With a dual stick, PC users arm themselves for different computer systems.It starts from 8 euros.We show which USB sticks can be used in different slots.The times when the classic USB-A connection on PCs was the most important standard for external devices or data storage devices such as USB sticks are now over.More and more computers rely on the slim USB-C slot.Many new ultrabooks or convertibles only have USB-C ports, which have become the norm for most smartphones in recent years.If you want to use a USB stick, you should therefore use a dual variant that supports connections for at least two standards.We present a range of USB sticks that have both a classic USB-A connection and another option such as USB-C or Lightning.Data transmission is an important factor in a mobile data carrier.The higher the writing speed, the shorter the copying process takes.With larger amounts of data, copying can take a correspondingly long time.The higher the reading speed, the smoother the data can be played directly from the USB stick - for example a video.Let's take USB 2.0.The standard is still widely used, even though it was specified in 2000.This allows data transmission of up to 480 Mbit/s – which corresponds to a maximum of 60 MB/s.With USB 2.0, most USB sticks only offer a read speed of 20 MB/s and a write speed of 10 MB/s.It would therefore take almost 2 hours to copy 64 GB of files to a stick.Copying a 4K video with a size of 1 GB takes about 2 minutes with a USB stick with USB 2.0.In order to ensure faster data transmission, the USB 3.0 standard was introduced in 2008 with a transmission speed of up to 5 Gbit/s – i.e. 600 Mbyte/s.USB 3.1 with up to 10 Gbit/s (1.25 GB/s) followed in 2013.However, this does not mean that all sticks that are specified for USB 3.0 or higher will also reach this speed.Values ​​of 420 MB/s to 100 MB/s for the reading speed and 110 MB/s to 15 MB/s for writing are common for common USB sticks.A video clip of 1 GB can be transferred in just under 10 seconds at a write speed of 100 MB/s.With USB 3.2, things get a little more complicated.Under the designation USB 3.2 Gen 2×2, the transmission speed is now up to 20 GBit/s (2.5 GB/s) – but only in connection with a USB-C cable.USB 3.2 Gen 2 replaces the designation USB 3.1 and USB 3.0 is now called USB 3.2 Gen 1. The latest standard USB4 is still not very common.This is also the successor to USB 3.2 and Thunderbolt 3. Only USB-C connections are used here.Thunderbolt was originally introduced by Intel and Apple in 2009 as a proprietary interface protocol between computers and peripherals.With Thunderbolt 3, the connector system changed to the form known from USB-C.Thunderbolt 3 allows the use of cables and devices that are compatible with USB 3.1 (USB 3.2 Gen 2) - but not vice versa.If you regularly copy large amounts of data to a USB stick, you should make sure that the stick already supports USB 3.0 or higher.It is also important that your own PC has a USB port with USB 3.0.This is less common on older PCs.USB 2.0 is sufficient for an occasional backup of a few images or documents to a USB storage device.There are a number of plug-in options: USB-A and USB-C (also called USB Type A and Type C) as well as Micro-USB (alternatively: USB-Micro-B).USB-A is the very well-known rectangular connector that is familiar from many computers, other end devices and classic USB sticks.USB-C is a smaller oval-shaped connector.Unlike USB-A and Micro-USB, USB-C doesn't matter which way you insert the connector.Many people still know Micro-USB from older smartphones and tablets.These only support data transfer at the slower level of USB 2.0.In newer smartphones, USB-C is now increasingly replacing the micro-USB connector.According to our price comparison, 85 percent of all new smartphones in 2021 already use a USB-C port.Even with new notebooks, the trend is towards USB-C.For example, the Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Titanium Yoga (test report) no longer has a USB-A slot.Apple uses its own connector type called Lightning for its mobile devices.All iPhones from generation 5 and iPads from generation 4 use this connector format.Although the Lightning connectors are very robust, they usually only allow data transmission at the level of USB 2.0.An adapter is required to connect to USB-A or USB-C.Note, however, the different file format of Windows as well as MacOS and iOS.Windows mostly uses