USB 3.0 and its colours

[samiksome]

Everywhere I've seen USB 3.0 ports are coloured in blue, no exceptions. However, my friend has recently bought a laptop (a Lenovo Y50) and it has two USB 3.0 ports coloured red. Isn't the blue colour a standard?

 

[synphul]

I think blue (pantone 300c) is the typically accepted standard, but I've seen other things besides laptops (some pc cases with upfront usb 3.0 plugs) that also use the red. Why I don't know, other than they're supposed to be colored to differentiate from the old plain black of usb 1/2 so users can spot the high speed usb 3.0 ports. The color doesn't have anything to do with the operation of the port, it's just a visual of the plastic components.

Further reading says that usb 3.0 spec mandates appropriate color coding, but blue is only a recommendation not mandatory. Some manufacturers will use red (or yellow or orange) to specify a usb 3.0 port with high current or sleep/charge capabilities.