USB4, The Royalty Free Thunderbolt from Intel

In the news, Intel has handed over its specification for high-speed Thunderbolt technology to the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), the organization responsible for developing and managing USB standards.

The USB4 specification will follow the current USB 3.2 standard, although an exact public release date had not yet been defined at the time of the announcement.

USB4 doubles the bandwidth of USB 3.2 and supports theoretical maximum transfer speeds of up to 40Gbps.

USB4 also enables multiple data and display protocols to operate simultaneously. This means a single cable can be used to transfer data, drive an external display, and deliver power to connected devices.

USB4 support will be integrated directly into Intel chipset processors, removing the need for motherboard manufacturers to include a separate USB host controller. This approach suggests USB4 adoption could happen quickly and become broadly universal across new systems.

The USB4 connector standardizes on the USB-C physical interface, eliminating the orientation issues found with earlier USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 connectors.

It remains somewhat unclear why the USB-IF chose a new naming convention without spaces, settling on “USB4.” That said, the simplified naming may help reduce confusion caused by earlier iterations such as USB 3.0, USB 3.1, and USB 3.2, distinctions that were rarely clear to everyday users.

We believe the introduction of USB4 will allow Thunderbolt technology to gain broader traction among both manufacturers and consumers. Integrating Thunderbolt into the USB standard also removes prior licensing and royalty barriers, which should help reduce the cost of compatible peripherals.

Source: Business Wire