USB has come a long way since the 12Mbps days of the 90s. Say goodbye to USB-B and move away from USB-A in favor of a slim, reversible USB-C connector. Data transfer rates have increased so dramatically that we can run powerful setups with high-resolution displays, fast external storage, and many other devices from the USB Implementers Forum’s latest open standard, USB4. USB4 unifies the USB and Intel Thunderbolt protocols for the first time, expanding the capabilities of USB while further separating the technology into different performance classes. The addition of features such as dynamic bandwidth allocation ensures that USB4 is by far the most advanced generation of USB. While there are computers, docks and cables that support USB4, we haven’t seen it yet everything the protocol can do, such as power a non-Intel-branded eGPU. With all that going on, we thought it would be a great time to shine the spotlight on the latest and greatest USB generation. We’ve created a handy refresher on all things USB4, breaking down the various key aspects of the specification, from how it differs from other specifications to protocol tunneling, Alt mode and power delivery.
