linux-drivers/
drivers/usb/dwc3

Synopsys DesignWare USB 3 (DWC3) controller

Synopsys DesignWare USB 3 is a widely licensed USB 3.x controller block that SoC vendors integrate into their chips to provide host, device (gadget), and dual-role USB ports. It shows up in current silicon from Apple, Qualcomm, NXP, Texas Instruments, Xilinx/AMD, Google, and many others, covering everything from phones and laptops to embedded boards.

keep conf=0.97 deploy=high replacement=none subsystem=usb category=bus-usb
97%

recommendation

It should stay because DWC3 is one of the most common USB 3 controllers in modern hardware and upstream work on it is plainly active: 2025 saw a new NXP Layerscape glue driver, role-switch timeout fixes, and a patch series adding Apple Silicon USB3 support on top of DWC3. Synopsys still sells the underlying IP and Apple is still shipping new M3 systems that rely on it, so there is no replacement and no case for deprecation.

repository signals

34 files
22,820 source lines
492 commits, 5y
+10,338 / −4,123 lines added / removed, 5y
150 authors, 5y
monthly commits · 2021-04-21 → 2026-04-21 · 492 total · active in 61/61 months
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sources

  1. lkml.org

    Upstream DWC3 development was still adding support for new SoCs in 2025, including an NXP Layerscape glue driver under drivers/usb/dwc3.

  2. lkml.org

    Upstream DWC3 maintenance in 2025 included functional bug-fix discussion for controller halt-state timeouts during role switching.

  3. lwn.net

    A 2025 usb-next patch series added Apple Silicon USB3 support on top of DWC3, showing ongoing enablement for modern hardware.

  4. support.apple.com

    Apple was still selling new M3 MacBook Air hardware in 2025; these Apple Silicon systems expose USB functionality that the 2025 DWC3 Apple support series targeted.

  5. synopsys.com

    Synopsys still markets DesignWare USB controller IP, indicating the core family itself remains current rather than obsolete.

codex reasoning notes (technical)

Real driver directory: local repo inspection showed core/gadget/host code plus many SoC glue drivers (Apple, Google, AM62, QCOM, Xilinx, etc.). Upstream activity is clearly live: web search/open found LKML threads for a 2025 timeout fix and a 2025 new Layerscape glue driver, plus an LWN archive of a 2025 Apple Silicon DWC3 enablement series. Deployment is still high because DWC3 is common Synopsys USB IP integrated into current SoCs; Apple Support confirms current M3 hardware, and Synopsys still sells the IP. No natural replacement driver covers the same generic DWC3 controller role, so removal/deprecation is not justified.