The next generation of USB devices might support data transfer speeds as high as 80 Gbps, which would be twice as fast as current-gen Thunderbolt 4 products.
As promised at the start of September, the USB Promotor Group has published the new USB4 Version 2.0 specification with support for speeds up to 80 Gbps (or even higher, under some circumstances). It may take a few years before new cables, hubs, PCs, and mobile devices capable of supporting the new standard are available though.
According to the group, the new protocol makes use of the same USB Type-C cables and connectors as USB4 version 1.0. In fact, if you’ve already got a USB Type-C passive cable that’s capable of 40 Gbps speeds, you should be able to use that same cable with next-gen hardware to achieve speeds up to 80 Gbps.
But the USB4 v2 standard also introduces a new USB Type-C active cable designed specifically for speeds up to 80 Gbps.
The new standard is also backward compatible, which means that if you buy a new device with USB 4 v2 support, it will still work with older hardware featuring USB 2.0, 3.2, or Thunderbolt 3 connectivity. You just won’t be able to take advantage of the full speeds.
The USB Promotor Group is also updating the USB Type-C and USB Power Delivery specifications to work with USB4 v2, and updating data and display protocols with support for DisplayPort Revision 2.1, PCI Express revision 4, and support for data tunneling speeds higher than 20 Gbps over USB 3.2.
It’s worth keeping in mind that it’s likely that not all USB4 v2 devices will take advantage of the speed boost. The group hasn’t announced minimum speeds for USB4 yet, but the first version of the spec allowed product makers to build devices with data transfer speeds as low as 20 Gbps or as high as 40 Gbps.
This article was first published September 1, 2022 and most recently updated October 18, 2022.Â
USB4v2 is just a minor improvement, the one I’m really waiting for is USB4max v4.2+ gen3 lite
I swear they’re doing this on purpose just to have fun with people’s confusion. They know full well there’s nothing we can do about it as there aren’t any other real competing standards.
Couldn’t they call it USB 4.1 or USB5 or something more incremental? It might mean I’d be less likely to have to guess about how much bandwidth I’d get when something says USB4.
Agreed.
The USB people really need a whack over the head for their naming conventions.
Same with the HDMI guys as of late.
Hopefully, they will get a new CEO/Board and someone will change things in the future.
It will be USB-C for all your cheap needs, and you might get a new single protocol for all the good things (eGPU, HDMI, Super Fast Charging, Multiple Hub Connection, etc etc).
Call it something like USB-X, based on a 200Gbps standard which is the base. If and when things improve, it will be an upgrade from that level.
I vote to hold them accountable for their incompetence as well. They’re worse than big government.