USB cable types, explained
Last reviewed July 16, 2026
USB connectors come in a handful of shapes and several speed generations, but they all share one design decision that matters for security: the same connector carries power and data. Whichever plug is on your cable, plugging it into a port you don't control opens a potential data path - that's the basis of juice jacking.
The connector guide
| Type | What it's for | Common devices |
|---|---|---|
| USB Type-A | The classic rectangular plug found on computers, wall chargers, cars, and public charging stations. | Desktop PCs, older laptops, chargers, external drives, keyboards and mice. |
| USB Type-C | The current standard: reversible, high-speed data, high-wattage charging. The connector on virtually every new phone, tablet, and laptop. | Modern smartphones (including iPhone 15 and later), laptops, tablets, docking stations. |
| Micro-USB | The previous mobile standard; still everywhere on budget and legacy hardware. | Budget phones, e-readers, wireless earbuds cases, battery packs, IoT gadgets. |
| USB 3.x (A or C connector) | A speed generation rather than a shape - higher data throughput over Type-A (often blue-tabbed) or Type-C connectors. | External SSDs and hard drives, docking stations, capture devices, hubs. |
| USB Type-B | The squarish plug on larger peripherals. | Printers, scanners, some audio interfaces and external storage. |
| Mini-USB | An older compact standard, mostly retired but still on long-lived gear. | Older cameras, GPS units, MP3 players, some game controllers. |
What this means for charging security
- Shape doesn't equal safety. USB-C is newer and faster than Micro-USB, but both carry data lines; neither is inherently protected at a public port.
- Adapters inherit the risk. An A-to-C adapter on an airport port passes the data lines straight through.
- Protection has to live in the cable (or your habits). A cable whose data lines are physically disconnected is protected regardless of connector shape - that's the design principle behind Lion Cables' switchable cables, and the patents describe the switch mechanism for every connector type in the table above.