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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 [soylentnews.org] isn't even my final form [arstechnica.com]:

Fulfilling its 2017 promise to make Thunderbolt 3 royalty-free [arstechnica.com], Intel has given the specification [intel.com] for its high-speed interconnect to the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), the industry group that develops the USB specification. The USB-IF has taken the spec and will use it to form the basis of USB4 [usb.org], the next iteration of USB following USB 3.2 [arstechnica.com].

Thunderbolt 3 not only doubles the bandwidth of USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 [arstechnica.com], going from 20Gb/s to 40Gb/s, it also enables the use of multiple data and display protocols simultaneously. We would expect the USB4 specification to be essentially a superset of the Thunderbolt 3 and USB 3.2 specifications, thus incorporating both the traditional USB family of protocols (up to and including the USB 3.2 Gen 2×2) and the Thunderbolt 3 protocol in a single document. Down the line, this should translate into USB4 controllers that support the whole range of speeds.

Lost? Frightened? Confused? Good!

Also at AnandTech [anandtech.com], The Verge [theverge.com], and Engadget [engadget.com].

Original Submission