Two years since the USB4 2.0 standard was announced in October 2022, products compatible with the standard enabling 80Gbps bi-directional bandwidth and supporting 120Gbps uni-directional bandwidth are finally available. These include laptops and peripherals such:
However, USB4 v2 certification and certified products are still under USB-IF planning and have yet to reach the market. The first products to support USB4 80Gbps were mainly Intel Thunderbolt 5 chipsets, where Intel contributed the TBT protocol specification to USB-IF to formulate the USB4 specification. Extensive work has also been done to ensure that Thunderbolt 5 products are compatible with the USB4 v2 specification.
Products must pass Intel's rigorous testing requirements for all supported capabilities to become Intel Thunderbolt 5 certified. Compatible with TBT4, TBT3, as well as USB 3.2, USB 2.0, and up to 240W charging, Thunderbolt 5 is the most widely supported of the USB-C interfaces. With the data-intensive tasks of the current AI era, businesses and consumers alike can look forward to growth in data transfer and data processing speeds, Thunderbolt 5 products, and USB4 v2 devices in the near future.
On November 26, 2024, Elecom announced the first USB-IF certified USB 80Gbps cables supporting 60W (20V/3A) charging power cables as well as USB 80Gbps cables supporting up to 240W EPR (48V/5A). In addition, the cables also enable DisplayPort Alt mode transmission and resolutions of up to 8K/60Hz. Japanese companies will also be introducing active USB 80Gbps cables supporting up to 3 meters in length to support large screen displays for the global market in the coming months. With the implementation of the European Union’s Common Charger Directive 2022/2380, handheld devices such as cell phones and tablets are being incorporated into the USB-C ecosystem, bringing speed and convenience of data and image transfer to our fingertips.
With Intel CPU support for USB4/TBT4 desktops, new motherboards are now integrating USB4/TBT4 and can be paired with the TBT5 bridge chip to support USB4v2/TBT5, allowing up to five USB4/TBT4 devices to be connected, thus increasing the flexibility and high-speed connectivity of the PC architecture. Up to 8K resolution and 60Hz update rate output resolution can also be supported via DisplayPort 2.1.
The first USB4 v2 controllers and PHYs are laying the groundwork for 2025 device launches, with boosted USB4's 40Gbps transfer speeds, enhanced power transfer capabilities and device compatibility, as well as new cross-platform support with Thunderbolt 4. Key advancements include increased data transfer rates, stability, and backwards compatibility, attracting manufacturers of motherboards, laptop and accessories who are looking to simplify high-speed data and display connectivity for diverse device ecosystems.
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