Intel today shared a teaser for the next generation of Thunderbolt, which is built based on the USB4 version 2.0 specification. While the company doesn’t have much to say at the moment, we’ve learned that the next generation of Thunderbolt will provide 80Gbps of bi-directional bandwidth, or up to 120Gbps for private configurations.
Data on the Thunderbolt link is sent over four lanes, each supporting 40 Gbps, resulting in 80 Gbps for standard configurations. However, in specific use cases such as Ultra HD displays, the configuration can automatically adapt to provide 120 Gbps in one direction, with only 40 Gbps in the opposite direction. This should allow higher resolution displays to communicate via Thunderbolt.
The next generation of Thunderbolt will also incorporate the latest DisplayPort 2.1 specification announced earlier this week, as well as two times faster PCI Express data, likely thanks to PCIe 4.0 adoption. These capabilities will work with existing passive cables up to 1 meter thanks to the new signaling technology as well. And of course, the next generation of Thunderbolt will be compatible with previous generations of Thunderbolt, USB, and DisplayPort.
Of course, all of this might sound familiar if you heard the announcement of the release of USB4 2.0, which touts many of the same capabilities. The big difference here is that the USB4 specification only says what’s possible, but the fact is that companies can only get USB4 certified for 20Gbps ports. Although there are brand guidelines to indicate the capabilities each device offers on its USB ports, the fact remains that two USB4 ports can have fundamentally different capabilities.
For a Thunderbolt-certified device, those ports need to To support 80Gbps bi-directional bandwidth, as well as 120Gbps mode for high-resolution displays. It’s all required, so when you see a device with the Thunderbolt logo, you know exactly what you’re getting. Of course, these products are backed by the Intel certification process, so the experience should be reliable and consistent on any certified device.
At this time, Intel hasn’t shared much on the availability of the next generation of Thunderbolt, although it seems very likely that we’ll see it for the first time alongside its 13th-generation laptop processors. We should hear about those in early 2023, assuming the timeline is in line with the launch of the 12th generation this year. We also don’t know the official brand for this next generation of Thunderbolt, but most of us assume it will be called Thunderbolt 5.
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