Today on the Building Windows 8 blog, Microsoft promised that USB 3.0 support will be a part of its coming operating system.
According to the company’s blog post on the subject, USB 3.0 will hit effective market saturation in 2013, and complete saturation in 2015. That in mind, Microsoft is ensuring that Windows 8 can handle all possible USB 3.0 scenarios: “Each and every USB device, low, full, high, and SuperSpeed, has to work in Windows 8.”
The set of standards for USB 3.0 came together in 2008, showing how long the ramp up cycle for a product as important and pervasive as USB technology. It promises to be up to ten times faster than what USB 2.0 was capable of. This is how Microsoft outlined the speed boost: “With this new standard, you’d be able to copy a high definition movie from a USB storage drive in about 80 seconds instead of the 15 minutes it takes with USB 2.0”
That said, Microsoft is working to ensure that backwards compatibility is a functional component of whatever it produces: “Our design had to follow the revised 3.0 specification precisely in order to enable emerging USB 3.0 hardware. There are also billions of older USB devices that Windows must remain compatible with.”
Most important with USB 3.0 is “improved power management that results in longer battery life.” Yes, that means that tablets and laptops that run Windows 8 should have better battery life than what is currently possible with Windows 7. Apple has consistently whacked PC manufacturers with products that had far superior battery performance.
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