The USB Implementers Forum – short USB IF – as the organization responsible, has announced new information on the next generation of the universal transmission standard that is in use worldwide. One press release gives a lot of information about the upcoming standard price.
First of all: When buying cables or memory sticks, you will have to take a closer look in the future than you already have. Because instead of simply making a version jump and naming the new standard USB 5, the consortium decided on the name instead USB 4 Version 2.0
. This continues the previous naming confusion around USB, as a Twitter user points out:
link to Twitter content
New speed record on the way
It will be fast: The current version of USB 4 should already be sufficient for most devices, but of course you also have to think about the future. That’s why you obviously want to play it safe with USB 4 Version 2.0 and double the transfer rate compared to the direct predecessor – at least if a USB Type-C port is used.
Instead of the previous 40 Gbit/s (gigabit per second), there will be in the near future impressive 80 GBit/s of data flow through your cables. That’s the equivalent of an impressive 10 gigabytes per second. Even the largest amounts of data should be able to be transferred at lightning speed. This also cracks the Thunderbolt 4 connection, which is generally considered to be fast only
to 40 Gbit/s.
Don’t worry: USB 4 Version 2.0 will not add any more to the already numerous different USB plugs.
You may not need new cables
But the best news is yet to come. Because if you are already worried about having to buy numerous new USB cables in view of this increase in speed, you can breathe a sigh of relief. The USB IF explicitly confirms in the press release that the 80 GBit/s also with already available USB-4 cables
How exactly this is to be achieved is not explained further on the technical side. What is clear, however, is that there will also be a whole new generation of USB-C cables that rely on a revised architecture inside. The data transmission protocols are also being updated for the upcoming standard, which even benefits some older connection variants such as USB 3.2.
More information about USB 4 Version 2.0 will probably be available at the USB Developer Days 2022, which will take place on November 15-16, 2022 in Seoul. The information is currently aimed primarily at developers. It will probably be at least 2023 before the first products with the new standard are available in stores.
Would you be happy about a transfer rate of 80 GBit/s? Or have you not even managed to fully utilize the current USB 4 cables? Let us know what you think about the new technology in the comments!
