Raspberry Pi Launches Official USB3 Hub, Priced at $12 to Split a USB-A into 4 USB-As
Brook.X
Due to its small size, the Raspberry Pi single-board computer comes with fewer USB ports compared to a traditional PC. Users who need to connect multiple peripherals may require a hub.
Thus, Raspberry Pi has now introduced an official USB3 hub. Although it's branded as an official product, it doesn't differ significantly from the standard hubs available on the market, primarily splitting 1 USB-A port into 4 USB-A ports.
For instance, Raspberry Pi provides 2 USB 3.0 and 2 USB 2.0 ports. By using the USB3 hub, one of the USB 3.0 ports can be expanded to 3, effectively offering 4 USB 3.0 ports and 2 USB 2.0 ports in total.
This USB3 hub is produced by Raspberry Pi itself and retails for $12, which is not exactly cheap. Raspberry Pi claims it has grown tired of the various low-quality hubs sold online, prompting them to source chips and manufacture their own high-quality hub.
The hub uses an Infineon CYUSB3304 chip, designed by Raspberry Pi's own engineers and manufactured in their factory. Raspberry Pi claims this may be the highest quality USB3 hub available on the market.
Another notable feature is a dedicated USB-C port for power supply to avoid insufficient power output from the Raspberry Pi, allowing users to purchase a charger to power other USB devices.
Here are the specifications of the USB3 hub:
- An 8 cm long non-detachable connection cable
- 4 USB 3.0 Type-A ports
- A total data transfer speed of 5Gbps
- A USB-C port for power supply
