Why some USB ports are purple (and why they're rarely sold in the US)

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Have you ever looked at a USB connector or port and wondered, "why is this purple instead of blue or black?" It's not because the manufacturer wanted to help you organize your cables by hue. Rather it's about speed and charging capacity. Purple USB-C connectors are a particularly interesting case, because the color can mean more than one thing.

Before I explain, here's a quick anecdote. I once tested an Honor Magic4 Pro smartphone that came with a 100 watt charger and USB cable with orange connectors. That color signified fast charging speeds, and it indeed boosted the Magic4 Pro's big battery rapidly. "That's fabulous," I thought. "Let me charge my MacBook Air with it." To my surprise, the charger and cable didn't work at all on the MacBook or other phones, because it turns out that Honor's charger and cable have limited usability outside its own ecosystem. 

The moral of this story is that the USB port colors provide a guideline for their functionality, but that doesn't mean cables, chargers and ports using that color will work across all devices or follow a set standard. That's especially pertinent to purple-coded USB cables, as you'll see. 

The industry body that regulates USB standards, the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), uses three standard colors for USB: white (USB 1.0), black (USB 2.0) and blue (USB 3.0, 3.1 or SuperSpeed). "Blue is the recommended color for the USB 3.1 Standard-A receptacle... to help users distinguish it from the USB 2.0 Standard-A connector," the company says in its legacy USB document. Any other color including green, purple or orange is not part of USB-IF standards and has no "official" meaning for ports or connectors.

With that said, purple does have a common, though far from universal, connotation. It's used by Huawei's SuperCharge high-speed system for device charging, both on Type-A and Type-C connectors and ports. Those support charging speeds at 40 watts or more, along with standard USB Power Deliver (PD) and Qualcomm's Quick Charge protocol. 

Huawei only uses that purple color on its 25W Mini Charger nowadays, promising compatibility with its own phones as well as other Android and IOS devices. Its other SuperPower Wall Chargers (100W and 66W) have orange USB-A and USB-C connectors, which also denote high-current power delivery and fast data speeds. Huawei's 6A phone charging cables all use orange connectors, so there's no longer a purple-coded one to be found. 

Huawei smartphones can't legally be sold in the US due to trade sanctions with China, which explains why Americans rarely see the purple connectors. The exception is that some non-Huawei USB 3.1 Gen 2 cable makers use either teal blue or purple on the connectors to denote the extra speed over USB 3.0 (10Gbps compared to 5Gbps) along with higher charging capacities. 

There are a few other colors used by USB manufacturers as well, in case you weren't confused enough by the black, white, blue, teal, orange and purple ones I've already mentioned. Red (desktop) or yellow (laptop, always on) ports indicate either USB 3.2 or USB 3.1 Gen 2, but are also used for charging-only ports. The other is green, which usually denotes Type-A or old-school Type-B Qualcomm Quick Charge receptacles and plugs. Razer also famously uses green for the USB ports on its laptops, to match its branding aesthetic.

Unfortunately, consumers are often misled by these color schemes, believing they're getting fast power delivery speeds and data rates. This has consequences for safety, energy consumption and e-waste. Choosing the wrong charger or cable could send a battery to an early retirement, for example, or even cause a fire or explosion.

With all that, buying a USB cable based on color clearly isn't wise. Luckily, there's a better way. Reputable manufacturers like Anker and Apple have their cables and chargers USB-IF certified for specific charging and data speeds. The latest PD 3.1 specification allows for safe power delivery well above previous specifications, with certifications for up to 140W, 180W and 240W power levels.  

For data speeds, you'll want to check the USB data standard, with USB 3.1 (sometimes referred to as USB 3.2 Gen 1) being the slowest at 5Gbps and USB 4 being the fastest at 40Gbps or even 80Gbs with Thunderbolt 5 compatibility. Some devices like TVs, desktop PCs, and even the MacBook Neo, have one or more ports that utilize the older USB 2.0 spec, which maxes out at 480Mbps. That's a good fit for peripherals like mice and keyboards, but not much else. If you need both high speeds and fast charging, you'll want to ensure both USB-IF power delivery certification and the latest USB standards. Some cables offer both fast speeds and high power delivery — and you can even get them in purple, but only on the outside.