USB4, The Royalty Free Thunderbolt from Intel
In the news, Intel has given their specification for its high-speed Thunderbolt technology to the USB-IF implementers forum. This is the group which creates and manages USB technology.
The USB4 specification will follow the current USB 3.2 specification, yet an exact date of release has not been defined.
USB4 will double the bandwidth of USB 3.2 and provide transfer rates at a theoretical maximum of 40Gb/s.Â
USB4 will also enable the use of multiple data and display protocols simultaneously. This implies you will be able to transfer data, run your monitor and power your devices through a single connection.
The USB4 will be included with the Intel chipset processor and will free up OEMs from being required to select a USB host controller chip to be included on their motherboard. This framework implies USB4 will be universal, and happen fairly quickly.
The USB4 connect is the USB-C physical schematic and eliminates the top-side and bottom-side we currently see with USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 products.
It is unclear why the USB-IF went with a different naming convention of USB4… no spaces in the naming convention, so we believe it’s one step closer to eliminating the confusion of USB specifications. After all, can you tell us the exact difference between USB 3.0, 3.1 and 3.2? *Nerds not apply, I’m asking the typical bloke
We feel the introduction of USB4 will allow “Thunderbolt” to really take off and gain traction with the manufacturing and user base. In addition, this will reduce costs of peripherals because the royalty associated with Thunderbolt is no longer there.
Source: Business Wire
Tags: thunderbolt, USB4
