intel advances "the next generation of thunderbolt"following USB4 v2 specifications

Intel has announced the next revision of Thunderbolt 4 technology, an interface that is slowly becoming more difficult to differentiate from the USB standard. And there are reasons for this, since “the next generation of Thunderbolt” (no official name yet) is still an adaptation of USB4 v2, ultimately derived from USB4 and ultimately from Thunderbolt 3. As such, it incorporates much of its progress, but for the purpose of creating a connector with perhaps more consistent specifications.

According to Intel in its statement, the next Thunderbolt will offer speeds of 80 Gbps bidirectionally (exactly the same as USB4 v2), a special mode with 120 Gbps uploads and 40 Gbps downloads to connect multiple monitors with a single cable (another feature that is also present in USB4 v2) and support for the new DisplayPort 2.1 video standard, which also aligns more closely with USB4.

Intel never hides that the next revision of Thunderbolt is nothing more than its own adaptation of USB4 v2, which might seem unnecessary. However, the company offers an argument that for some may be convincing, and that is that the new Thunderbolt is something like a “more complete” USB4 v2 than the one that will be integrated by some manufacturers.

As Intel has pointed out to TheVerge, the general idea is that a USB4 v2 device can offer 80 Gbps, support DisplayPort 2.1 and PCIe tunneling, but it doesn’t have to. The next generation of Thunderbolt and all compatible products, however, must offer all of these features out of the box, so as outlandish as it sounds, it almost standardizes the standard.

Intel will provide the definitive name and full spec list of the successor to Thunderbolt 4 sometime next year.