USB4 delivers 40Gbps bi-directionally

The new USB4 spec was officially published by the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF).

The USB4 architecture is based on the Thunderbolt protocol specification recently contributed by Intel Corporation to the USB Promoter Group. It doubles the maximum aggregate bandwidth of USB and enables multiple simultaneous data and display protocols. It also maintains compatibility with existing USB 3.2, USB 2.0 and Thunderbolt 3 hosts and devices is supported; the resulting connection scales to the best mutual capability of the devices being connected.

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

Over 50 companies are actively participating in the final stages of review of the draft specification.

http://www.usb.org