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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

What Is Thunderbolt 4? Tiger Lake Tech Isn't Faster, Thunderbolt 3 With a New Name [tomshardware.com]

UPDATE: Intel confirmed it referenced USB 3.1 in the presentation, meaning Thunderbolt 4 is in fact not faster than Thunderbolt 3. We updated the text accordingly.

Intel's press conference at CES 2020 last night was underwhelming given its lack of hardware announcements, but the company did partially pull the covers off of its new Tiger Lake processors and included vague slides that touted a "new" integrated Thunderbolt 4 connection. Given this is the first mention of the new interface, it has generated quite a bit of interest.

However, we followed up with a well-placed industry source who claims Thunderbolt 4 isn't new at all: It is largely an Intel re-branding campaign that signifies both the USB 4 and Thunderbolt 3 connections have been fully certified by Intel. That means this connection is not faster than the existing interface.

We followed up with Intel, which initially provided this response:

"Thunderbolt 4 continues Intel leadership in providing exceptional performance, ease of use and quality for USB-C connector-based products. It standardizes PC platform requirements and adds the latest Thunderbolt innovations. Thunderbolt 4 is based on open standards and is backwards compatible with Thunderbolt 3. We will have more details to share about Thunderbolt 4 at a later date."

Winning hearts and minds at CES 2020.

Also at AnandTech [anandtech.com], GSMArena [gsmarena.com], and Wccftech [wccftech.com].

Original Submission