What Is Input/Output Device (I/O Device)?

A computer is only as good as the devices it can talk to. And those devices need to be able to do more than type on a keyboard or listen to commands. They need to be able to receive input and send output, too. An input/output (I/O) device is a hardware device that can accept inputted, outputted or other processed data. It also can acquire respective media data as input sent to a computer or send computer data to storage media as storage output. In other words, I/O devices are the backbone of your computer system. Without them, your machine would be little more than a paperweight. Input devices gather data from the outside world and send it to a computer. Output devices take information from a computer and display it for people to see. Together, these devices enable a computer to communicate with its environment. Input devices gather information from the outside world and send it to a computer. You can think of these devices as the eyes of a computer. Examples of input devices include a computer mouse or a microphone. Output devices display information from a computer for people to see. These devices can be thought of as the ears of a computer. Examples of output devices range from a computer monitor to a printer. Input and output devices are the ones that let you interact with your computer, like a mouse or keyboard. Input devices gather information from the outside world and send it to the computer. Output devices do the opposite: they take what's inside the computer and show it to you as something visual. These days, most input/output devices are electronic, but some exceptions exist. For example, if you're using a typewriter, you're not using an electronic input device.