USB4 is the new standard that has been announced using the newly royalty-free Thunderbolt protocol from Intel. It offers 40Gbps transfer speed, which is double compared to what USB 3.2 can manage. The full specifications are being reviewed by more than 50 companies including Intel, Apple, Microsoft, and Texas Instruments and should be finalized by mid-2019.
Brad Saunders, USB Promoter Group chairman talked about the new USB4 standard and said the following:
The primary goal of USB is to deliver the best user experience combining data, display and power delivery over a user-friendly and robust cable and connector solution. The USB4 solution specifically tailors bus operation to further enhance this experience by optimizing the blend of data and display over a single connection and enabling the further doubling of performance.
Thunderbolt was announced by Intel and it did not catch on much because of the licensing that was required by now Intel has announced that companies can use the standard without any licensing fees. This will encourage companies to use the standard as well as the new ones that have yet to be announced that include USB4.
Jason Zilla, GM Client Connectivity Division at Intel talked about Thunderbolt and the following is what he had to say in this regard:
Releasing the Thunderbolt protocol specification is a significant milestone for making today’s simplest and most versatile port available to everyone. This, in combination with the integration of Thunderbolt 3 into upcoming Intel processors, is a win-win for the industry and consumers.
You can expect to see USB4 hit the masses by the end of 2019 or early 2020 but how quickly people are going to adopt is something that we will have to wait and see. I for one have never used USB Type-C. My phone still uses micro USB and I have not used USB 3.1 or 3.2 either. It will be interesting to see how people react to this new standard.
Intel is also working on making discrete graphics solutions that will be released in 2020. The company will not only be competing with AMD in the CPU space but with AMD and Nvidia in the GPU market as well. You can also check out the new Intel Lakefield SOC that features 10nm Sunny Cove architecture and Gen 11 graphics.
Let us know what you think of USB4 and whether or not this is something that you are interested in.
