The special feature of the red USB port.

Red USB ports are rarely seen. Photo: Shutterstock .

USB (Universal Serial Bus) ports, especially USB Type-A and Type-B, come in various types, distinguished by the color of the plastic piece inside the connector.

In this context, the green gate is generally considered faster than the black and white gates. However, the reality is more complex, especially with the appearance of the red gate.

According to BGR , the color of a USB port relates to the USB generation the connector supports, determining data transfer speeds or power delivery capabilities.

In some cases, the color also indicates whether the port is always-on, allowing it to provide power or charge devices even when the computer is in sleep mode.

For example, if a USB port is orange, it's usually always on and likely supports USB 3.2 Gen 1 (or USB 3.0) data transfer speeds.

The presence of a blue plastic piece in the USB port signifies support for the USB 3.0 or SuperSpeed USB standard, which was launched in November 2008.

Also known as USB 3.2 Gen 1, the USB 3.0 standard is capable of transferring data at speeds up to 5 Gbps and providing 4.5 W of charging power. In some cases, when a USB 3.0 port is dedicated to charging, it can deliver up to 7.5 W of power.

Meanwhile, the red USB port typically supports USB 3.1, USB 3.2 Gen 2, or USB 3.2 (also known as USB 3.2 Gen 2x2), all of which are newer than USB 3.0 and can handle data transfer speeds of up to 10 Gbps for USB 3.1 and up to 20 Gbps for USB 3.2.

Some computers feature red USB ports with superior data transfer capabilities. Photo: Darkflash.

In terms of power supply capabilities, the red USB port allows charging at the same power as the blue port, but supports continuous power supply functionality.

Therefore, if a computer has both blue and red USB ports, users will get faster data transfer speeds and continuous power support on the red port.

However, color coding isn't always accurate. This is because USB-IF, the organization that manages the USB standard, doesn't mandate the use of specific colors for each USB port.

This is just a recommendation. Device and motherboard manufacturers are free to use any color they want when integrating USB ports. While most adhere to common color schemes, this isn't always the case.

One example of a well-known computer manufacturer that doesn't follow the rule is HP. The company fitted black plastic pieces to the front USB Type-A ports on its Omen 25L gaming desktop, even though those USB ports support USB 3.2 Gen 1, for data transfer speeds of 5 Gbps.

Therefore, users need to carefully check the data transfer and power capabilities of the USB port in the manufacturer's documentation.