazon.com I went to monoprice.com where I found the Monoprice Select USB 3.0 Type-A to Micro Type-B Cable, which is just the cable I need.
Why does this have to be so hard?
@khurtwilliams I've felt that way about USB for years. I get why there are A and B type connectors. And I get why there is a mini type connector, but I've never understood why there are so many mini type connectors!
@DrOct The I think it goes beyond connector type. USB Type C connectors may all look the same but then may or may not support high speed charging, Thunderbolt 3, etc.