USB4 Version 2.0 unveiled with double transfer speeds

USB devices are set to become much faster in the near future.

The USB Promoter Group has now announced the USB4 Version 2.0 specification, which will double data transmission rates to a blistering 80 Gbps, New Atlas reports.

The first version of USB4 was detailed in 2019, offering a data throughput of 40 Gbps, which was double that of the previous USB 3.2 Gen 2x2. Three years on and that speed is about to double again.

The USB Promoter Group, which consists of companies like Apple, Intel and Microsoft, has outlined the specification for USB4 Version 2.0. A new physical layer architecture will allow upcoming USB Type-C active cables to transmit data at speeds of up to 80 Gbps. Most intriguing though is that the speed boost will also apply to existing USB-C passive cables that are currently capable of 40 Gbps. Exactly how that will work hasn’t yet been specified.

This isn’t the only existing tech to benefit from a retroactive boost. The USB Promoter Group says that updates to the USB data architecture will allow USB 3.2 devices to exceed their current maximum of 20 Gbps for data tunnelling rates. DisplayPort and PCI Express devices should also be able to hit higher performance peaks, too.

“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, USB Promoter Group Chairman. “Solutions seeing the most benefit from this speed enhancement include higher-performance displays, storage, and USB-based hubs and docks.”

USB4 Version 2.0 will also of course be compatible with USB4 Version 1.0, USB 3.2, USB 2.0 and Thunderbolt 3.

The specifics of the new tech have yet to be announced, but the USB Promoter Group says that it will publish this info before the USB DevDays events in November. The first commercial devices using USB4 Version 2.0 will start to arrive in the next few years.