There are also microphones that can output both analog and digital formats simultaneously. Standard mics use a (male) balanced XLR connector to produce the analog electrical signal.
USB microphones handle this process internally. For this output to make sense to your computer, it needs to be converted into a stream of discrete electrical voltages that correspond to 1s and 0s-this is a digital signal. Traditional microphones capture the sound you create in the air and pass this signal as an analog electrical waveform. The Rode NT1-A has an XLR output, which means you’ll need an audio interface to capture the signal.