USB naming confusion means pricier flash drives often deliver real speed gains
USB 3.0's successors were renamed using confusing 'Gen' labels tied to speeds of 5, 10 or 20 Gbps, making printed USB 3.2 labels unreliable indicators of actual performance. USB-C ports add convenience but say nothing about speed, since USB-C devices can still run at USB 2.0 rates. Real-world tests, like Kingston's DataTraveler Max hitting up to 1,000 MB/s versus Samsung's Fit Plus write speeds of just 58.4 MB/s, show huge gaps hidden behind similar branding.