A USB 3.0 device may be plugged into a USB socket and used as a USB power supply for direct current (DC) in connecting portable devices.

Compared to older USB versions, the USB 3.0 provides various features:

• Higher DTR of up to 5 Gbps
• Decreased power consumption
• Higher speed connectors and cables
• Backward compatible with USB 2.0
• Better power management structure
• Support of bulk and isochronous transfers
• Up to 80 percent more power with configured devices
• Up to 50 percent more power with non-configured devices
• Replaces device polling with interrupt architecture protocol
• Supports full-duplex data transfer using dual-bus architecture
• Supports a a power savings mode when idle (by either the computer or a device)

The USB 3.0 has 4-pin architecture, versus earlier versions. The USB 3.0 Type A plugs and sockets are backward compatible with USB 2.0, but USB 3.0 Type B plugs do not accept earlier socket versions.

The USB 3.0 was designed to increase power input, decrease power consumption and increase DTR speed. Currently, the USB 3.0 standard supports a DTR of up to 5 Gbps. Typically, the throughput is 4 Gbps, and the USB-IF considers a DTR of 3.2 Gbps attainable.