USB technology evolves through higher memory density and new standards

Advancements in NAND technology, specifically 3D NAND which allows for vertical stacking of memory cells, have enabled USB flash drives to reach capacities of up to 512GB without increasing physical size. Consequently, low-capacity drives, such as 1GB models, have become rare as they are no longer commercially competitive. Even though high-density chips are cheaper, producing small-capacity drives remains costly because they require the same essential components, including controllers, circuit boards, and casings.

There is also a critical distinction between physical connectors and communication standards. USB-C refers to the physical shape of the connector, whereas USB4 is the communication standard. While USB4 cables utilize the USB-C format, older USB-C cables may only support slower standards like USB 3 or 3.2. The USB4 standard offers significantly higher data transfer speeds, reaching up to 40 Gbps, and supports simultaneous data transfer, device charging, and high-resolution video output.