This. There are plenty of printers that can print straight from USB storage, and I wouldn't be surprised if there are scanners/multi-function devices that can

This. There are plenty of printers that can print straight from USB storage, and I wouldn't be surprised if there are scanners/multi-function devices that can scan to USB storage as well. Having two USB ports to plug those storage devices into would cause _a lot_ of support calls because some people would insist on using the wrong port. The same applies for record players able to record to USB storage, many external hard drives and other periopherals from the 2000's and early 2010's. Mini-USB was also quite common for smaller devices in those times. After 2012-ish, many seems to have switched to micro-USB and now we're gradually moving to USB-C. That being said, A-to-A cables do exist and some rare devices use them.