The Universal Serial Bus (USB) standard just keeps getting better. The announcement of the upcoming USB4 Version 2.0 standard was made today. This means 80Gbps data transfers over a USB-C cable are coming soon.
Brad Saunders, the USB Promoter Group Chairman, said “Once again following USB tradition, this updated USB4 specification doubles data performance to deliver higher levels of functionality to the USB Type-C ecosystem. Solutions seeing the most benefit from this speed enhancement include higher-performance displays, storage, and USB-based hubs and docks.”
Backward Compatibility
USB4 Version 2.0 is backward compatible, which has been true of most USB standards over the years. Users can use new cables and devices with any USB Type-C connector provided it supports USB4 Version 1.0, USB 3.2, USB 2.0 or Thunderbolt 3. Older cables can connect to USB 4 2.0 ports with no degradation in functionality.
According to the press release, features include:
- Up to 80Gbps data transfer, based on a new physical layer architecture. This is true whenusing 40 Gbps USB Type-C passive cables and the newly-defined 80 Gbps Type-C active cables.
- Updates to data and display protocols to better use the increase in available bandwidth.
- USB Data architecture updates now enable USB 3.2 data tunneling to exceed 20 Gbps
- Updated to align with latest versions of the DisplayPort and PCIe specs
Details about the USB4 Version 2.0 spec are on the agenda for the USB Developer Days 2022 conference. The conference starts November 1 in Seattle.
Apple is part of the USB Promoter Group that develops the standards.
