TECH NEWS – Let’s hope this standard won’t be called something mind-bogglingly idiotic.

The USB Promoter Group has announced the next step in USB data transfer speeds. Up to 80 gigabits per second, double the rate of USB4 and Thunderbolt 4 (40 Gbps). So on paper, you can move up to 10 gigabytes of data per second. True, the technical details are still being worked out. Still, Type-C connectors, higher power specifications, backwards compatibility with earlier USB and Thunderbolt 3 standards, and support for the latest DisplayPort and PCIe specifications are already on target. USB cables capable of 40Gbps should also support twice the speed, so if you have a good quality cable, you may not need to replace it.

What is surprising, however, is that the new specification will supposedly allow USB 3.2 devices to exceed 20 Gbps (=2.5 GB/s), but we have not yet heard anything concrete. Perhaps the drivers or other components limit the speed rather than the cables, as USB 3.2 devices also support the latest versions of the DisplayPort and PCIe specifications. We wonder: what limitations might there be with backwards compatibility?

The designation is still in question. USB 4.0 Version 2.0 is only a provisional name, not the final one. We have seen worse (SuperSpeed USB 3.2 Gen 2×2), but it could be more straightforward. For example, USB 5 or USB 80 Gbps. It would be easy to remember and distinguish, but if it’s christened some hyperspeed nonsense, we’d be justified in facepalming because it would be a simple, logical name.

High speeds over USB never hurts because if you have an external SSD or HDD, for example, it can be pretty helpful when moving a bunch of data around. Two USB developer days are coming in November when more technical details will be given, so don’t expect to see USB 4 2.0 devices in the shops soon. (Or whatever the standard is called…)

Source: PCGamer