the NTFS file format – an iPhone, for example, can read this, but not write to it.Apple, on the other hand, relies on the HFS+ file format, which Windows doesn't know what to do with.The most sensible choice is a dual USB stick with a connector for USB-A and USB-C.This is the best way to be prepared for all modern PCs with USB-C as well as older devices with USB-A.The stick can also be used with mobile end devices such as smartphones and tablets, as long as they have a USB-C connection.Ideally, the USB stick should already support USB 3.0 or higher so that fast data transfer is possible.On most USB sticks, the two connections are located at the end of the data medium.There are also models with a slider that reveals the desired connector or with a swiveling cover.Dual USB sticks with connections for USB-A and USB-C are hardly more expensive than data carriers with only one connector.You can get a dual USB stick with connections for USB-C and USB-A with a size of 64 GB for as little as 8 euros.Sticks with only 32 GB are not really worthwhile, especially since they cost the same as the larger representatives with 64 GB.A stick with 128 GB is already available from 12 euros.If you want to copy large files, such as video clips, to a USB stick as quickly as possible, you need a high writing speed.If you want to play media files directly from a USB stick, you should ensure a high reading speed.The faster the stick, the more expensive it is.For example, the SanDisk Dual Drive USB Type-C with 128 GB offers a reading speed of 150 MB/s and a writing speed of around 40 MB/s and costs 17 euros.Models from Transcend and Samsung are significantly faster with a read speed of 400 MB/s and a write speed of 100 MB/s - but cost 28 to 33 euros with the same memory size.Copying 500 photos in 4K resolution takes at least 15 seconds with the Samsung USB stick.From the USB stick to the PC, the whole thing should take less than 3 seconds.With the Sandisk stick, the same amount of Bidler ideally takes about 1 minute to transfer to the data carrier.Conversely, it's a good 10 seconds.In practice, however, USB sticks do not constantly reach their highest writing speeds, so that the copying process quickly takes two to three times as long.A USB stick with connection options for USB-A and Micro-USB is suitable for anyone who wants to use the stick with a PC and an older smartphone or tablet.A USB-A connection on the PC and a micro-USB socket on the mobile device are required.As a rule, the connection is on one side of the stick.If you use an iPad or iPhone, you can use a dual USB stick with a connection for Lightning and USB-A or USB-C.This is convenient for copying videos or photos between iPhone/iPad and Mac.However, if you want to use the stick on a Windows PC, you will run into problems due to the different file systems of the respective operating systems.Dual sticks for Lightning and USB-A are significantly more expensive than their counterparts for USB-A and USB-C.A stick with 128 GB costs around 45 euros.The selection of data carriers for USB-A and Lightning is quite large, with dual sticks for USB-C and Lightning it looks rather meager.A stick with a connection for Lightning and USB-C with 128 GB costs a good 60 euros.A possible alternative to a classic USB stick are mobile SD card readers.These are available with a variety of possible connections.This is interesting for anyone who already has many SD cards and wants to continue using them.Then it is not necessary to buy a new USB stick.If you don't want to part with your USB sticks, you can also use an adapter from USB-A to USB-C or use a hub with several connections and a card reader for SD.We show more about the fastest SD cards in our Memory card theme world.USB-C is likely to replace USB-A as the standard port on PCs over time.If you want to take precautions here, you can use a USB stick that uses both ports.These cost almost the same as conventional USB sticks.There are also dual variants for USB-A and Micro-USB as well as Lightning.Alternatively, you can use an adapter or a hub and SD card reader.If you generally carry large amounts of data with you, we recommend taking a look at our guide: The right data storage device for on the go.- The links marked with are commission links (affiliate links).If an order is placed via such a link, TechStage receives a commission.This does not result in any additional costs for the buyer.