For the Pi 3 B+ and previous generations, the difference will be much less pronounced, but still can be measurable.
For the Pi 4, a faster USB drive (e.g. SSD or NVMe in adapter) will be a massive improvement for many things (though some operations like launching a browser won't be vastly improved).
For the Pi 4, a faster USB drive (e.g. SSD or NVMe in adapter) will be a massive improvement for many things (though some operations like launching a browser won't be vastly improved).