USB ports have become a staple of modern electronics usage, facilitating the connection of various peripherals and accessories to both larger electronics like PCs and smaller devices like smartphones. As USB ports have advanced, little details about them have started to change and shift, particularly their size and color. For example, if you find a USB port with a distinctive purple coloration, you could have either a Huawei SuperCharge port or a USB 3.1 port.

Understanding the different colors of your USB ports and cords gives you a quick and convenient means of knowing what they're used for, and in some cases, what devices are and are not safe to plug into them. The meaning behind a blue USB port, for example, is related to what generation the port is, while others denote proprietary technologies like the green USB ports used by Qualcomm's Quick Charge tech. Purple ports are much the same; depending on what the port is connected to, it could be general-purpose later-generation hardware, or specifically intended for one company's charging framework.