Technology
Intel's Thunderbolt 4 standard aims to lift the bar for USB-C devices
Intel has revealed the specifications for its upcoming Thunderbolt 4 interface standard, which will be built on top of the already forthcoming USB4 specification.
The latest design isn't inherently better from a maximum speed perspective — like Thunderbolt 3, Thunderbolt 4 can allow a maximum speed of up to 40 Gbps. But Intel is developing further by incorporating high video requirements and data requirements as well as supporting multi-port hubs.
Two 4 K or one 8 K monitor, along with the PCIe data transfer speeds of until 32 Gb / s, are enabled by Thunderbolt 4 machines, which both exceed the previous Thunderbolt 3 minimum specifications.
Thunderbolt 4 docks and displays with up to 4 Thunderbolt 4 ports would be able to have a modern standard for up to 2 ports of maximum Thunderbolt 3 apps. New computers and cables of Thunderbolt 4 should be compatible with the cables and accessories of Thunderbolt 3.
Intel also has tighter hardware requirements to make Thunderbolt 4 laptops more enjoyable. Thunderbolt 4 laptops are needed to activate Thunderbolt 4-based USB-C on at least 1 port by means of the new standard, Thunderbolt 4 laptops need to be woken up from a sleeper or mouse connected to a Thunderbolt dock. The 4 laptops are also expected to activate Thunderbolt 4 utilizing the new standard.
The improved standards arrive from the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) in order to introduce the mainstream USB4 specifications, promising to achieve an open standard which won't charge a licensing fee for many of the advantages of the formerly existing Thunderbolt 3 standard (like 40Gbps transfer speed and better external display support).
Intel's Thunderbolt 4 claim seems to respond by providing capabilities beyond normal USB4 (as Thunderbolt 3 has done in the past) to the promise that anything with a Thunderbolt port functions exactly as you would expect without ambiguity or misunderstanding unlike the broken world of traditional USB-C cables and accessories.
(Naturually, the downside is that, due to the higher hardware specifications, Thunderbolt cables and supplies cost considerably more than standard USB-C devices.)
Thunderbolt 4 ports will launch the first computers and accessories later this year, starting with the next 11th generation processor at Gen Tiger Lake.
Correction: Intel says that it does not charge royalty or licensing fees for the Thunderbolt specification. The company says will continue to be the case going forward with Thunderbolt 4, too. This article had originally and incorrectly stated that Intel charged licensing fees.
