USB-IF publishes the USB4 specifications - Thunderbolt for the masses

[WYP]

Expect a 2x speed boost over USB 3.2.



Read more about USB-IF publishing USB4's specifications.

 

[grec]

Is ThunderBolt spec support a requirement? Given no controller compatible with that spec would fit in the power budget of a phone for a fair few years, this one seems like it will be on ice for 5 years in anything but Ultrabooks with its Type-C requirement, maybe a couple of ports on high end motherboards instead of the 3.2gen2 ports now and then. But even tablet-orientated controllers can't hit the bandwidth of USB3.0 gen1 without throttling atm.

 

[WYP]

Is ThunderBolt spec support a requirement? Given no controller compatible with that spec would fit in the power budget of a phone for a fair few years, this one seems like it will be on ice for 5 years in anything but Ultrabooks with its Type-C requirement, maybe a couple of ports on high end motherboards instead of the 3.2gen2 ports now and then. But even tablet-orientated controllers can't hit the bandwidth of USB3.0 gen1 without throttling atm.

From USB-IF press release. At a minimum, it supports Thunderbolt 3 on the speed side of the equation.

Key characteristics of the USB4 solution include:

• Two-lane operation using existing USB Type-C® cables and up to 40Gbps operation
over 40Gbps certified cables
• Multiple data and display protocols that efficiently share the maximum aggregate
bandwidth
• Backward compatibility with USB 3.2, USB 2.0 and Thunderbolt 3

 

[NeverBackDown]

Now if only the USB IF can keep sensible naming conventions.

 

[grec]

I see, it's a marketing exercise, I guess a rebrand of TB3 without the royalty issues is a good step forward, albeit one Intel promised 2 years ago, and now done in a way that has artificially held back third party controllers, meaning their power use probably won't even be non-Intel "ultra portable laptop" ready till 2021. Give them plenty of times to iron out all of TB's technical issues.