USB 4 Version 2.0 announced; to provide data transfer rates of up to 80 Gbps, backward compatibility

The USB Promoter team has announced that USB 4 version 2.0 will support data transfer speeds of up to 80Gbps over USB Type-C cables and connectors. The organization also said that the specifications of USB Type-C and USB Power Delivery (USB PD) will also be updated to achieve the claimed performance. USB 4 Version 2.0 will also feature backwards compatibility with previous USB 4 versions. Additional details on USB 4 Version 2.0 specifications are expected to be revealed ahead of the USB Developers Day 2022 event in November, according to the team.

In one Press ReleaseUSB ad groups, including Apple, HP, Intel, MicrosoftRenesas Electronics, STMicroelectronics and Texas Instruments, announced that USB 4 version 2.0 will allow data transfer at up to 80Gbps over USB Type-C cables and connectors. The team says the USB Type-C and USB PD specifications will also be upgraded to support higher data transfer speeds.

USB 4 version 2.0 is based on a new physical layer architecture, using an existing 40Gbps USB Type-C passive cable and a “newly defined” USB Type-C active cable, the USB Promoter Group added. The organization is also working on protocol updates to allow USB 3.2 data tunneling beyond 20Gbps and allow for better throttling with the latest versions of DisplayPort and PCle data tunneling.

USB 4 Version 1.0, USB 3.2, USB 2.0 and ThunderBolt 3 will be compatible with USB 4 version 2.0. The USB Promoter team also said that additional specifications of the new USB 4 version are expected to be shared ahead of the USB Developer Days 2022 event in November. The event will also provide technical training. about new updates for USB 4, USB Type-C and USB PD, the team added.

Meanwhile, Joe Balich, spokesman for the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) told The Verge, that the USB 4 cable, which has a speed of 40Gbps, will be able to achieve data transfer rates twice its current speed in the future, when the next version of USB 4 becomes available.