by Tom Nelson
USB 3 has finally made the jump to the Mac. The 2012 MacBook Pros and MacBook Airs all have USB 3 ports, and I think it’s safe to assume that all new Macs will have them.
So, what exactly is USB 3?
The easy answer is that it’s a higher speed version of the USB system we already use with our Macs. Able to operate at up to 5 Gbps, USB 3 outpaces USB 2, as well as the FireWire 800 ports found on many Macs. Only Thunderbolt ports can beat USB 3 in a race.
