Whether it's the old-school USB-A ports built into hotel lamps or high-powered Thunderbolt powering entire workstations, USB is still how we all charge and connect our devices. Whether it's USB-C or USB-A, every USB device is built on some version of the USB specification, managed by the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF). Say you plug a USB 3.2 solid-state drive into a USB 3.2 port on your computer, but use a USB 3.0 cable.