Next USB Version Promises 80Gbps Transfer Speed On Smartphones

The USB is taking a new avatar and soon, the USB 4 version 2.0 will be capable of delivering speeds up to 80 Gbps over the Type C cable — double the capacity of the original USB 4, even Thunderbolt 4. The USB Promoter Group has announced the pending release of the USB4 Version 2.0 specification, a major update to enable up to 80 Gbps of data performance over the USB Type-C cable and connector. “Once again following USB tradition, this updated USB4 specification doubles data performance to deliver higher levels of functionality to the USB Type-C ecosystem," said Brad Saunders, Chairman, USB Promoter Group. Protocol updates are also being made to enable higher performance USB 3.2, DisplayPort and PCI Express data tunneling to best use the higher available bandwidth. Key characteristics of the updated USB4 solution include up to 80Gbps operation, based on a new physical layer architecture, using existing 40 Gbps USB Type-C passive cables and newly-defined 80 Gbps USB Type-C active cables.