There’s been an announcement of USB4 2.0, with speeds of up to 80 Gbps

With the release of USB4 Version 2.0, the USB Promoter Group has made possible data transfers at speeds of up to 80 Gbps, which is twice as fast as the previous version of the same protocol.

Older USB-C cables will function on USB4 Version 2.0 ports, albeit at reduced rates, and vice versa, thanks to the backwards compatibility of the new active 80 Gbps Type-C cables with connectors supporting USB4 1.0, USB 3.2, USB 2.0, and Thunderbolt 3.

For the most benefit from the new protocol, high-performance screens, storage, hubs, and docks can all take part.

With 80 Gbps of bandwidth, a laptop could potentially connect to an external GPU and simulate a desktop gaming experience. In addition, the newest iterations of DisplayPort and PCIe are compatible with the new standard.

On November 1, at a conference called USB Developer Days 2022, more information regarding the new protocol will be unveiled.