If everything seems under control, you are not going fast enough! The folks at the USB Promoter Group may well have to live by that quote.
That’s because they have formally announced (PDF) their latest creation in USB 4 Version 2.0.
And although the naming scheme hints that this new arrival is just a second-generation update to USB4, there is more under the hood. It flat-out doubles the transfer speeds of its predecessor, a feat usually reserved for new generations.
This means that if you are among the lucky few who adopt this new technology early, you can enjoy blazing-fast speeds of up to 80Gbps.
That’s a whole lotta Gs!
USB4 is already plenty fast, thanks to its theoretical maximum data transfer speed of 40Gbps. These numbers are, quite frankly, much faster than most consumers truly need. And, in fact, few people even take full advantage of these speeds.
But that’s not stopping the USB Promoter Group from pushing the boundaries once again.
In the words of Brad Saunders, the group’s chairman:
“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.”
The new standard is also backward compatible with the first-gen USB4, plus even the older USB 3.2, USB 2.0, and Thunderbolt 3. Best of all, USB4 Version 2.0 performance should be possible using existing USB4 cables.
Due to licensing issues, USB and Thunderbolt have been updating parallelly — Intel laptops come with a Thunderbolt port while AMD Ryzen notebooks carry the USB4 branding.
USB4 2.0 will debut in devices later this year.
Before you get too excited, however, bear in mind that this new standard will take a fair while to hit mainstream. 2023 is a good bet for when consumer devices will truly shift to USB4 Version 2.0, starting with the more premium machines first.
