After the presentation of Thunderbolt 4 at the CES 2020, Intel now officially leaves all the details to us. In this case, the brand has focused on improving the user experience, rather than the speed of utilization. In fact, since the standard remains unchanged at 40 Gbps, nothing has changed in this sense.
Intel introduces Thunderbolt 4: Universal wired connectivity for everyone
Nevertheless, this new generation is still faster and will give us great performance at all times, which will undoubtedly allow us to use it well.
Now it is official
One of the first innovations in Thunderbolt 4 is that it will be possible to connect two screens or monitors with 4K resolution or one with 8K resolution. In addition, the data transfer can reach a speed of up to 3,000 Mbps. To enhance the experience, manufacturers can now design docks with up to four ports, one of which connects to the computer and the other three can be used to connect other accessories or devices.
Intel also brings solutions to cable length problems. They’re going to give us 2-meter-long cables with a speed of 40 Gbps. In 2021 they will go one step further, with cables up to 5 meters long, as they have announced. In addition, backward compatibility has been confirmed, which many expected.
On the other hand, Thunderbolt 4 will be compatible with USB 4.0 and earlier. It will continue to require a USB-C port. Intel has confirmed that we will see this on the first computers with Intel Tiger Lake processors. So in this case we will wait a few months until it becomes official.
A new generation that has been improved and leaves us with some important changes that will undoubtedly lead to a better user experience at all times. So this is a major breakthrough that Intel announced today.